5G RAN VMIMO for DAS-based Indoor

Coverage

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 Disclaimers

This training document is used for technical exchanges only. Information

in this document does not constitute any offer, commitment,
representation, or warranty of any kind.

General statements: This training document is intended only for Huawei engineers. For communication
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Change History

Version Description Date Owner

1.2 Added 2T VMIMO in RAN6.1. 2021-12-12 Liu Baowei

Enabled 2T/4T VMIMO to work with Cell Combination

1.3 2022-05-19 Zheng Yicheng
and Hyper Cell in RAN7.0.

No change in RAN7.1

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Contents

1. Feature Information

2. Solution Introducation

3. Impact Analysis

4. User Guide

5. Activation Verification

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1. Feature Information E Enhanced
N New

Version Feature Name Change Type Remarks

5G RAN6.1 VMIMO E 2T VMIMO is supported.

2T/4T VMIMO can work with Cell

5G RAN7.0 VMIMO E Combination and Hyper Cell in scenarios
such as subway tunnels.

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2. Solution Introducation – Why
Under DAS-based indoor coverage provided by a macro base station, if adjacent floors of a building are covered by
different cells, interference is generated between them, affecting user experience. To mitigate interference and improve
user experience, virtual VMIMO is introduced. Currently, this function applies to the following scenarios:
• Dual-channel scenarios: The figure on the left shows the networking architecture, where a VMIMO 4T4R cell is served
by combined 2T2R RRUs and a UE is located in the overlapping area of two 2T2R cells.
• Single-channel scenarios: The figure on the right shows the networking architecture, where a VMIMO 2T2R cell is
served by a 2T2R RRU and a UE is located in the overlapping area of two 1T1R cells.

1st floor 1st floor

2T2R cell 1T1R cell

2nd floor 2nd floor

2T2R cell 1T1R cell

VMIMO 2T2R cell

VMIMO 4T4R cell

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2. Solution Introducation – Why
After VMIMO is enabled, the gNodeB
2T2R/1T1R cell 2T2R/1T1R cell
checks whether a UE is in the overlapping
area based on the SRS RSRP difference Before
between two TRPs. reconstruction

• In the overlapping area, a maximum of

rank 4 is supported in downlink 4T mode
and a maximum of rank 2 is supported in
downlink 2T mode, improving SU VMIMO 4T4R/2T2R cell

performance.
After
• In a non-overlapping area, a maximum of reconstruction

rank 2 is supported in downlink 4T mode

and a maximum of rank 1 is supported in
downlink 2T mode, allowing MU pairing. SU-MIMO (multi-layer MU-MIMO (spatial
data transmission for multiplexing for
(MU pairing is not supported in cell a single UE) multiple UEs)
combination scenarios)

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2. Solution Introducation – Why (for Subway Tunnel Coverage)
• Unlike traditional DAS-based indoor coverage, subway tunnel coverage is generally provided by using leaky cables as the external antennas of
RRUs to better adapt to narrow and long areas. When dual leaky cables are used, 2T2R RRUs are usually connected to these cables through
POIs to provide a maximum of two layers in the downlink, as shown in the first figure.
• To improve user experience in overlapping areas, a maximum of four layers can be provided using dual leaky cables after reconstruction, as
shown in the second figure.
Leaky cable
• In dual-leaky-cable four-layer networking, 2T2R RRUs are
combined to serve a VMIMO cell, providing a maximum of
three to four layers in overlapping areas and a maximum of two
Before
layers in non-overlapping areas. For the principles of VMIMO reconstruction
in this networking mode, see the preceding slide.
• Typical networking modes are Cell Combination and Joint
Transmission Cell Combination. For details, see Cell Leaky cable
Combination.
• When VMIMO is enabled together with Joint Transmission Cell
Combination, a maximum of three or four layers can be
After
provided in inter-TRP overlapping areas. When VMIMO is reconstruction
enabled together with Cell Combination, only a maximum of
two layers can be provided in inter-TRP overlapping areas as
TRPs do not perform joint transmission.

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3. Impact Analysis – Positive Impacts

• This function is recommended when the total PRB usage of common cells to be
combined is less than or equal to 90%.
• After this function is enabled, the average uplink throughput of UEs in the overlapping
area increases by up to 10% for 4T and up to 20% for 2T, and the average downlink
throughput increases by up to 20% for 4T and up to 30% for 2T. The specific gains
depend on factors such as the number of UEs in the overlapping area, SRS RSRP
differences between the two TRPs, traffic model, network load, and interference.
Note:
• In DAS-based indoor coverage scenarios, a certain number of UEs whose floor
penetration loss is less than 15 dB are required in overlapping areas to obtain gains.
• In subway tunnels, it is recommended that the inter-RRU distance be less than 500 m
and the coverage edge SSB RSRP be greater than or equal to –80 dBm.

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3. Impact Analysis – Negative Impacts

• If the cells are independent cells before the combination, the PRB resource loss is
50% after the combination.
• If the total PRB usage of common cells before the combination is greater than 90%,
PRB resources are limited after the combination. This may lead to negative impacts,
decreasing the average UE throughput and average cell throughput. The specific
impacts depend on factors such as the UE distribution and traffic model before the
combination.
• If the cell TX/RX mode is changed from 2T2R to 4T4R or from 1T1R to 2T2R, the SSB
beam overhead increases and the resource loss is about 1% to 2% under the default
configuration.

