RFmx NR 20.7.1 Readme

July 2021

This file contains important information about the RFmx NR, including system requirements, and installation instructions.

Overview

New Features

Supported Hardware

System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

Application Software Support

Installation Instructions

Installed Software

File Locations

Executable

Accessing the API

Accessing the Help

Finding Examples

Product Security and Critical Updates

Behavior Changes

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Legal Information


Overview

The RFmx NR personality is a highly optimized API for performing physical layer measurements on 5G New Radio (NR) signals. RFmx NR is completely interoperable with all RFmx APIs. It provides simple access to the most advanced optimization techniques such as multimeasurement parallelism and multi-DUT measurements. The result is extremely fast and high-quality measurements with minimal software development efforts.

New Features

RFmx NR 20.7 includes the following new features:

  • Support for all Trigger Types and Synchronization Modes in ModAcc measurement for Downlink mixed numerology SSB/SCH configurations
  • ModAcc robustness improvements for Downlink mixed numerology SSB/SCH configurations
  • Support for user configurable grid size
  • Support for updates from 3GPP NR Release 16 specification December 2020
  • Support for 8-PSK modulation in downlink shared channel
  • Support for custom span in Occupied bandwidth (OBW) measurement
  • Support for IQ impairments compensation per subcarrier
  • Support for traces of IQ impairments compensation results
  • Support for Time Alignment Error (TAE)
  • Support of configuration of empty carriers in In-Band Emission (IBE) measurement
  • Support for Intraband Non-contiguous carrier aggregation in Uplink for the following spectral measurements:
    • Adjacent Channel Power (ACP)
    • Spectral Emission Mask (SEM) for FR1
    • Occupied Bandwidth (OBW)
    • Channel Power (CHP)

RFmx NR 20.6 includes the following new features:

  • Support for updates from 3GPP TS 38.101-1/2 v16.4 specification in Adjacent Channel Power measurement to support intra-band contiguous carrier aggregation for FR1 and updates in Channel Measurement Bandwidth for FR2
  • Support for estimation of IQ impairments for receive model in ModAcc
  • Support for compensation of IQ impairments in ModAcc
  • Support for measurement of I/Q timing skew in ModAcc
  • Support for additional results in spectral flatness measurement
  • Support for additional bands: 14, 18, 29, 30, 48, 65, 90, 92, 94
  • Support for PUSCH 8-PSK modulation scheme
  • Support for PXIe-5832

RFmx NR 20.0 includes the following new features:

  • Support for LabVIEW 2020 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Support for Start trigger, Advance trigger, and Events in RFInstr
  • Support to configure RFInstr properties in the context of a signal configuration
  • Support for PXIe-5841 with PXIe-5655
  • Support for updates from 3GPP TS 38.104 NR Release 16 specification March 2020
  • Support for PUSCH and PDSCH DMRS for Release 16 as per 3GPP TS 38.211 specification v16.1.0
  • Support for Downlink Test Model 2a and 3.1a for Frequency Range 2
  • Support for 1024 QAM modulation in PDSCH and PUSCH
  • Support for user defined Downlink Multi-user configuration
  • Support for Downlink SS/PBCH EVM in ModAcc measurement for Case A-E
  • Speed improvements in ModAcc measurement
  • Support for speed optimization of the ModAcc measurement by bypassing certain operations
  • ModAcc robustness improvements for low RB allocations in PDSCH/PUSCH
  • Support for FFT Overlap in the Sequential FFT method of the ACP measurement
  • Support for Sequential FFT in ACP for measurement bandwidth greater than device instantaneous bandwidth in PXIe-5830/5831/5840/5841
  • Support for measurement bandwidth equal to channel bandwidth in CHP measurement
  • Support for Bandwidth Optimization Enabled mode in composite measurements

Supported Hardware

The following hardware products are supported in all operating systems listed in the Supported Operating Systems section.

Vector Signal Analyzers

  • PXIe-5668
  • PXIe-5668 with PXIe-5698

Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI RF Vector Signal Analyzers Help.

