Getting Started¶
To get started with srsUE you will require a PC with a GNU/Linux based operating system and an SDR RF front-end. An SDR RF front-end is a generic radio device such as the Ettus Research USRP that connects to your PC and supports transmission and reception of raw radio signals.
If you are using Ubuntu operating system, you can install srsUE from the binary packages provided:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:srslte/releases
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install srsue
If you are using a different distribution, you can install from source using the guide provided in the project’s GitHub page.
After installing the software you can install the configuration files into the default location (~/.config/srsran_4g), by running:
srsran_4g_install_configs.sh user
Running the software¶
To run srsUE with default parameters, run sudo srsue on the command line. srsUE needs to run with sudo admin privileges in order to be able to create high-priority threads and to create a TUN device upon successful network attach. Upon starting, srsUE will attempt to find your RF front-end device and connect to a local cell.
If srsUE successfully attaches to a local network, it will start a TUN interface tun_srsue. The TUN interface can be used as any other network interface on your PC, supporting data traffic to and from the network.
Example console output for a successful network attach:
linux; GNU C++ version 6.3.0 20170618; Boost_106200; UHD_003.009.007-release
Reading configuration file /.config/srsran_4g/ue.conf...
Built in RelWithDebInfo mode using commit 6b2961fce on branch next.
Opening 1 RF devices with 2 RF channels...
Opening USRP with args: type=b200,master_clock_rate=30.72e6
Waiting PHY to initialize ... done!
Attaching UE...
Searching cell in DL EARFCN=2850, f_dl=2630.0 MHz, f_ul=2510.0 MHz
Found Cell: Mode=FDD, PCI=1, PRB=6, Ports=2, CFO=1.3 KHz
Found PLMN: Id=00101, TAC=7
Random Access Transmission: seq=42, ra-rnti=0x2
RRC Connected
Random Access Complete. c-rnti=0x46, ta=0
Network attach successful. IP: 192.168.3.2
With the UE attached to the network, type t in the console to enable the metrics trace. Example metrics trace:
---------Signal-----------|-----------------DL-----------------|-----------UL-----------
rat pci rsrp pl cfo | mcs snr iter brate bler ta_us | mcs buff brate bler
lte 1 -11 11 -1.4u | 0 142 0.0 0.0 0% 0.0 | 0 0.0 0.0 0%
nr 500 1 0 23u | 27 70 1.0 8.5M 0% 0.0 | 28 36k 8.3M 0%
lte 1 -11 11 -1.4u | 0 142 0.0 0.0 0% 0.0 | 0 0.0 0.0 0%
nr 500 1 0 23u | 27 70 1.0 9.2M 0% 0.0 | 28 24k 8.1M 0%
lte 1 -11 11 -1.4u | 0 142 0.0 0.0 0% 0.0 | 0 0.0 0.0 0%
nr 500 2 0 23u | 27 69 1.0 4.6M 0% 0.0 | 28 19k 4.2M 0%
Configuration¶
The UE can be configured through the configuration file: ue.conf. This configuration file provides parameters relating to operating frequencies, transmit power levels, USIM properties, logging levels and much more. To run srsUE with the installed configuration file, use sudo srsue ~/.config/srsran/ue.conf.
All parameters specified in the configuration file can also be overwritten on the command line. For example, to run the UE with a different EARFCN, use sudo srsue ~/.config/srsran_4g/ue.conf --rf.dl_earfcn 3350.
By default, srsUE uses a virtual USIM card, with parameters from ue.conf. These parameters are:
ALGO - the authentication algorithm to use (MILENAGE or XOR)
IMSI - the unique identifier of the USIM
K - the secret key shared with the HSS in the EPC
OP or OPc - the Operator Code (only used with MILENAGE algorithm)
To connect successfully to a network, these parameters will need to match those in the HSS of the EPC. MILENAGE is the algorithm used in most networks, the XOR algorithm is used primarily by test equipment and test USIM cards. OP is the network-wide operator code and OPc is the USIM-specific encrypted operator code - both are supported by srsUE.
Hardware Setup¶
To use srsUE to connect over-the-air to a local network, you will need an RF front-end and suitable antennas. The default EARFCN is 3400 (2565MHz uplink, 2685MHz downlink). To reduce TX-RX crosstalk, we recommend orienting TX and RX antennas at a 90 degree angle to each other.
The srsUE can also be used over a cabled connection. The cable configuration and required RF components will depend upon your RF front-end. For RF front-ends such as the USRP, connect TX to RX and ensure at least 30dB of attenuation to avoid damage to your devices.
For more detailed information about cabled connections, see Advanced Usage.
Operating System Setup¶
The srsUE runs in user-space with standard linux kernels. For best performance, we recommend disabling CPU frequency scaling. To disable frequency scaling use:
echo "performance" | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor
Observing results¶
To observe srsUE results, use the generated log files and packet captures.
Log files are created by default at /tmp/ue.log. The srsUE configuration file can be used to specify log levels for each layer of the network stack and to enable hex message output. Supported log levels are debug, info, warning, error and none.
Log messages take the following format:
Timestamp [Layer ] Level Content
e.g.:
17:52:25.246 [RLC ] Info DRB1 Tx SDU
or with hex message output enabled:
17:52:25.246 [RLC ] Info DRB1 Tx SDU
0000: 8b 45 00 00 c7 f3 8b 40 00 01 11 d1 f6 c0 a8 03
0010: 01 ef ff ff fa 92 55 07 6c 00 b3 ee 41 4d 2d 53
PHY-layer log messages have additional details:
Timestamp [Layer] Level [Subframe] Channel: Content
e.g.:
17:52:26.094 [PHY1] Info [05788] PDSCH: l_crb= 1, harq=0, snr=22.1 dB, CW0: tbs=55, mcs=22, rv=0, crc=OK, it=1, dec_time= 12 us
The srsUE application supports packet capture at two levels - MAC layer and NAS layer. MAC layer captures include both control and data traffic and will be encrypted if configured by the network. NAS layer captures include control traffic only and will not be encrypted. Packet capture (pcap) files can be viewed using Wireshark (www.wireshark.org).
See the explanation here on setting up wireshark to decode pcaps.