francesco basile gaetano mendola

What we have doneWhen it was doneHow it was done

Thoughts about the future

Francesco BasileGaetano Mendola

[email protected] - [email protected] - www.mbigroup.it

GPU Technology Conference, San Jose, CA — May 17, 2012

F. Basile - G. Mendola (MBI) Satellite Hub Communication System GPU Based GPU Tech - May 17, 2012 1 / 35

http://www.mbigroup.it

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.gputechconf.com/page/home.html



Preamble: GPU meets telecommunications

As you know this conference does not cover “telecommunications”topics, this is a “general interest” talk, as a consequence we willtry to provide a wide introduction to the topic and not to get tooinvolved in the implementation details.

Obviously we hope to see a telecommunications section at the next GTC!

The aim of this talk is to show how the availability ofGPUs devoted to general-purpose computing creates newopportunities for the use of general-purpose hardware intelecommunications.




Preamble: the company

MBI is an Italian SME located in Pisa. Our corebusiness is:

Business intelligence (data mining &optimization)

Software on low power and custom computersfor specific use (set-top-box, automotive ...)

Satellite ground networks

Software for telecommunications servers




Preamble

The work presented here has been developed in closecollaboration with Eutelsat S.A.


http://www.eutelsat.org




Outline1. What we have done

Our work in 5 wordsBackground of the technology (MSS, M2M, S-MIM, SDR, GPU)Our work in 5 words, again: the S-MIM protocol satellite hub

2. When it was done3. How it was done

GPU: Why it fits our project?GPU: it may be used, but why we did?Hub software structure

4. Thoughts about the futurePerspectivesHopesSummary






2. When it was done

3. How it was doneGPU: Why it fits our project?GPU: it may be used, but why we did?Hub software structure







2. When it was done3. How it was done







What have we done?





Explaining our work in 5 wordsWe have developed an S-MIM demodulator in SDR using GPUs to beemployed in an MSS communications mainly in an M2M scenario.

It sounds somehow obscure...

In the first part of this talk we will provide the dictionary needed tounderstand the previous phrase (MSS, M2M, S-MIM and SDR, no needto explain GPU!) trying to focus the attention on the main innovations inthe project.

Note: In the rest of talk terms to be explained later in detail will bemarked by the symbol ; terms that would be better to explain, but,will not explained, will be marked by the symbol





Explaining our work in 5 words

We have developed an S-MIM demodulator in SDR using GPUs to beemployed in an MSS communications mainly in an M2M scenario.

Even before explaining the meaning of all the words above we can saythat we have shown that GPU may be used in telecommunicationssuper-computing, instead of the traditional FPGA-based solutions.





Background of the technology: MSS





MSS = Mobile-Satellite-System

Communication to and from mobile terminals through a satellite link.

Is this the first time it has been done? Definitely not.Different MSS protocols already up and running used by several satellite operators: ICO,Immarsat, Terrestar, SkyTerra, Thuraya, Aces, GlobalStarr, Orbcomm, Iridium...

Most of these services have been created for human communication, the solution wehave worked on is a M2M system.

Most of these services are based on low-earth-orbit satellite fleets, the solution wehave worked on uses a single geostationary satellite.

Most of these services have been designed for a limited number of users, the solution wehave worked on has been designed for much higher numbers.





Satellite orbits: LEO and GEOSatellites are divided into two sets (more or less), accordingto their orbit: LEO and GEO






LEO (low-earth-orbit)

< 2000 km (1200 miles) altitude (lesstransmission power needed)

orbital period < 2h

no regional coverage possible: onesatellite fleet

single satellite is lower in price, but awhole fleet is needed

coverage of the two poles






GEO (geostationary orbit)

36000 km (22000 miles) altitude

they may be used with satellite antenna

extremely expensive (much moreexpensive rockets, need for biggerantenna)

only one satellite is needed to cover hugeareas (one for US or for Europe)14 sec delay (light-speed round-trip)

During the last 10 years large (>10m)deployable antennas have been developed forGEO satellites





Background of the technology: M2M





M2M = Machine-to-machine, examples

Direct communications between two devices (not involving humans)

remote monitoringautomatic food dispenserweather stationsbuoysenvironmental monitoringwind generatorssolar panelsmeasuring traffic

vehicleproblem diagnosisautomatic emergency callspay as you drivefleet managementtrailer tracking

etc...





