Seamless Dynamic Runtime Reconfiguration in a Software-Defined Radio

• NCJ Number: 305486
• Journal: Journal of Signal Processing Systems Volume: 69 Dated: Dec 2011 Pages: 87-94
• Author(s): M. Dickens; J. N. Laneman; B. P. Dunn
• Date Published: December 2011
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2006-IJ-CX-K034
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Award: Software-Defined Radio Technologies for Justice and Public Safety Communications

Annotation

The authors discuss implementation aspects of a software-defined radio system that allows for dynamic waveform reconfiguration during runtime without interrupting data-flow processing.

Abstract

Traditional software-defined radio systems execute a waveform statically, exactly as it is programmed. Reconfiguration is provided by executing a different waveform, which requires the system to stop processing data while reconfiguration occurs, and also may incur an unacceptable delay for some applications. Recent research has demonstrated basic reconfiguration by programming multiple branches into a waveform and dynamically switching between branches. This technique requires redundant resources and in general cannot be expanded to encompass all possible waveforms of interest, but, if implemented carefully, could be made to seamlessly process data. The authors propose a system that allows for dynamic insertion and removal of entire waveforms, individual constituent blocks, and block algorithm implementations tailored to specific processors. Their system performs this reconfiguration while maintaining processing state, seamlessly without interrupting data-processing, and with only the resources necessary for the given waveform and processors. In order to leverage this new level of reconfigurability, the authors created a new system component: a supervisor. This system supervisor monitors the state of each processor and waveform execution, and moves computations among available processors as their loads, capabilities, and block algorithm implementations allow. An example using a simple supervisor is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the authors’ system. (Publisher abstract provided)