Vector Signal Transceivers

  • PXIe-5646
  • PXIe-5840
  • PXIe-5820
  • PXIe-5830
  • PXIe-5831
  • PXIe-5832
  • PXIe-5841
  • PXIe-5841 with PXIe-5655

Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI RF Vector Signal Transceivers Help.

System Requirements

RFmx NR has the following requirements:

  • Processor—1 GHz 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 4 GB RAM *
  • A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768
  • Windows 10, with all available critical updates and service packs

* Depending on the amount of data acquired and/or processed, a larger amount of memory may be required.

Supported Operating Systems

RFmx NR 20.7.1 supports the following 64-bit operating systems:

  • Windows 10
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2016

Note    RFmx NR no longer supports Windows Vista/XP/7/8.1, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012, or any 32-bit Windows operating system. RFmx NR 20.7.1 will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use RFmx NR 20.7.1 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing RFmx NR 20.7.1, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.

For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit http://www.ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.

Application Software Support

RFmx NR supports the following application software versions, including service packs. You should install application software, such as LabVIEW or Microsoft Visual Studio®, before installing RFmx NR. If you are not using NI application software, refer to  Microsoft Visual Studio Support.

Application Software Versions Supported by RFmx NR
LabVIEW 2017, 2018 SP1 f4 patch, 2019 SP1 f3 patch, or 2020 SP1

Required Software

  • NI-RFSA 14.1 or later
  • NI-RFSA 17.1 or later (for initializing debug session when "using breakpoints in C/C++/.NET application" is selected)

Microsoft Visual Studio Support

If you are using the RFmx NR .NET Class Library, .NET Framework 4.0 (minimum) is required. The RFmx NR .NET Class Library can be used with Visual C# or Visual Basic .NET in any Visual Studio version that can target .NET Framework 4.0 or .NET Framework 4.5.

Installation Instructions

Download the RFmx NR installer from ni.com/downloads. NI software includes NI Package Manager to handle the installation. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.

Notes

  • If Windows Update is enabled, the installation process might hang if Windows Update interferes with the installation of Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Run-Time. Visit ni.com/r/exjq43 for more information and steps to resolve this issue.
  • Use the serial number that is included with your software to activate RFmx NR. For more information on RFmx NR activation, refer to National Instruments Software Activation .

Installed Software

  • <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    • Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\MeasurementStudioVS2010
  • <NIDir> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    •  Program Files (x86)\National Instruments 
  • <SYSDIR> is an alias for the following file folder location:
    • Windows\SysWOW64 for 32-bit programs and windows\system32 for 64-bit programs

File Locations

Item Installed Location
Version Compatibility Checker <NIDir>\RFmx\niRFmxCompatibility_Checker.exe
Debug Configuration Utility <NIDir>\RFmx\niRFmxDebugConfigurationUtility.exe
DLLs <SYSDIR>
Header files

<NIDir>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\include

Import Library files (64-bit)
  • 32-bit: <NIDir>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\lib32\msvc
  • 64-bit: <NIDir>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\lib64\msvc
.NET Class Libraries
Assemblies <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.RFmx.NRMX.Fx40.dll
<MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.RFmx.InstrMX.Fx40.dll
<MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.Common.dll

Executable

Select Start » All Programs » National Instruments » RFmx NR » RFmx Soft Front Panel to launch the RFmx Soft Front Panel (64-bit).

Accessing the API

RFmx NR palette VIs are available from the Functions » Measurement I/O » NI-RFmx » NR palette.

Accessing the Help

Documentation for RFmx NR is located at Start » All Programs » National Instruments » RFmx NR » RFmx NR Documentation. The documentation set is composed of the following documents.

Document Format Description
RFmx NR Help HTML/Windows Help Contains primary help content for RFmx NR. This help file is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
  • An introduction to RFmx NR
  • How to get started with application development
  • A complete reference for all RFmx NR programming functions and VIs
RFmx NR 20.7.1 Readme HTML (this document) Contains information about supported hardware and operating systems, new features, fixed issues, and legal notices.

Finding Examples

You can access all the installed RFmx NR examples at Start » All Programs » National Instruments » RFmx NR » RFmx NR Examples.