M2M = Machine-to-machine

Main features and drawbacks (usually):

no communication-delay issue

usually small amount of data

the machine transmits something but is the human who pays the bill

huge amount of terminals transmitting just few Kb per day

extreme elasticity of the demand in the market model

How to make the M2M transmission profitable? Efficient use of frequencies, terminals withcommercial hardware, low power consumption (small batteries), low cost clocks, smallpreferably omnidirectional antennas (pointing a satellite dish costs money)





M2M = Machine-to-machineMain features and drawbacks (usually):

no communication-delay issue → geostationary satellite can be used

usually small amount of data → no DAMA , it would create huge overheads (=$)

the machine transmits something but is the human who pays the bill → low costtransmission preferred

huge amount of terminals transmitting just few Kb per day → need for low costtransmitting terminals

extreme elasticity of the demand in the market model → need for even lower pricedterminals and transmissions!

How to make the M2M transmission profitable? Efficient use of frequencies, terminals withcommercial hardware, low power consumption (small batteries), low cost clocks, smallpreferably omnidirectional antennas (pointing a satellite dish costs money)





Excursus on DAMADemand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA) is a reservationbased system suited to bulkier data transmission needs (e.g.voice). It is the most commonly used transmission method.The underlying idea is the same as in the telephoneexchange:

connection

identification

allocation of a resource for exclusive use

It is fast and reliable but it requires bidirectionaltransmissions and introduces overheads for theidentification and allocation.

S-MIM is based on a pure Random Access: transmissionstarts when needed. This approach is also called pureasynchronous access. It is more efficient for small packets.





Background of the technology: S-MIM





S-MIM = S-band Mobile Interactive Multimedia

It is a new protocol (standard ETSI 102 721)of the E-SSA family invented by ESA(European Space Agency) in 2008 whichmeets the requirements listed in the previousslide. S-MIM has been designed for a MSScommunications mainly in an M2M scenariowith geostationary satellites.

In 2009 Eutelsat S.A. launched Eutelsat10A,a satellite with a payload equipped with a 12meter (40 feet) antenna to be used forS-MIM transmissions.

Several companies are working on developingthe technologies needed for S-MIMcommunications.Among these companies we have closelycollaborated during the implementation with:


http://www.esa.int




S-MIM

high band efficiency (∼1.9 bit/sec/Hz) with low packet loss ratio (< 10−4)

noise resistant

random access, no need for DAMA

small packets (150 bytes)

many simultaneous packets (∼6000 pck/s)

small omni-directional antenna (portable devices or vehicles)

supports simultaneous transmissions of packets with wide transmission power spectrum(the strongest may be 1000 times stronger than the weakest)

innovative use of interference cancellation

huge complexity of the receiver (>170 Gb/s data to be processed)

The last two bullet points suggest why we have adopted a GPU solution





S-MIM: the Interference CancellationAll the terminals share the same resources:simultaneous packets on the same frequencies.

It looks a mess.

The IC idea is to start from the mostreadable signals. Read them, reconstructand cancel.

If a word is corrupted I look it up in thedictionary, I guess and I see whether it makessense.

Now other signals may be read. And now:read them, reconstruct and cancel ...and soon... ...and so on... ...and so on...

...till the bottom of the barrel (hopefully)

That

broughtthe

fogand

mist.

The

nal

lav

erre

d,I

had

kille

dth

ebi

rd

Theglor

ious Sunupris

t :Nor dim

nor red, like God’s own head,

That made the breeze toblow

!

Ahwretch

!said

they,thebird

toslay,

That made the breeze to blow.

For all averred, I hadkilled

thebird

Anditwouldwork’emwoe:

And

Ihad

donean

hellishthing,

Cam

eto

them

ariners’hollo

!

Nor

any

day

for

food

orpl

ay

But

nosw

eet

bird

did

follo

w,

Andthegoodsouth

windstillb

lewbehind,

Wen

tdo

wn

into

the

sea.

