Abstract:
Systems and methods are provided for connecting a software radio to an antenna. The system includes a group of radio components [ 302 - 1, 302 - 2, 302 - 3, 302 - 4, 304, 306, 308 , and  310 ] and a packetized switch [ 303 ]. Some of the radio components are connected to at least some other of the radio components via the packetized switch, such that a collection of connected ones of the radio components forms a complete software radio. A management station [ 312 ] may be provided for monitoring, controlling and configuring the radio components [ 302 - 1, 302 - 2, 302 - 3, 302 - 4, 304, 306, 308 , and  310].

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/039,621, entitled, “RADIO WITH INTERNAL PACKET NETWORK,” filed on Oct. 24, 2001 and herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The invention relates to the field of software radios, and more particularly to methods and systems for connecting a software radio to one of a number of radio antennas.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]      FIG. 1  shows a high level schematic of an exemplary software radio  100 . Software radio  100  may include a red processor component  102 , a crypto component  104 , a black processor component  106 , and a black radio component  108  having a connection to an antenna  110 . In an existing software radio, each of the components or modules may be connected by a Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) bus or similar form of equipment bus.  
         [0004]     Red processor component  102  may include software running on a microcontroller that performs routing functions, management functions, and other functions.  
         [0005]     Crypto component  104  may include one or more cryptologic devices that perform encryption, decryption, authentication and other services.  
         [0006]     Black processor  106  may include software running on a microcontroller that performs lower-level routing functions, framing, conversion to appropriate waveform representations, testing of radio services, and other services.  
         [0007]     Black radio  108  may perform actual radio transmission and reception and may include a number of subcomponents, including, but not limited to one or more modems, transmit/receive chains, power amplifiers, filters and tunable multicouplers.  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates a well-known way in which one may organize such software radios to implement a “radio room” on for example, a Navy ship or land facility. In  FIG. 2 , red processor component  102 ′, crypto component  104 ′, black processor component  106 ′ and black radio component  108 ′ form one software radio, red processor component  102 ″, crypto component  104 ″, black processor component  106 ″ and black radio component  108 ″ form a second software radio, and red processor component  102 ′″, crypto component  104 ′″, black processor component  106 ′″ and black radio component  108 ′″ form another software radio. Each of the software radios may be connected to an RF switch  202  via, for example, a cable from one of the software radio components, such as black radio  108 ′,  108 ″, and  108 ′″ to RF switch  202 . The switch may connect any of the radios to any of antennas  204 - 1 ,  204 - 2 ,  204 - 3 ,  204 - 4 ,  205 - 5  and  205 - 6 . In  FIG. 2 , the software radio formed by components  102 ′,  104 ′,  106 ′ and  108 ′ is connected to antenna  204 - 3  via RF switch  202 , as indicated by the thick lines.  
         [0009]     One drawback to using an RF switch is that it can be quite bulky and very expensive, particularly if the RF switch must work across a wide range of frequencies, for example, from 2 MHz to 2 GHz. Further, because the RF switch is an analog switch, it may introduce loss, noise, or degradation into the signal, which is highly undesirable. Therefore, a cheaper, less bulky method for connecting a group of software radios to a group of antennas, in a way that experiences little or no signal loss in the interconnecting switch, is highly desirable.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     Systems and methods are provided for connecting software radios to a number of radio antennas.  
         [0011]     In a first aspect of the invention, a system is provided. The system includes a group of radio components and a packetized switch. Some of the radio components are connected to at least some other of the radio components via the packetized switch, such that a collection of connected ones of the radio components forms a complete software radio.  
         [0012]     In a second aspect of the invention, a method of connecting components of a software radio is provided. A first radio component is configured to have a correct address of a second radio component, thus forming a first communications link between the first radio component and the second radio component via a packetized switch therebetween. The second radio component is configured to have a correct address of the first radio component, thus forming a second communications link between the second radio component and the first radio component via the packetized switch. Operation of the software radio, including the first radio component and the second radio component, is started.  
         [0013]     In a third aspect of the invention, a system is provided. The system includes a group of means for implementing separate portions of a software radio and means for providing packetized switched communications among the group of means for implementing separate portions of a software radio. Some of the group of means for implementing separate portions of a software radio are connected to at least some other of the group of means for implementing separate portions of a software radio via the means for providing packetized switched communications, such that a collection of connected ones of the group of means for implementing separate portions of a software radio forms a complete software radio. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and, together with the description, explain the invention. In the drawings,  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a high level schematic of an exemplary software radio;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  illustrates an implementation of a “radio room” with software radios;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  shows an exemplary implementation consistent with the principles of the invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a simplified diagram of an exemplary software radio component;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a simplified diagram of an exemplary management station; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an exemplary process for implementing aspects of the invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]     The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. The following detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents.  
       Overview  
       [0022]     In implementations consistent with the principles of the invention, red processor  102 , crypto  104 , black processor  106  and black radio  108  may be connected to one another via an internal packet network, such as an Ethernet network, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switch, a token ring network, a resilient packet ring network, serial links, and the like.  
