Software Communication
Architecture Compliant
Software Defined Radios
“all the world’s a network and its people are merely nodes…”
S. Murat Bicer
Dr. Jeffrey E. Smith
Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
HPEC – September 2002
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
Agenda


Last year’s summary of Software Defined
Radio (SDR) and Software Communications
Architecture (SCA)
SCA current standing






JTRS position
Roadmap
OMG progress to date
SDRF activities
SCA reference implementation
SDR/SCA demonstration
 November goals
 Architecture


Future work
Summary
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
2
Last Year’s SDR and SCA Summary

Described SCA








Definition
Motivation
Goals
Programming methodology
Architecture
Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) SDR/SCA
requirements
Relation to Object Management Group (OMG)
and its many standards; and the Software
Defined Radio Forum (SDRF)
Described overlap between SCA/SDR goals
and high-performance embedded computing
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
3
Agenda


Last year’s SDR and SCA summary
SCA current standing






JTRS position
Roadmap
OMG progress to date
SDRF activities
SCA reference implementation
SDR/SCA demonstration
 November goals
 Architecture


Future work
Summary
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
4
JTRS Position
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
5
Roadmap
Candidate RFI/RFP/RFC
• Embedded system
distributed component
framework (D&C, file
services, devices, domain
mgt.)
• Radio components
interfaces (SW radio RFP,
radio devices, system apps
and DM)
• Lightweight services
(excluding logging – naming,
event, timer, notification)
• Lightweight log service
RFC
• Light CCM RFP
(deployment, min. set of
capability)
• Radio components
interfaces (SW radio RFP,
radio devices, system apps
and DM)
4/1/02
11/02
4/03
7/03
10/27/02
1/6/03
5/12/03
9/03
8/25/02
10/18/02
1/6/03
7/03
6/28/02
vote issue
9/25/02
comments
N/A
11/03
2/18/03
3/3/03
5/12/03
8/03
NEY
NEY
NEY
NEY
NEY = Not established yet
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
6
OMG Progress to Date






Approved software radio and lightweight
services request for proposals (RFPs)
Lightweight logging request for
comments (RFCs) in comment period
Deployment and configuration initial
submission
Lightweight services initial submission
and lightweight CORBA component
model (CCM) RFP in work
Published SCA platform independent
model (PIM) on swradio.omg.org
Coordinated with SWR Forum (SDRF)
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
7
SDRF Activities
Definition and development of
hardware abstraction layer (HAL)
 Research on the applicability of
Mercury’s FPGA architecture/
middleware as a submission to SDRF
 Requirements for radio software
download for RF reconfiguration
 Canadian Research Center (CRC)
SCARI project oversight

© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
8
Agenda


Last year’s SDR and SCA summary
SCA current standing






JTRS position
Roadmap
OMG progress to date
SDRF activities
SCA reference implementation
SDR/SCA demonstration
 November goals
 Architecture


Future work
Summary
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
9
SCA Reference Implementation





A proof-of-concept SCA reference implementation
to explore advantages and difficulties
Reusable SCA core framework (CF)
implementation code
A platform specific model (PSM) for OMG SCA
platform independent model (PIM)
A minimum-SCA definition
Platforms:
 x86 PC w/ WindowsNT
 4-node Mercury computer w/ WindowsNT runtime host
 Sun Blade 100 w/ Solaris

Tools used:
 Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0, g++, ccmc++
 OIS ORBexpress, ACE/TAO, SCE
 Rational Rose
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
10
SCA Reference Implementation
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
11
Mercury’s SCA CF