Stillhidinmist,and

ontheleft

Out of the sea came he,

The

Sun

nowrose

upon

theright

: I shot

the

ALB

ATRO

SS.

Why

look’stthou

so?’–W

ithm

ycross-bow

From

the

fiend

s,th

atpl

ague

thee

thus

!–

’Go

dsave

thee,ancient

Mariner!

Glimm

eredthe

whiteM

oon-shine.’

Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white,

Itperchedforvespersnine;In

mist

orcloud,on

mast

orshroud,

Came to the Mariner hollo !

And

everyday,

forfood

orplay,

The Albatross did follow,

And

agood

southw

indsprung

upbehind

;

The

helm

sman

stee

red

usth

rough

!

The

icedid

splitw

itha

thunder-fit

;

And

roun

dan

dro

und

itfle

w.

Itatethefooditne’erhadeat,

We

haile

dit

inG

od’s

nam

e.

As

ifit

had

been

aC

hris

tian

soul

,

Thorough

thefog

itcam

e;

AtlengthdidcrossanAlbatross,

Likenoises

ina

swound

!

Itcracked

andgrow

led,androared

andhow

led,T

he

ice

was

all

arou

nd

:

Th

eic

ew

ash

ere,

the

ice

was

ther

e,

The

icew

asallbetw

een.

Nor

shapesof

men

norbeasts

we

ken–

Did

send

adism

alsheen:

Andthroughthedriftsthesnowyclifts

Asgreenasemerald.

And ice, mast-high, came floating by,

And

itgrew

wondrous

cold:

Andnow

there

cameboth

mistand

snow,

Theso

uthwar

day

ewe

fled.

Theshipdrovefast,loudroaredtheblast,

And

forwardbends

hishead,

Stilltreadstheshadowofhisfoe,

As

who

pursuedw

ithyelland

blowWith sloping masts and dipping prow,

An

dch

asedu

sso

uth

alon

g.

Hest

ruck

withhis

o’erta

king

wings,

Was

tyrann

ou

san

dstro

ng

:

’And

nowth

eSTO

RM-B

LASTca

me,

andhe

May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Th

eg

uests

arem

et,th

efea

stis

set:

And

I amnext

ofkin

;

TheBridegroom

’s doors areopened

wide,Now

whereforestopp’stthoum

e?

’By

thylong

beardand

glitteringeye,

And he stoppeth one of three.

Itisa

nanci

entMarin

er,

For

hehe

ard

the

loud

bass

oon.

The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast,

Till

over

the

mas

tat

noon

–’

Higher

andhigher

everyday,

Went

downinto

thesea.

Andhe

shonebright,and

onthe

right

Outoftheseacamehe!

The

Sunca

me

upupon

the

left,

Belowthelighthousetop.

Belowthe kirk, below

the hill,

Mer

rily

did

we

drop

’The

ship

was

chee

red,

the

harb

our

clea

red,

Thebright-eyedMariner.

Andthusspakeonthatancientman,

He

cann

otch

oose

but

hear

;

The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone :

TheMarinerhathhiswill.

Andlistenslikeathreeyears’

child:

The

Wedding-G

ueststood

still,

He

hold

shi

mw

ith

his

glit

teri

ngey

e–

Eftsoons his hand dropt he.

’Hold off ! unhand me, grey-beard loon !’

’There

was

aship,’

quothhe.

He holds him with his skinny hand,

May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Theguestsare

met,the

feastisset:

AndIamnex

tofkin;

TheBridegroom’sdoorsareopenedwide,

Now

wherefore

stopp’stthou

me

?

’By thy long beard and glittering eye,

Andhe

stoppet

hone

ofthre

e.

It is an ancient Mariner,






It looks a mess.



Now other signals may be read. And now:read them, reconstruct and cancel

...and soon... ...and so on... ...and so on...


That

broughtthe

fogand

mist.

The

nal

lav

erre

d,I

had

kille

dth

ebi

rd

Theglor

ious Sunupris

t :Nor dim



!

Ahwretch

!said

they,thebird

toslay,



thebird


And

Ihad

donean

hellishthing,

Cam

eto

them

ariners’hollo

!