         [0023]     It may be beneficial to organize groups of related radio equipment into a common subsystem, for example, a High Frequency (HF) subsystem, a narrow-band VHF, UHF, and L-band (V/U/L NB) subsystem, a broadband VHF, UHF, L-band (V/U/L BB) subsystem or a UHF subsystem. The specific radio equipment in such a subsystem (such as antennas, power amplifiers, cosite filters, etc.) may then be tailored for that particular frequency band or transmission requirement. Each specific subsystem may be further furnished with one or more black processors to form a complete “component.” 
         [0024]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary implementation of a system  300  consistent with principles of the invention. Red processor and crypto components  302 - 1 ,  302 - 2 ,  302 - 3 , and  302 - 4  may be connected to a packetized switch, for example, Ethernet switch  303 , which may further be connected to black processor and black radio components, such as HF component  304 , V/U/L NB component  306 , V/U/L BB component  308  and UHF component  310 . Other black processor and radio components may be possible, such as Link-16 used by the U.S. military.  
         [0025]     Red processor and crypto components  302 - 1 ,  302 - 2 ,  302 - 3  and  302 - 4  may be a combination of red processor component  102  and crypto component  104 . Black processor and black radio components  304 - 310  may be a combination of black processor component  106  and black radio component  108 . Further, a black processor and radio component may include shared equipment, such as an RF switch. Such an RF switch may be a small RF switch for a few radios and would be considerably cheaper and experience less data loss than large RF switch  202  ( FIG. 2 ).  
         [0026]     Exemplary system  300  may also include a management station  312 , which may connect to components  302 - 1 ,  302 - 2 ,  302 - 3 ,  302 - 4 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308  and  310  or may connect to these components via Ethernet switch  303 . Management station  312  may be colocated with the software radio components or may be remotely located. A single management station  312  may monitor and control both the red and black sides of a software radio, or only a single side. Management stations may be replicated as desired. Management station  312  may monitor and/or control operation of the components via existing protocols, including, but not limited to Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP), Extensible Markup Language (XML), and Common Object Resource Broker Architecture (CORBA). For example, management station  312  may use an existing protocol, such as SNMP, to monitor a status of at least one of the components connected to Ethernet switch  303 .  
         [0027]     Exemplary system  300  has four red processor and crypto components  302  and four black processor and black radio components  304 - 310 . In other implementations there may be more, fewer, or different components than illustrated in  FIG. 3 . For example, Ethernet switch  303  may be replicated or implemented as a network of interconnected switches. Further, a switch other than an Ethernet switch may be used in other implementations. For example, system  300  may, instead, include an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switch, an Internet Protocol (IP) router or any other type of packetized switch. Further, Ethernet network  314  may also be any type of packet network. Further, no management station  312  or any number of management stations  312  may be included in various implementations of the invention. In addition, Ethernet switch  303  may connect any two components of a software radio. For example, the switch may connect red processor component  102  to crypto component  104  or may connect crypto component  104  to black radio component  108 . In commercial implementations not requiring encryption, Ethernet switch  303  may connect red processor component  102  to black processor component  106 .  
         [0028]     In implementing software radio system  300 , each component or module may be attached to a packet network and may thus have a unique address on the network, e.g., modules on an Ethernet may have Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or standard IEEE 802.2 addresses, i.e., Ethernet Media Access Control addresses and, alternatively, modules on an ATM based network may employ ATM addresses.  
         [0029]     First, the network addresses may be assigned to modules or components as they power on via standard network protocols, such as DHCP, BOOTP, etc. Software to accomplish this function is well known and widely available, and may simply be installed on the software radio components.  
         [0030]     Second, “software download and install” functions may be implemented by standard network protocols. For example, a new module or component may: (a) acquire its network address via Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP); (b) find how it may be configured by performing a Domain Name System (DNS) lookup and communicating with a configuration server; and then (c) use a Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) to download the appropriate software image into its onboard flash memory. Continuing with this example, the new module may learn that it may emulate an FM radio, may then retrieve the appropriate software application and may then save the application in its local flash memory for subsequent execution.  
         [0031]     Third, “monitor and control” functions may be implemented via SNMP, HTTP, XML, CORBA, or any other convenient management protocol. For example, management station  312  may configure an address of a software radio component via the SNMP protocol.  
       Software Radio Components  
       [0032]      FIG. 4  is a simplified diagram of an exemplary software radio component  400 . Software radio component  400  may be used to implement various components. For example, one or more software radio components  400  may be used to implement each of red processor  102 , black processor  106 , red processor and crypto component  302 , HF component  304 , V/U/L NB component  306 , V/U/L BB component  308  and UHF component  310   
         [0033]     Software radio component  400  may include at least one CPU  402 , with associated Read Only Memory (ROM)  404 , Random Access Memory (RAM)  406 , flash memory  408  and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) unit  410 , such that software radio component  400  may perform its function through software operating on components  402 ,  404 ,  406 ,  408  and  410 . DSP  410  may provide the actual interface between software radio component  400  and a physical radio subunit, such as a Radio Frequency (RF) module that may interface to an antenna, or a Human/Computer Interface (HCI) module that may interface to a speaker, etc.  
