Software Defined Radio Important Principles

The basic concept of the SDR software radio is that the radio can be totally configured or defined by the software so that a common platform can be used across a number of areas and the software used to change the configuration of the radio for the function required at a given time. There is also the possibility that it can then be re-configured as upgrades to standards arrive, or if it is required to meet another role, or if the scope of its operation is changed. Many definitions have appeared that might cover a definition for a software defined radio, SDR. The SDR Forum themselves have defined the two main types of radio containing software in the following fashion:

Software Controlled Radio: Radio in which some or all of the physical layer functions are Software Controlled. In other words this type of radio only uses software to provide control of the various functions that are fixed within the radio. Software Defined Radio: Radio in which some or all of the physical layer functions are Software Defined. In other words, the software is used to determine the specification of the radio and what it does. If the software within the radio is changed, its performance and function may change. #

Support for the network:

Radios, like computer networks generally have a full protocol stack running from the physical layer to the application. The ISO standard defines seven layers for protocol. Other stack models combine some of these layers resulting in a four layer model. Of these layers, only the physical and MAC layers are intimately designed and specific to radio/wireless protocols. Higher layers frequently follows protocols that have been developed for the wired world including internet protocols (IP), or telephony protocols (SS7, for example). Many layers of optimization have gone into these wired network layer protocols, re-optimizing them for wireless networks is the current research topic. Cognitive radios operate on the principle that by measuring the performance metrics of each layer, those layers and other layers can be optimized. However, the physical layer and MAC layers are very specific to radio/wireless applications and optimization of these layers as a real time activity based on measurements of local spectrum is the dominant part of Cognitive radio research and design at this time.