Implements the basic behavior defined
in SCA
Provides the building blocks for SCAcompatible radios
CF is compiled as a DLL
Waveform developers implement their
waveforms as SCA “applications”
Components of these waveforms inherit
the CF components and use the CF DLL
CF DomainManager is used to install these
waveform applications
The new CF does not use fat binaries to
load waveform applications
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
12
Creating Applications
UI asks for all
ApplicationFactory(s)
~~~~~
~~
~~~
XML
Files
~~~~
~~
ApplicationFactory
determines applicable
device(s) on which to
load application code
defined in Domain Profile
• Application to
instantiate is chosen
• UI issues create( ) on
ApplicationFactory
ApplicationFactory
Domain Profile
load/execute,
allocate capacities
ApplicationFactory
connects the port(s)
to form application
Application developers provide
implementations of the base application
interfaces in their applications, using the
framework control and framework
services interfaces as needed and
describe their application with a
software profile.
Core application services developers
provide the framework control and
framework services interfaces and
process the domain profile DTDs.
Device
Device
Device
Resource(s) bring
port(s) into existence
Resource
1
Physical Device 1
connects
resource ports
Resource
3
Resource
2
Physical Device 2
Resources are then configured,
initialized, and started
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
13
Bring resources
into existence on
physical devices
Agenda


Last year’s SDR and SCA summary
SCA current standing






JTRS position
Roadmap
OMG progress to date
SDRF activities
SCA reference implementation
SDR/SCA demonstration
 November goals
 Architecture


Future work
Summary
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
14
November Goals
1.
2.
3.
4.
Demo FM3TR, WCDMA component and
reconfigurability and waveform interoperability on
multiple platforms and varying scalability.
Minimal SCA compliant, working with “average” of
existing open reference implementations, OMG
SDR PIM, and DTKs.
Call FPGA and software components from same
middleware complying with SCA interfaces. Same
infrastructure will scale and take advantage of
low-level infrastructure (where it exists) e.g. data
reorg, PAS, MPI, …
Integrate (W)RDL as part of infrastructure and
demo to show positioning of happy co-existence.
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
15
Demo Architecture
Noise
TCP
GUI
Record
DX
Adapter
PAS
Encode
CVSD
PAS
Encode
FM3TR
CFP
MSK
Mod.
+
Next freq hop
DUC
D/A
I/F
FH
CFP
TCP
Playback
DX
Adapter
Rate
Converter
Vocoder
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
PAS
Decode
CVSD
PAS
Decode
FM3TR
MSK
Demod
Next tune freq
Encode
WCDMA
Symbol
Synch
DDC
I/F
FH
SW DUC
16
A/D
D/A
I/F
November Demo

Two versions
 SCA – Win 2k, ACE/TAO CORBA
 SCA/SCE – heterogeneous hardware


Two versions will merge in the future
Three waveforms on both SCA platforms
 FM3TR (Future Multi-Band Multi-Waveform Modular
Tactical Radio)
 SSB (Single Sideband)
 WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access)

For all waveforms, digital domain signals
are converted to analog signals in the IF
stage
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
17
November Demo

SCA – Win 2k







Implements a subset of SCA
Component reconfigurability
Waveform interoperability
Domain manager
Uses CORBA for command and control
Uses C++ streams for communications between
components
SCA/SCE
 Implements a different subset of SCA
 Scalable over heterogeneous processing elements
• E.g., Pentiums, G4s, FPGAs
 Provides seamless communication structure for stream
applications
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
18
November Demo (continued)

Interoperability of waveforms
 Demodulating an FM3TR waveform
 Transmitting it as a WCDMA waveform

Reconfigurability in component level
 Deploying software resources on different hardware
platforms
• Software DUC, FPGA DUC, etc..

Reconfigurability in application level
 Loading new waveforms on air
 Changing waveforms on air
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
19
Agenda


Last year’s SDR and SCA summary
SCA current standing






JTRS position
Roadmap
OMG progress to date
SDRF activities
SCA reference implementation
SDR/SCA demonstration
 November goals
 Architecture


Future work
Summary
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
20
Future Work






Work on OMG, SDRF, and JTRS
Technology Laboratory (JTeL) as a part
of Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS)
contract (3 years)
Extend demo to SIGINT applications
Productize middleware
Extend SCA CF
Work with JTeL on SCA compliance
(provide reference SCA implementation)
Work with (W)RDL vendors of role of their
technology with SCA
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
21
Summary
An OMG version of the JTRS SCA is
being developed
 Ongoing SDRF activities
 An SCA CF reference implementation
has been developed
 A demo will be used to show SCA

 Compliance
 Interoperability
 Reconfigurability
© 2001 Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
22