Nor

any

day

for

food

orpl

ay

But

nosw

eet

bird

did

follo

w,

Andthegoodsouth

windstillb

lewbehind,

Wen

tdo

wn

into

the

sea.

Stillhidinmist,and

ontheleft


The

Sun

nowrose

upon

theright

: I shot

the

ALB

ATRO

SS.

Why

look’stthou

so?’–W

ithm

ycross-bow

From

the

fiend

s,th

atpl

ague

thee

thus

!–

’Go

dsave

thee,ancient

Mariner!

Glimm

eredthe

whiteM

oon-shine.’


Itperchedforvespersnine;In

mist

orcloud,on

mast

orshroud,


And

everyday,

forfood

orplay,


And

agood

southw

indsprung

upbehind

;

The

helm

sman

stee

red

usth

rough

!

The

icedid

splitw

itha

thunder-fit

;

And

roun

dan

dro

und

itfle

w.


We

haile

dit

inG

od’s

nam

e.

As

ifit

had

been

aC

hris

tian

soul

,

Thorough

thefog

itcam

e;


Likenoises

ina

swound

!

Itcracked

andgrow

led,androared

andhow

led,T

he

ice

was

all

arou

nd

:

Th

eic

ew

ash

ere,

the

ice

was

ther

e,

The

icew

asallbetw

een.

Nor

shapesof

men

norbeasts

we

ken–

Did

send

adism

alsheen:


Asgreenasemerald.


And

itgrew

wondrous

cold:

Andnow

there

cameboth

mistand

snow,

Theso

uthwar

day

ewe

fled.


And

forwardbends

hishead,


As

who

pursuedw

ithyelland


An

dch

asedu

sso

uth

alon

g.

Hest

ruck

withhis

o’erta

king

wings,

Was

tyrann

ou

san

dstro

ng

:

’And

nowth

eSTO

RM-B

LASTca

me,

andhe

May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Th

eg

uests

arem

et,th

efea

stis

set:

And

I amnext

ofkin

;

TheBridegroom


wide,

Nowwhereforestopp’stthou

me?

’By

thylong

beardand

glitteringeye,


Itisa

nanci

entMarin

er,

For

hehe

ard

the

loud

bass

oon.


Till

over

the

mas

tat

noon

–’

Higher

andhigher

everyday,

Went

downinto

thesea.

Andhe

shonebright,and

onthe

right

Outoftheseacamehe!

The

Sunca

me

upupon

the

left,



the hill,

Mer

rily

did

we

drop

’The

ship

was

chee

red,

the

harb

our

clea

red,



He

cann

otch

oose

but

hear

;




child:

The

Wedding-G

ueststood

still,

He

hold

shi

mw

ith

his

glit

teri

ngey

e–



’There

was

aship,’

quothhe.


May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Theguestsare

met,the

feastisset:

AndIamnex

tofkin;


Now

wherefore

stopp’stthou

me

?


Andhe

stoppet

hone

ofthre

e.







It looks a mess.



Now other signals may be read. And now:read them, reconstruct and cancel ...and soon...

...and so on... ...and so on...


That

broughtthe

fogand

mist.

The

nal

lav

erre

d,I

had

kille

dth

ebi

rd

Theglor

ious Sunupris

t :Nor dim



!

Ahwretch

!said

they,thebird

toslay,



thebird


And

Ihad

donean

hellishthing,

Cam

eto

them

ariners’hollo

!

Nor

any

day

for

food

orpl

ay

But

nosw

eet

bird

did

follo

w,

Andthegoodsouth

windstillb

lewbehind,

Wen

tdo

wn

into

the

sea.

Stillhidinmist,and

ontheleft


The

Sun

nowrose

upon

theright

: I shot

the

ALB

ATRO

SS.

Why

look’stthou

so?’–W

ithm

ycross-bow

From

the

fiend

s,th

atpl

ague

thee

thus

!–

’Go

dsave

thee,ancient

Mariner!

Glimm

eredthe

whiteM

oon-shine.’


Itperchedforvespersnine;

Inm

istor

cloud,onm

astor

shroud,


And

everyday,

forfood

orplay,


And

agood

southw

indsprung

upbehind

;

The

helm

sman

stee

red

usth

rough

!