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Restriction and Dependency
1. License requirements
 None
2. Hardware requirements
 RRU
 All NR-capable 2T2R RRUs (excluding Book RRUs) support this function.
 The 2T2R RRUs combined to set up a 4T4R cell must be of the same model.
 The two RRUs can connect to the same BBP or different BBPs in a BBU, but cannot connect
to different BBUs.
 The difference between BBU-RRU optical fibers cannot exceed 2 km.
 BBP: UBBPg
3. UE requirements
 None

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Restriction and Dependency (Cont.)
4. Mutually Exclusive Features
DAS-based VMIMO is mutually exclusive with the following features:
 FOFD-030204 DL CoMP
 FOFD-031205 RF Channel Intelligent Shutdown
 FOFD-030208 Remote Interference Management
 MRFD-131263 LTE FDD and NR Uplink Spectrum Sharing
 LTE and NR intra-frequency networking performance improvement

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4. User Guide (Activation)
1. Configure a 4T4R cell served by combined 2T2R RRUs. (N/A for 2T2R VMIMO)

Note: In reconstruction scenarios, remove existing 2T2R cells, sectors, and sector equipment, and then add
4T4R sectors, sector equipment, and cells.

//Adding a sector
ADD SECTOR: SECTORID=0, ANTNUM=4, ANT1CN=0, ANT1SRN=60, ANT1SN=0, ANT1N=R0A, ANT2CN=0,
ANT2SRN=60, ANT2SN=0, ANT2N=R0B, ANT3CN=0, ANT3SRN=61, ANT3SN=0, ANT3N=R0A, ANT4CN=0,
ANT4SRN=61, ANT4SN=0, ANT4N=R0B, CREATESECTOREQM=FALSE;

//Adding sector equipment

ADD SECTOREQM: SECTOREQMID=0, SECTORID=0, ANTCFGMODE=ANTENNAPORT, ANTNUM=4,
ANT1CN=0, ANT1SRN=60, ANT1SN=0, ANT1N=R0A, ANTTYPE1=RXTX_MODE, ANT2CN=0, ANT2SRN=60,
ANT2SN=0, ANT2N=R0B, ANTTYPE2=RXTX_MODE, ANT3CN=0, ANT3SRN=61, ANT3SN=0, ANT3N=R0A,
ANTTYPE3=RXTX_MODE, ANT4CN=0, ANT4SRN=61, ANT4SN=0, ANT4N=R0B, ANTTYPE4=RXTX_MODE;

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4. User Guide (Activation)
2. Enable VMIMO.

//Enabling 4T VMIMOMOD NRDUCELLALGOSWITCH: NrDuCellId=0, VmimoSwitch=ON;

MOD NRDUCELLCSIRS: NrDuCellId=0, JtUeCsirsMeasThld=15;

MOD NRDUCELLPDSCH: NrDuCellId=0, VmimoDlJtSchThld=20;
MOD NRDUCELLPUSCH: NrDuCellId=0, VmimoUlJtSchThld=20;

//Enabling 2T VMIMO
MOD NRDUCELLALGOSWITCH: NrDuCellId=0, VmimoSwitch=ON;
MOD NRDUCELLCSIRS: NrDuCellId=0, JtUeCsirsMeasThld=20;
MOD NRDUCELLPDSCH: NrDuCellId=0, VmimoDlJtSchThld=25;
MOD NRDUCELLPUSCH: NrDuCellId=0, VmimoUlJtSchThld=25;

//Enabling uplink and downlink SU-MIMO (enabled by default)

MOD NRDUCELLALGOSWITCH: NrDuCellId=0, SuMimoMultipleLayerSw=UL_SU_MULTI_LAYER_SW-
1&DL_SU_MULTI_LAYER_SW-1;

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4. User Guide (Deactivation)
//Disabling VMIMO
MOD NRDUCELLALGOSWITCH: NrDuCellId=0, VmimoSwitch=OFF;

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 For internal use only
4. User Guide (Precautions)
To activate DAS-based indoor cells, the following parameters must be set for outdoor cells served by a macro
base station. Otherwise, interference occurs, affecting the cell rate.
1. The number of SSBs of a DAS-based indoor cell is different from that of an outdoor cell served by a
macro base station. The slots for sending SSBs need to be aligned.
Solution (recommended): Enable SSB puncturing optimization for the DAS-based indoor cell.
MOD NRDUCELLALGOSWITCH: NrDuCellId=0, CommChnIntrfAvoidSwitch=SSB_INTRF_AVOID_SW-1;

2. CSI of indoor and outdoor cells

Solution (recommended): Set the CSI-RS Interference Static Avoid Switch.
MOD NRDUCELLCSIRS: NrDuCellId=2, CsiSwitch=CSIRS_INTRF_STATIC_AVOID_SW-1;

3. The TRS period of a DAS-based indoor cell is the same as that of an outdoor cell served by a macro
base station. MS20 is recommended for commercial use.
MOD NRDUCELLCSIRS: NrDuCellId=x, TrsPeriod=MS20;

4. The SIB1 period of a DAS-based indoor cell is the same as that of an outdoor cell served by a macro
base station. MS20 is recommended for commercial use.
MOD NRDUCELL: NrDuCellId=x, Sib1Period=MS20;

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5. Activation Verification

1. On the MAE-Access, choose Monitor > Signaling Trace > Signaling Trace Management.
2. In the navigation tree on the left of the Signaling Trace Management tab page, choose NR > Application
Layer > Uu Interface Trace.
3. If the RRC_RECFG > csi-MeasConfig > CSI-ReportConfig IE includes an aperiodic field (indicating aperiodic
CSI reporting), VMIMO for DAS-based indoor coverage has taken effect.

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