For the most recent revisions of documentation and for newly released documentation, visit ni.com/manuals.

Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about National Instruments products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from National Instruments.

Behavior Changes

The following are the behavior changes in RFmx RFmx NR 20.7 from RFmx RFmx NR 20.6.

  • Obsoleted the RFmxInstr Configure Automatic SG SA Shared LO API and the RFmxInstr Automatic SG SA Shared LO property. Use RFmxInstr LO Source property with Automatic_SG_SA_Shared value instead.

The following are the behavior changes in RFmx NR 20.6 from RFmx NR 20.0.

  • Change in the following API names:
    • ModAcc:IQ Origin Offset Estimation Enabled to ModAcc:IQ Impairments:IQ Origin Offset Estimation Enabled
    • ModAcc IQ Impairments Estimation Enabled to ModAcc IQ Mismatch Estimation Enabled
    • ModAcc:IQ Impairments:Estimation Enabled to ModAcc:IQ Impairments:IQ Mismatch Estimation Enabled
  • Changed measurement limits for SEM in-band emission and spectral flatness measurement to the limits defined in 3GPP 38.141 and 3GPP 38.521 specifications
  • Renamed the below APIs:
    • ModAcc:IQ Origin Offset Estimation Enabled to ModAcc:IQ Impairments:IQ Origin Offset Estimation Enabled
    • ModAcc IQ Impairments Estimation Enabled to ModAcc IQ Mismatch Estimation Enabled
    • ModAcc:IQ Impairments:Estimation Enabled to ModAcc:IQ Impairments:IQ Mismatch Estimation Enabled

The following are the behavior changes in RFmx NR 20.0 from RFmx NR 19.1.

  • Updated measurement bandwidth for Uplink FR2 contiguous CA in ACP and CHP
  • Frequency segment definition of Operating Band Unwanted Emission in SEM measurement aligned with section 9.7.4.3.3 of 3GPP TS 38.104 specification v15.9.0/v16.3.0
  • NR SS/PBCH block parameters CRB Offset and Subcarrier Offset in ModAcc measurement are aligned to be 3GPP specification compliant

The following are the behavior changes in RFmx NR 19.1 from RFmx NR 19.0.

  • Change in default value of Transmit LO Architecture property to LO per Subblock. In this mode:
    • IQ Origin offset result for multicarrier configurations is reported in Subblock IQ Origin Offset Mean result property
    • Quadrature error and IQ Gain Imbalance results are not supported for multicarrier configurations
  • Updated nominal spacing definition for carrier aggregation cases as per Rel 15 Specification June 2019 v 15.6.0. For waveforms compliant to previous Rel 15 releases, use user-defined spacing definition.
  • Composite EVM result does not include the EVM of DMRS and PTRS. You must set ModAcc Composite Results Include DMRS and ModAcc Composite Results Include PTRS properties to True to include the respective EVMs in the Composite EVM result
  • Dropped support for ModAcc EVM Exclusion Period property for Downlink measurement as per the 3GPP NR specification Rel 15 June 2019
  • Dropped support for Cleaner Spectrum property on PXIe-5830 and 5831
  • Obsoleted RFmxNR Analyze (IQ) and RFmxNR Analyze (Spectrum) APIs. Use RFmxNR Analyze (IQ, 1 Wfm) and RFmxNR Analyze (Spectrum, 1 Wfm) APIs instead
  • When you set the Frequency Range property to Range 2 , the new enums, FR2 Category A , FR2 Category B , added to the gNodeB Category property are the only valid enums.

Known Issues

You can access the RFmx NR known issues list online at RFmx NR 20.7.1 Known Issues.

Bug Fixes

You can access the RFmx NR bug fix list online at RFmx NR 20.7.1 Bug Fixes.

Automating the Installation of NI Products

You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes.

If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.6.2, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.6.2 separately before you install NI software.

For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to Automating an Installer in the NI Package Manager manual.

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.


Legal Information

Copyright

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End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices

You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:

  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights

If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.

IVI Foundation Copyright Notice

Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.

The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

Trademarks

Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on NI trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

Patents

For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.

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