The

icedid

splitw

itha

thunder-fit

;

And

roun

dan

dro

und

itfle

w.


We

haile

dit

inG

od’s

nam

e.

As

ifit

had

been

aC

hris

tian

soul

,

Thorough

thefog

itcam

e;


Likenoises

ina

swound

!

Itcracked

andgrow

led,androared

andhow

led,

Th

eic

ew

asal

lar

oun

d:

Th

eic

ew

ash

ere,

the

ice

was

ther

e,

The

icew

asallbetw

een.

Nor

shapesof

men

norbeasts

we

ken–

Did

send

adism

alsheen:


Asgreenasemerald.


And

itgrew

wondrous

cold:

Andnow

there

cameboth

mistand

snow,

Theso

uthwar

day

ewe

fled.


And

forwardbends

hishead,


As

who

pursuedw

ithyelland

blow

With sloping masts and dipping prow,

An

dch

asedu

sso

uth

alon

g.

Hest

ruck

withhis

o’erta

king

wings,

Was

tyrann

ou

san

dstro

ng

:

’And

nowth

eSTO

RM-B

LASTca

me,

andhe

May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Th

eg

uests

arem

et,th

efea

stis

set:

And

I amnext

ofkin

;

TheBridegroom


wide,


me?

’By

thylong

beardand

glitteringeye,


Itisa

nanci

entMarin

er,

For

hehe

ard

the

loud

bass

oon.


Till

over

the

mas

tat

noon

–’

Higher

andhigher

everyday,

Went

downinto

thesea.

Andhe

shonebright,and

onthe

right

Outoftheseacamehe!

The

Sunca

me

upupon

the

left,



the hill,

Mer

rily

did

we

drop

’The

ship

was

chee

red,

the

harb

our

clea

red,



He

cann

otch

oose

but

hear

;




child:

The

Wedding-G

ueststood

still,

He

hold

shi

mw

ith

his

glit

teri

ngey

e–



’There

was

aship,’

quothhe.


May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Theguestsare

met,the

feastisset:

AndIamnex

tofkin;


Now

wherefore

stopp’stthou

me

?


Andhe

stoppet

hone

ofthre

e.







It looks a mess.



Now other signals may be read. And now:read them, reconstruct and cancel ...and soon... ...and so on...

...and so on...


That

broughtthe

fogand

mist.

The

nal

lav

erre

d,I

had

kille

dth

ebi

rd

Theglor

ious Sunupris

t :Nor dim



!

Ahwretch

!said

they,thebird

toslay,



thebird


And

Ihad

donean

hellishthing,

Cam

eto

them

ariners’hollo

!

Nor

any

day

for

food

orpl

ay

But

nosw

eet

bird

did

follo

w,

Andthegoodsouth

windstillb

lewbehind,

Wen

tdo

wn

into

the

sea.

Stillhidinmist,and

ontheleft


The

Sun

nowrose

upon

theright

:

I shot

the

ALB

ATRO

SS.

Why

look’stthou

so?’–W

ithm

ycross-bow

From

the

fiend

s,th

atpl

ague

thee

thus

!–

’Go

dsave

thee,ancient

Mariner!

Glimm

eredthe

whiteM

oon-shine.’



Inm

istor

cloud,onm

astor

shroud,


And

everyday,

forfood

orplay,


And

agood

southw

indsprung

upbehind

;

The

helm

sman

stee

red

usth

rough

!

The

icedid

splitw

itha

thunder-fit

;

And

roun

dan

dro

und

itfle

w.


We

haile

dit

inG

od’s

nam

e.

As

ifit

had

been

aC

hris

tian

soul

,

Thorough

thefog

itcam

e;


Likenoises

ina

swound

!

Itcracked

andgrow

led,androared

andhow

led,

Th

eic

ew

asal

lar

oun

d:

Th

eic

ew

ash

ere,

the

ice

was

ther

e,

The

icew

asallbetw

een.

Nor

shapesof

men

norbeasts

we

ken–

Did

send

adism

alsheen:


Asgreenasemerald.


And

itgrew

wondrous

cold:

Andnow

there

cameboth

mistand

snow,

Theso

uthwar

day

ewe

fled.


