2025-02-13
At this point, students would be familiar with fundamental knowledge of cellular networks, including the evolution of mobile technologies, and the basic principles of how these networks operate.
Students should have a basic understanding of RF communication principles, including spectrum usage, signal propagation or modulation techniques.
Students should have the ability to analyze data, using software tools for processing the information and draw meaningful conclusions.
Programming skills previously used, especially languages for data processing and analysis (e.g., Python, or R).
At the end of this assignment, students should be able to
During the course, students have learned everything related to network traffic measurements including tools and different parameters, data analysis and visualization using different techniques, as well as distribution and sampling applications. In addition, it would be beneficial to understand some basic concepts of the new generation of mobile technology, 5G networks, including the parameters that we need to consider in order to test the performance of a 5G network.
Thereby, this assignment consists of the following tasks:
You must answer the following points appropriately:
To collect data from the Aalto 5G network, the setup and initial configuration of the equipment must be carried out. Around the Aalto campus there are several 5G radio bases that are providing service to private users for specific tasks. Since it is a private network, requirements are needed to access it.
In this case, it is necessary to have a cell phone that supports 5G on the right bands and a SIM card with 5G data to be able to carry out the different tests. Since not all students have the above, the DICE department will provide cell phones and SIM to access the Aalto 5G network. However, the available devices are limited, so data collection tasks must be carried out in groups and at specific times that will be reserved in MyCourses.
Once you get your device and SIM you need to follow this steps:
Insert the SIM card into the smartphone.
Ensure that the smartphone is configured to use only 5G networks. You can review in the phone, for example: Settings> Network and Internet > Internet > Aalto 5G setings > Preferred network type > “5G only”.
Mobile Data option must be ON.
Ensure that the Wi-fi is off and that you have access to Internet browsing through mobile data (5G network).
Ensure that the phone has the app “Speedtest by Ookla” installed, or you can find it in the Play Store.
NOTES:
- If you see signal bars on your phone but cannot browse the internet, activate airplane mode, then deactivate it and try again.
- Make sure the phone is in “5G only”.
You need to select 2 locations with 5G coverage to take the measurements. Here is a list of some places where you can find 5G signal. Again, select one location based on the last digit of your student ID and the second one you are free to choise.
| digit | location |
|---|---|
| 0 | Outside Väre building |
| 1 | Undergraduate 2th floor |
| 2 | CS building lobby |
| 3 | CS building parking |
| 4 | Undergraduate center lobby |
| 5 | Design Factory Cafeteria |
| 6 | Factory of the Future |
| 7 | Design Factory lobby |
| 8 | Otakari 4 |
| 9 | Business building |
There are many other places with 5G coverage in addition to those mentioned, so we encourage measures to be taken at various points on campus. Please include areas with different levels of signal strength.
In order to get the measurements with the phone we recommend to use the app “Speedtest by Ookla” or browser app/software that you find suitable for this task. Include in your report why do you think the recommended app is choosen or if you use other apps to get the measurements, justify this choice.
Additionally, “Speedtest by Ookla” app has the option to select the “test server”. Every 10 samples taken, the server must be changed to one that is at an increasingly greater distance. For example, the test can begin with a server that is 10km away, after the first 10 samples, the server must be changed to one that is 50 km away, after 10 more samples the server is changed to one that is 100 km away, and so on.
For each location perform the following measurements:
Once you get all the data, you will have to build a .csv file with it. Consider to take a couple of screenshots of the measurements in the phone to include them in the report.
TIPS:
- You can check the signal strength directly from the phone following the menu Settings > About the phone > SIM Status or Network Status > Signal strength.
Once with data collected, answer the following points, for each location you have selected.
Provide a general statistical analysis including basic statistics such as mean, median, standard deviation, minimum, and maximum for each performance metric.
Plot the Downlink throughput and Uplink throughput over time.
Plot the latency over time.
Generate scatter plots to explore the relationships between metrics, at least you should include:
Other scatter plots relationships are appretiated.
Can you identify any anomalies or patterns in the measurements? Why do you think this happens?
Do you have the same throughput and latencies for both locations? Justify why they are different or similar.
Did changing test servers have any impact on the measurements?
Provide conclusions of the 5G network performance based on the analysis and data retrieved.
Describe your measurement setup (location, time, etc).
Provide answers for the questions above.
Conclusions on 5G network measurements at fixed locations.
This task will allow us to observe the behavior of a 5G network when we are on the move. The setup and initial configuration of the equipment used was the same as in task 2.
The data was collected measuring the network performance between 2
points with a walk-test. The results of this activity can be found in
the 5G_task3.csv file in the
/work/courses/unix/T/ELEC/E7130/general/5g-data directory
(pointed with 5GDATA environment variable after sourcing
the use.sh script).
The parameters that were measured were:
NOTES:
- In the point we take the first measurement the distance is considering to be 0. From that point on, the distance will increase according to how the measurements were taken.
Once you get access to the data, answer the following points:
Plot the Downlink throughput and Uplink throughput over distance.
Plot the latency over time and distance.
Generate scatter plots to explore the relationships between:
Summarize key findings regarding signal stability, throughput consistency, and latency variations observed during the measurements.
Discuss and speculate about the possible position of the 5G antenna and how it impacts the measurements collected.
Provide answers for the questions above.
Conclusions on 5G network measurements while moving.
To pass this course, you need to achieve at least 15 points in this assignment. And if you submit the assignment late, you can get a maximum of 15 points.
You can get up to 30 points for this assignment:
Task 1
Task 2
Description of the measurement setup. (1p)
Provide a basic summary based on basic statistics. (2p)
Provide the different plots. (6p)
Answer 5, 6, 7 and 8 based in your own understanding. (4p)
Task 3
Provide the different plots. (8p)
Answer 4 and 5 based in your own understanding. (4p)
The quality of the report (bonus 2p)
For the assignment, your submission must contain (Please don’t contain original data in your submission):
Regarding the report, your report must have: