What Challenges are 5G Lab Network Testing Facing?

As 5G technology continues to evolve, network equipment vendors like Huawei, Nokia, Ericsson, ZTE, and small cell vendors such as Baicells and CertusNet face significant challenges in validating network performance within lab environments. Comprehensive lab testing ensures that 5G networks meet the high standards of performance, reliability, and scalability demanded by both operators and end-users. Here, we delve into the major challenges and pain points these vendors encounter in 5G lab network performance validation.

Supporting Multiple User Equipment (UE) Terminals

Testing environments require simultaneous testing of multiple UEs to simulate real-world network usage. Traditional methods struggle with efficiently managing multiple terminals, leading to complex and time-consuming processes.

Pain Points:

• Complex Testing Environment: Managing multiple terminal devices in a single test environment involves intricate setups and configurations to ensure each device functions correctly and interacts appropriately within the network.
• Synchronization Issues: Ensuring that all devices operate in sync and reflect realistic network behavior adds to the complexity.
• Data Collection and Analysis: Gathering and analyzing test data from multiple terminals is cumbersome and prone to errors. Efficient handling of the vast amount of data generated is necessary to derive meaningful insights.

With diverse devices each having different capabilities and behaviors, creating a uniform test environment is challenging. Real-time synchronization is crucial to accurately simulate actual network conditions. Automated tools and advanced analytics are required to handle large volumes of data, enabling quicker and more precise decision-making.

Adapting to 5G Commercial Modules

With the rapid advancement of 5G technology, vendors must test the latest commercial modules to ensure performance and compatibility. Solutions must quickly adapt to and support 5G modules from various manufacturers.

• Limited Support for Latest Technology: Traditional testing equipment may not adequately support the latest 5G technology, hindering effective testing of new modules.
• Evolving Test Requirements: Constantly changing testing needs for new modules require frequent updates and adaptations to testing protocols and equipment.
• Lack of Unified Standards: The absence of standardized testing protocols increases the complexity of testing new modules, leading to inconsistent results and difficulties in comparison.

Supporting 5G commercial modules involves staying updated with the latest advancements in 5G technology. Flexible and adaptive testing solutions are required due to different features and standards implemented by each manufacturer. Customized testing protocols for each module ensure specific performance and compatibility criteria are met but increase the testing workload and time required.

Ensuring Long-term Stable Operation

Long-term stable testing is necessary to simulate real-world performance and reliability of devices. However, existing testing equipment often fails or becomes unstable during extended operation.

• Equipment Reliability: Test equipment tends to overheat or fail during prolonged use, affecting test results and leading to inconsistent data.
• High Maintenance and Monitoring Costs: Maintaining and monitoring equipment during long tests is costly. Frequent checks and repairs add to the overall testing expenses.
• Continuity and Reliability of Results: Ensuring continuous and reliable test results over long periods is challenging. Any interruption or equipment failure can compromise the integrity of the testing process.

Long-term stability is crucial for assessing the durability and performance of network components under extended usage conditions. Reliable and robust test equipment is necessary to avoid interruptions and maintain consistent data collection. Automated monitoring systems can help reduce costs and improve the reliability of long-term tests.

Automating Testing Processes

Manual testing operations are complex and prone to errors, affecting efficiency and accuracy. An automated testing system is needed to simplify the process and reduce human involvement.

• Time-Consuming Manual Operations: Manual testing is labor-intensive and slow, failing to meet the rapid testing demands of modern 5G networks.
• Error-Prone Manual Testing: Human errors in manual operations can lead to inaccurate or inconsistent test results, affecting the reliability of the testing process.
• Complex Training Requirements: Training personnel for complex manual testing processes is costly and time-consuming, diverting resources from other critical tasks.

Automated testing systems can significantly enhance efficiency by reducing the time required for setup, execution, and analysis. These systems minimize human errors, ensuring more accurate and consistent results. Additionally, automation allows for continuous testing without the need for constant human supervision. Investing in automated testing solutions can yield long-term benefits, including reduced operational costs, improved accuracy, and faster testing cycles.

Supporting Customizable Testing Standards

Each lab has its specific testing standards and protocols, necessitating a flexible testing solution. Current testing solutions often lack the flexibility to meet diverse customization requirements.

• Inability to Meet Specific Standards: Inflexible testing solutions fail to meet the precise standards of different labs, leading to inaccurate test results and potential non-compliance.
• Diverse Customization Needs: Rapidly adjusting to varied customization demands is difficult, requiring adaptable and configurable testing systems.
• Increased Testing Time and Costs: Frequent adjustments and repeated testing increase time and costs, impacting overall efficiency and resource allocation.

Customizable testing solutions are essential to accommodate the unique requirements of different labs and testing scenarios. These solutions must be adaptable to various standards, protocols, and configurations, ensuring accurate and reliable test results. Implementing modular and scalable testing systems can help address diverse customization needs, enabling labs to adjust quickly to new requirements without significant delays or cost increases. 

Conclusion

Network equipment vendors face significant challenges in validating the performance of 5G networks within lab environments. Understanding and addressing these pain points is crucial for enhancing the efficiency, accuracy, and reliability of lab testing processes. Dingli's lab network testing solution can help vendors overcome these challenges, enabling them to deliver high-performance, reliable, and scalable networks that meet the demands of the 5G era.

Investing in advanced, automated, and customizable testing solutions is essential for keeping pace with the rapid advancements in 5G technology and ensuring successful deployment and optimization of 5G networks.