And

forwardbends

hishead,


As

who

pursuedw

ithyelland

blow

With sloping masts and dipping prow,

An

dch

asedu

sso

uth

alon

g.

Hest

ruck

withhis

o’erta

king

wings,

Was

tyrann

ou

san

dstro

ng

:

’And

nowth

eSTO

RM-B

LASTca

me,

andhe

May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Th

eg

uests

arem

et,th

efea

stis

set:

And

I amnext

ofkin

;

TheBridegroom


wide,


me?

’By

thylong

beardand

glitteringeye,


Itisa

nanci

entMarin

er,

For

hehe

ard

the

loud

bass

oon.


Till

over

the

mas

tat

noon

–’

Higher

andhigher

everyday,

Went

downinto

thesea.

Andhe

shonebright,and

onthe

right

Outoftheseacamehe!

The

Sunca

me

upupon

the

left,



the hill,

Mer

rily

did

we

drop

’The

ship

was

chee

red,

the

harb

our

clea

red,



He

cann

otch

oose

but

hear

;




child:

The

Wedding-G

ueststood

still,

He

hold

shi

mw

ith

his

glit

teri

ngey

e–



’There

was

aship,’

quothhe.


May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Theguestsare

met,the

feastisset:

AndIamnex

tofkin;


Now

wherefore

stopp’stthou

me

?


Andhe

stoppet

hone

ofthre

e.







It looks a mess.





That

broughtthe

fogand

mist.

The

nal

lav

erre

d,I

had

kille

dth

ebi

rd

Theglor

ious Sunupris

t :Nor dim



!

Ahwretch

!said

they,thebird

toslay,



thebird


And

Ihad

donean

hellishthing,

Cam

eto

them

ariners’hollo

!

Nor

any

day

for

food

orpl

ay

But

nosw

eet

bird

did

follo

w,

Andthegoodsouth

windstillb

lewbehind,

Wen

tdo

wn

into

the

sea.

Stillhidinmist,and

ontheleft


The

Sun

nowrose

upon

theright

:

I shot

the

ALB

ATRO

SS.

Why

look’stthou

so?’–W

ithm

ycross-bow

From

the

fiend

s,th

atpl

ague

thee

thus

!–

’Go

dsave

thee,ancient

Mariner!

Glimm

eredthe

whiteM

oon-shine.’



Inm

istor

cloud,onm

astor

shroud,


And

everyday,

forfood

orplay,


And

agood

southw

indsprung

upbehind

;

The

helm

sman

stee

red

usth

rough

!

The

icedid

splitw

itha

thunder-fit

;

And

roun

dan

dro

und

itfle

w.


We

haile

dit

inG

od’s

nam

e.

As

ifit

had

been

aC

hris

tian

soul

,

Thorough

thefog

itcam

e;


Likenoises

ina

swound

!

Itcracked

andgrow

led,androared

andhow

led,

Th

eic

ew

asal

lar

oun

d:

Th

eic

ew

ash

ere,

the

ice

was

ther

e,

The

icew

asallbetw

een.

Nor

shapesof

men

norbeasts

we

ken–

Did

send

adism

alsheen:


Asgreenasemerald.


And

itgrew

wondrous

cold:

Andnow

there

cameboth

mistand

snow,

Theso

uthwar

day

ewe

fled.


And

forwardbends

hishead,


As

who

pursuedw

ithyelland


An

dch

asedu

sso

uth

alon

g.

Hest

ruck

withhis

o’erta

king

wings,

Was

tyrann

ou

san

dstro

ng

:

’And

nowth

eSTO

RM-B

LASTca

me,

andhe

May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Th

eg

uests

arem

et,th

efea

stis

set:

And

I amnext

ofkin

;

TheBridegroom


wide,


me?

’By

thylong

beardand

glitteringeye,


Itisa

nanci

entMarin

er,

For

hehe

ard

the

loud

bass

oon.


Till

over

the

mas

tat

noon

–’

Higher

andhigher

everyday,

Went

downinto

thesea.

Andhe

shonebright,and

onthe

right

Outoftheseacamehe!

