Telecom

Running a full end-to-end LTE network on a single computer with srsRAN

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Here is the installation guide for deploying complete LTE network (UE, eNodeB, EPC) in a single computer. ZeroMQ is used for the communication bettween the network elements. The whole LTE network can be simulated without using physical UE, sim card and SDR card.

Computer specification
CPU – Intel Core i5-8400
Memory – 16GB RAM
OS – Ubuntu 20.04

Step 1 – install UHD
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ettusresearch/uhd
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libuhd-dev uhd-host

Step 2 – install PCSC
//dependencies for pcsc
sudo apt-get install -y autoconf-archive
sudo apt-get install libtool
sudo apt-get install flex
sudo apt-get install libsystemd-dev
sudo apt-get install libudev-dev

//install pcsc
git clone https://salsa.debian.org/rousseau/PCSC.git
cd PCSC
./bootstrap
./configure
make
sudo make install

Step 3 – install soapySDR
//dependencies for soapySDR
sudo apt-get install cmake g++ libpython3-dev python3-numpy swig
sudo apt-get install cmake g++ libpython2-dev python-numpy swig
sudo apt-get install python3-dbg

//install luajit
git clone https://luajit.org/git/luajit.git
make
sudo make install PREFIX=/usr
edit /home/budakgigibesi/SoapySDR/build/CMakeCache.txt, change the /usr/bin/luajit to /usr/bin/luajit-2.1.0-beta3

//install luaUnit
git clone https://github.com/bluebird75/luaunit.git
copy luaunit.lua to /usr/local/share/lua/5.1/
sudo apt-get install -y lua-ldoc
sudo apt-get install doxygen
sudo apt install graphviz

//install soapySDR
git clone https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR.git
cd SoapySDR
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j4
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig #needed on debian systems
SoapySDRUtil –info

Step 4 – install srsGUI
//dependencies for srsgui
sudo apt-get install libboost-system-dev libboost-test-dev libboost-thread-dev libqwt-qt5-dev qtbase5-dev

//install srsGUI
git clone https://github.com/srsLTE/srsGUI.git
cd srsgui
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ../
make
sudo make install
make test

Step 5 – install zeroMQ
//install zeroMQ core engine
git clone https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq.git
cd libzmq
./autogen.sh
./configure
make
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig

//install High-level C binding for zeroMQ
git clone https://github.com/zeromq/czmq.git
cd czmq
./autogen.sh
./configure
make
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig

Step 5 – install srsRAN
//dependencies for srsRAN
sudo apt-get install build-essential cmake libfftw3-dev libmbedtls-dev libboost-program-options-dev libconfig++-dev libsctp-dev
sudo apt install libdw-dev
sudo apt install libdwarf-dev
sudo apt install binutils-dev #for libbfd
sudo apt install python3-jinja2 #need to install this if not nas integrity check will fail

//install srsRAN
git clone https://github.com/srsRAN/srsRAN.git
cd srsRAN
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ../
make
make test
sudo make install

//generate configuration files
srsran_install_configs.sh user

Step 6 – Run the network
//creating a new network namespace called “ue1” for the (first) UE:
sudo ip netns add ue1
sudo ip netns list

//run the epc
sudo srsepc –pcap.enable=true

//run the enb
sudo srsenb –rf.device_name=zmq –rf.device_args=”fail_on_disconnect=true,tx_port=tcp://*:2000,rx_port=tcp://localhost:2001,id=enb,base_srate=23.04e6″

//run ue
sudo srsue –rf.device_name=zmq –rf.device_args=”tx_port=tcp://*:2001,rx_port=tcp://localhost:2000,id=ue,base_srate=23.04e6″ –gw.netns=ue1

Step 7 – Ping
//ping UE from EPC
ping 172.16.0.2

//ping EPC from UE
sudo ip netns exec ue1 ping 172.16.0.1

Ping test results

References
https://docs.srsran.com/en/latest/general/source/1_installation.html
https://www.sharetechnote.com/html/SDR_srsLTE_Build.bak
https://github.com/bluebird75/luaunit/tree/LUAUNIT_V3_2_1
https://github.com/bluebird75/luaunit
https://luajit.org/install.html
https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki/BuildGuide
https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/issues/334 #no module issue in soapySDR make test

Is it hard to get a job in telecom industry in Malaysia?

