NI advances IEEE 802.11n WLAN test
Rick Nelson, Chief Editor -- EDN, July 15, 2010
National Instruments
has introduced
Version 2.0 of its
WLAN (wireless-local-area-network) software
suite for IEEE 802.11n
WLAN testing. The suite
includes enhanced software
tool kits for IEEE
802.11n WLAN-signal
generation and analysis.
The suite integrates
with NI ’s 6.6-GHz PXIe
(Peripheral Component
Interconnect Extensions
for Instrumentation Express)
multichannel RF-signal generators
and analyzers to deliver
phase-coherent MIMO (multiple-input/multiple-output)
RF measurements or IEEE
802.11n WLAN testing. The
software also delivers high
speed for EVM (error-vector
magnitude) and spectrum-mask
measurements.Suite 2.0 adds IEEE 802.11n support to the generation and analysis tool kits to facilitate MIMO testing with true portto- port phase coherency. For measurements, the tool kit integrates with NI’s 6.6-GHz, two-, three-, and four-channel PXIe-5663E VSAs (vector-signal analyzers) to provide accurate multistream MIMO measurements. For signal generation, the tool kit integrates with NI’s 6.6-GHz, two-, three-, and four-channel PXIe-5673E VSGs (vector-signal generators) to generate true phase-coherent, multistream RF signals.
In addition to 802.11n MIMO support, the latest version of the NI WLAN measurement suite improves on the previous version with faster measurement. When you combine it with the latest NI PXIe-8133 quad-core embedded controller, the system can perform composite EVM and power measurements in 7 msec. A result of the tool kit’s multicore-enabled measurement algorithms, the fast measurement is crucial for reducing test times and lowering the costs of testing wireless devices.
The suite also adds a variety of software features to improve measurement performance and ease of use. Engineers can software-enable its resolution-bandwidth-filter feature to remove broadband noise and increase EVM-measurement accuracy. With front-end filtering, engineers can achieve residual EVM accuracy of better than −47 dB when testing WLAN devices.
The suite includes soft front panels for signal generation and analysis to support a range of WLAN IEEE 802.11n configurations, including 4×4 MIMO, and to report measurement results and traces. In addition, engineers can use the measurement suite as either a standalone executable or as an API (application-programming interface) in LabView, in the NI LabWindows/CVI ANSI C environment, or in other C, C++, and .NET development systems.
Prices for the NI WLAN measurement suite for IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n start at $5999, prices for the NI WLAN-generation tool kit for IEEE 802.11a/b/g/ start at $3999, and prices for the WLAN-analysis tool kit for IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n start at $3999.
National Instruments
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