The

Sunca

me

upupon

the

left,



the hill,

Mer

rily

did

we

drop

’The

ship

was

chee

red,

the

harb

our

clea

red,



He

cann

otch

oose

but

hear

;




child:

The

Wedding-G

ueststood

still,

He

hold

shi

mw

ith

his

glit

teri

ngey

e–



’There

was

aship,’

quothhe.


May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Theguestsare

met,the

feastisset:

AndIamnex

tofkin;


Now

wherefore

stopp’stthou

me

?


Andhe

stoppet

hone

ofthre

e.







It looks a mess.





That

broughtthe

fogand

mist.

The

nal

lav

erre

d,I

had

kille

dth

ebi

rd

Theglor

ious Sunupris

t :Nor dim



!

Ahwretch

!said

they,thebird

toslay,



thebird


And

Ihad

donean

hellishthing,

Cam

eto

them

ariners’hollo

!

Nor

any

day

for

food

orpl

ay

But

nosw

eet

bird

did

follo

w,

Andthegoodsouth

windstillb

lewbehind,

Wen

tdo

wn

into

the

sea.

Stillhidinmist,and

ontheleft


The

Sun

nowrose

upon

theright

: I shot

the

ALB

ATRO

SS.

Why

look’stthou

so?’–W

ithm

ycross-bow

From

the

fiend

s,th

atpl

ague

thee

thus

!–

’Go

dsave

thee,ancient

Mariner!

Glimm

eredthe

whiteM

oon-shine.’



Inm

istor

cloud,onm

astor

shroud,


And

everyday,

forfood

orplay,


And

agood

southw

indsprung

upbehind

;

The

helm

sman

stee

red

usth

rough

!

The

icedid

splitw

itha

thunder-fit

;

And

roun

dan

dro

und

itfle

w.


We

haile

dit

inG

od’s

nam

e.

As

ifit

had

been

aC

hris

tian

soul

,

Thorough

thefog

itcam

e;


Likenoises

ina

swound

!

Itcracked

andgrow

led,androared

andhow

led,

Th

eic

ew

asal

lar

oun

d:

Th

eic

ew

ash

ere,

the

ice

was

ther

e,

The

icew

asallbetw

een.

Nor

shapesof

men

norbeasts

we

ken–

Did

send

adism

alsheen:


Asgreenasemerald.


And

itgrew

wondrous

cold:

Andnow

there

cameboth

mistand

snow,

Theso

uthwar

day

ewe

fled.


And

forwardbends

hishead,


As

who

pursuedw

ithyelland


An

dch

asedu

sso

uth

alon

g.

Hest

ruck

withhis

o’erta

king

wings,

Was

tyrann

ou

san

dstro

ng

:

’And

nowth

eSTO

RM-B

LASTca

me,

andhe

May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Th

eg

uests

arem

et,th

efea

stis

set:

And

I amnext

ofkin

;

TheBridegroom


wide,


me?

’By

thylong

beardand

glitteringeye,


Itisa

nanci

entMarin

er,

For

hehe

ard

the

loud

bass

oon.


Till

over

the

mas

tat

noon

–’

Higher

andhigher

everyday,

Went

downinto

thesea.

Andhe

shonebright,and

onthe

right

Outoftheseacamehe!

The

Sunca

me

upupon

the

left,



the hill,

Mer

rily

did

we

drop

’The

ship

was

chee

red,

the

harb

our

clea

red,



He

cann

otch

oose

but

hear

;




child:

The

Wedding-G

ueststood

still,

He

hold

shi

mw

ith

his

glit

teri

ngey

e–



’There

was

aship,’

quothhe.


May’st

hearthe

merry

din.’

Theguestsare

met,the

feastisset:

AndIamnex

tofkin;


Now

wherefore

stopp’stthou

me

?


Andhe

stoppet

hone

ofthre

e.






Background of the technology: SDR





SDR = Software Defined RadioIEEE definition “Radio in which some or all of the physical layer

functions are software defined”

Features

general purpose processors (GPP)

field programmable gate arrays (FPGA)

digital signal processors (DSP)

programmable System on Chip (SoC)

. . .

GPU

Benefits

reduced costs

reduced time-to-market

over-the-air / remote reprogramming

We have developed a fully software radio receiver: apart from thedigitalization, all the functions are software defined.