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I came from the technical part of this industry, so I will try to explain the telecom industry situation based on the engineering perspective. First, i will explain why it is hard to land a job in telecom and then what can be done in order to increase the chances to get the job.

There are many reasons why fresh graduates or experienced engineer find it hard to get a job in telecom. There are times when telecom are booming which creates a lot of jobs and there are times where no job can be found and one has to be patient and always keep on the lookout for opportunities. Furthermore in some countries, telecom jobs are rather limited since it depends on the scale of the network infrastructure and the population of the country as well. The more people are using it, the more it requires to expand the infrastructure. In Malaysia, the country is rather small, therefore the job opportunities are rather limited. Countries that have plenty of telecom jobs are countries where the telecom vendors (ericsson, huawei, nokia, zte, etc. ) set up their research centers. These countries requires a lot of engineers and they have the opportunity to learn highly technical skill and stay up to date with the latest telecom technologies.

As for other countries such as Malaysia, the nature of telecom work may be in the form of service delivery projects for telecom vendors and their subcontractors ( telecom vendors sub their project to these companies ) . Apart from that, several jobs can be found in MNOs (Maxis, Celcom, Digi) and in the telecom regulatory (MCMC) as well but the positions available are limited which requires applicants to compete with many other applicants to fill as little as one position. This situation happens when there are no new projects are running. But there could be a lot of opportunities when there is a big project until to some extend there isn’t enough manpower to run it. For example, in 2011, Digi invested a large sum of money to swap their 2G and 3G networks to ZTE equipment. At that time, there were hundreds of openings for engineer role in ZTE. Those were the good old days. Made a lot of friends, learned new things. Therefore, there are opportunities and one needs to stay alert on the latest telecoms news.

Reporting for duty at ZTE Malaysia (2011)

As I have mentioned ealier, telecom industry is a niche industry where only the ones who have worked in this industry knows about this industry. In other words, someone who have never worked in telecom industry won’t have the slightest idea about what telecom engineers do.

Drive test at klang valley area back in 2011

Therefore fresh graduates cannot burst into these profession easily because most of the things that they learned in the university cannot be applied into the job that they are applying. In order to increase the chances, one could focus his/her final year project on telecom research topics such as RF analysis, antenna design, optical performance analysis. Besides that, due to advancement in virtualization technology, one can simulate the whole LTE network by using desktop PC, SDR card, a sim card and a LTE smartphone. These options could boost the chances to get a job in telecom.

Simulate 4G network at home with Openairterface

Furthermore, it is easier to land a job with subcontractors since they normally hire fresh graduates because the nature of the work is more to installation and deployment which gives an opportunity for fresh graduates to learn the fundamentals of telecom technology before they can move up the career ladder into working with telecom vendors and MNOs. On top of that, one should always put him/herself in hiring manager’s shoes and think why they should hire him/her and not someone else.

Career in Huawei Technologies Malaysia

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Someone asked a question and i thought it would beneficial to share it here.

Question:
Hi there… Just wanna to ask you some opinion regarding Huawei. Im a fresh graduate got offered with project management engineer position in HW, been reading alot of the comments on the Huawei’s thread, and most of the comments are quite scary, is it really that “bad” though?
The contract position is kinda risky as well… actually i got offered with another permanant position in other company, but for the jobscope i prefer huawei as i intended to debut my career in project management. i heard the politics are very “legendary”. Just wanted to hear your thoughts on it

Answer:
Firstly, congratulations on getting both jobs.