         [0034]     Software radio component  400  may further include at least one network controller  412  and at least one network connector  414 . Network controller  412  and network connector  414  may operate in the manner of known packet network controllers and connectors to provide packet network connectivity between software radio components, management station  312  and modules using standard network protocols, as will be described in further detail below. The protocols may include those of the Internet Protocol (IP) suite, such as IP, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), RealTime Protocol (RTP), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), Domain Name System (DNS) and the like, and may further include various versions of the IP suite, such as IPv4 and IPv6. Additional protocols, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.* set of network standards for link-layer protocols, e.g., frame formats, addresses, etc., may also be used. Further, network controller  412  and network connector  414  may provide connectivity to a packet switch, such as Ethernet switch  303 .  
       Management Station  
       [0035]      FIG. 5  is a simplified diagram of exemplary management station  312 . Management station  312  may include a processor or central processing unit (CPU)  502 , storage, such as a Read Only Memory (ROM)  504 , Random Access Memory (RAM)  506 , network controller  508  and network connector  510 . ROM  504  may include instructions or static data for CPU  502 . RAM  504  may include instructions or dynamic data for CPU  502 . Network controller  508  and network connector  506  may operate in the manner of known packet network controllers and connectors to provide packet network connectivity to the software radio components  302 - 1 ,  302 - 2 ,  302 - 3 ,  302 - 4 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308  and  310  and switch  303  using standard network protocols.  
       Process for Connecting Software Radio Components  
       [0036]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart that illustrates a process for connecting software radio components according to an implementation consistent with the principles of the invention. Red processor and crypto components  302  may determine their configuration and request configured software using methods described above. For example, at power on red processor and crypto components  302  may acquire their network addresses (Ethernet address, IP address, port or any other type of address) via DHCP, determine their configuration by performing a DNS lookup, communicate with a configuration server and then use TFTP to download the appropriate software images. At act  602 , the requested software is then loaded into red processor and crypto components  302 . Black processor and black radio components  304 ,  306 ,  308 , and  310  may determine their configuration and request configured software in a manner similar to red processor and crypto components  302 . At act  604 , the requested software is then loaded into black processor and black radio components  304 ,  306 ,  308 , and  310 .  
         [0037]     At act  606 , a red processor and crypto component  302  configures its crypto portion to have a correct address for the black processor portion of a black processor and black radio component  304 ,  306 ,  308 , or  310 . This may be accomplished by red processor and crypto component  302  accessing a table in memory, which may have been included in the downloaded software image, and to find an address of a black processor and radio component  304 ,  306 ,  308  or  310  to which it is to be connected. Alternatively, management station  312  using a protocol, such as, the SNMP protocol, may configure the red processor and crypto component  302  to have a correct address of a black processor and black radio component  304 ,  306 ,  308  or  310  to which it is to connect.  
         [0038]     In a manner similar to red processor and crypto component  302  in act  606 , at act  608 , a black processor and black radio component  304 ,  306 ,  308  or  310  may be configured to have a correct address of a red processor and crypto component  302  to which it is to connect. Alternatively, this may be accomplished via management station  312  using a protocol, such as, the SNMP protocol, to configure the black processor and radio component  304 ,  306 ,  308  or  310 . Using the addresses of red processor and crypto component  302  and black processor and black radio component  304 ,  306 ,  308  or  310 , a path through Ethernet switch  303  may be established in each direction between the two components. At act  610 , once the paths have been established, management station  312  may issue a command to the two components to start radio operation. Alternatively, each component may automatically enter a ready state with radio operation starting after all connected components of a software radio determine that all other software components of the software radio are in the ready state.  
         [0039]     In  FIG. 6 , an exemplary process for a component, such as red processor and crypto component  302  and black processor and black radio component  304 ,  306 ,  308  or  310  was explained with regard to the components determining their configuration, downloading the proper software image and configuring themselves to communicate with one other component. The above process is not limited only to red processor and crypto component  302  and black processor and radio component  304 ,  306 ,  308  and  310 , but instead may apply to communication between any two components. For example, using the method described with reference to  FIG. 6 , red processor  102  and black processor  106  each may download the appropriate software image and determine the address (Ethernet address, IP address, port or any other type of address) of the component to which they are to be connected. Alternatively, management station  312  may be used to issue commands to each of red processor component  102  and black processor component  106  to provide connecting addresses to each of the components.  
       CONCLUSION  
       [0040]     Methods and systems consistent with the principles of the invention provide systems and methods for connecting components of software radios.  
         [0041]     The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the invention provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention for example, while a series of acts has been described with regard to  FIG. 6 , the order of the acts may differ in other implementations consistent with the present invention. Also, non-dependent acts may be performed in parallel.  
         [0042]     No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items. Where only one item is intended, the term “one” or similar language is used. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.