Malaysia’s 5 main industries are banking, ecommerce, OnG, construction, electronics/manufacturing and IT. IMO, everyone has a dream career but in Malaysia, we cant just blindly follow our dream. As an example, I want to become automotive engineer, unfortunately Msia doesn’t have a good automotive company to grow my career to become a true automotive engineer. We used to have a good auto company (Proton) but now not anymore. Even working in Perodua is a waste of time because there is no r&d opportunity since they just copy all the design from Toyota/Daihatsu. End up become Copy Engineer. Somemore, they pay peanut salary but we work 8 hours per day just like everybody else. Why waste our time working like this? Get my point?

What I’m trying to say is to look for a job in an industry where money is abundant or work in Fortune 500 companies where they have cash to pay a good salary. DONT find a job that you like but FIND a job that you like AND it pays a GOOD MONEY.

Maybe my comments about Huawei are a bit exaggerated but its better to be ready for the corporate world. Companies are not doing charity work. They are trying to make money and the fresh grad is an easy target for them to gain more for what they paid for. Huawei or any companies, in front of u, they will say all the nice words such as “Employees are our precious assets”, but in reality is, they will question whether your salary is justified with the work that u delivered. No hard feelings. Its just business. It’s a cruel world. But I don’t deny that there are some companies who truly value their employees such as companies listed in Fortune 500 such Microsoft, Apply, Google, Cisco etc.

despite the negative aspect of this company, Huawei is a very good place to grow but it is definitely not a good place to stay for a long term basis. And it is still much better than to work in most of the local companies. working in an MNC, u get the chance to hang around with great ppl with great mindset and with vast experience which enables u to grow, not just for your career but to broaden your way of thinking, the way u see things, let u see things differently as compared to other typical ppl. that’s why there is a saying “Your Circle of Friends Influence Who You Become”. so, if u hang with ppl who always play politics, talk c*ck, day dreaming, you will definitely become just like them.

Career in project management is not bad actually. you have the opportunity to grow as Project Mgr, then become Director, after that C-Level etc. I assume you have an idea about your career goals, what u expect to become in 5 years time, 10 years time, etc. Huawei is one of the biggest company in the world, definitely u have the opportunity to gain experience. It is much better if this role have the opportunity to work abroad or collaborate with international peers globally. By looking at the JD, u will handle the project mgmt system, but I am not sure the detail of this role. But normally in Huawei, most of their Project Managers come from a technical background, where they have worked as Engineer doing technical stuff. So, for u to start your career directly in Project Mgmt might give u an extra challenge to equip urself in technical area for career growth. But I might be wrong, but u can give it a try and see what this role has to offer. Learn as much as u can, don’t learn some basic stuff, but gain some unique knowledge where u can use it to boost your career. For example, getting involved in a big project, where time is critical, and so on. Honestly I don’t know much about Project Mgmt team because I joined them as Technical Engineer where in my field of work, there is a huge potential for career growth since it involved working with the latest tech such as 5G and this knowledge is highly in demand in many countries but not in msia because telco have limited opportunity eventhough it is a lucrative business.

why worry about office politics? firstly, what is your goal when joining huawei or any other company? if your aim is to gain bonus, promotion, increment, i guess by playing politics will help u achieve these goals. if your aim is to gather unique knowledge and skills as much as possible so that u can jump to a better company with a better pay, office politics are irrelevant to u. yes, salary is super low for fresh grad, but looking at the bright side, there is an opportunity to gain priceless knowledge which will leverage the money issue. therefore its a win-win situation, the company hired u cheaply and in return, u get to learn something priceless. remember, “DO NOT work hard, but work SMART!” “DO NOT be loyal to the company, BUT be loyal to your CAREER!”

and I suggest u to keep on applying for other jobs at a good company. You are still young. If u haven’t figured out your passion, keep on working in different company until u find the right one. Because passion will drive your career, which in return will reward u with money, promotion, bonus, etc.