Nowadays, thanks to GPU computational power, commercial fully softwaresystems using only GPP/GPU are possible and competitive in a markettraditionally dominated by FPGA-based systems.





Software Defined Radio

Commercial off-the-shelf radio-interfaces which convert analogical radiosignals to digital quantities to be forwarded to the processing unit (thisprocess is known as sampling).

The radio-interfaces communicate with the processing unit throughstandard interfaces (Ethernet, PCIe, ...).

SDR interfaces are supplied by different producers. The devices we are usingare provided by:





...back to us





Our activityWe have developed an S-MIM demodulator in SDR using GPUs to be

employed in an MSS communications mainly in an M2M scenario.

The S-band satellite hub has been developed forEutelsat S.A.

The hub receives radio signals from the satelliteand forwards the received messages to a serviceplatform through TCP/IP.The hub is designed to manage the traffic from allof Western Europe (tens of millions of terminals).

It is fully implemented in terms of commercialhardware (Intel Xeon, NVIDIA Tesla).

Software developed in C++, Cuda.Web-based GUI.

We are working on the terrestrial collector too





Our activityWe have developed an S-MIM demodulator in SDR using GPUs to be

employed in an MSS communications mainly in an M2M scenario.

The S-band satellite hub has been developed forEutelsat S.A.

The hub receives radio signals from the satelliteand forwards the received messages to a serviceplatform through TCP/IP.The hub is designed to manage the traffic from allof Western Europe (tens of millions of terminals).

It is fully implemented in terms of commercialhardware (Intel Xeon, NVIDIA Tesla).

Software developed in C++, Cuda.Web-based GUI.

We are working on the terrestrial collector tooF. Basile - G. Mendola (MBI) Satellite Hub Communication System GPU Based GPU Tech - May 17, 2012 24 / 35



When was it done?




Timeline





How?





Why GPU fits our needs? Hub SW structureFilter: removes out of band noise

Preamble detection: is a sort ofpattern recognition to detect thebeginning of the packet.

Chip time recovery: synchronizationmechanism

Descrambling/despreading: reducesthe effects of noise and interferences

Turbo decoding: is a forward errorcorrection system

Interference cancellation: inverse ofthe demodulation process: regeneratesthe packet in the very same way it hasbeen transmitted





Why GPU fits our needs?

Filtering

Products, FFT

Preamble detection

Products, accumulation, FFT

Chip-time recovery

Scalar products,few other operations

Descrambling//despreading

Scalar products, exponentials

Turbo coding//decoding

Sparse matrix operationson short vectors

Interferencecancellation

Sample and hold, productsaccumulation, exponentials,

subtractions

Most demodulation operations (almost all the intensive computations) can be carried out bythe GPUs, this leaves all the others (just a few), as well as the management of the system tothe CPU (OS, devices, interface)





Why GPU fits our needs?

Filtering Products, FFT

Preamble detection Products, accumulation, FFT

Chip-time recoveryScalar products,

few other operations

Descrambling//despreading

Scalar products, exponentials

Turbo coding//decoding

Sparse matrix operationson short vectors

Interferencecancellation

Sample and hold, productsaccumulation, exponentials,

subtractions

Most demodulation operations (almost all the intensive computations) can be carried out bythe GPUs, this leaves all the others (just a few), as well as the management of the system tothe CPU (OS, devices, interface)





GPU: it may be used, but why did we use it?

easy development: C/C++ language, no need for specific knowledge

fast compilation

abundant speed (no need for preliminary optimization of the code)

CUDA-coding took less than 5% of total development time

continuous procrastination of code speed-up!

every 2 years NVIDIA double the speed and we can communicate to the client ourincredible speed-up without changing the code





Software structure

Fully implemented in C++.

Scalable system: work flow involving several servers,the amount of traffic supported increases with thenumber of servers.

Focus our energies on the TLC-quality of theAlgorithms implementation regardless of the hardwarethat lies underneath and the speed




PerspectivesHopesSummary

What does the future hold?





The future: ongoing projectsOngoing projects:

Terrestrialnetworkintegration

Analysis ofthe channel

Low costtransmittingterminals

According to the new European lawson Mobile-Satellite-System(626/2008/EC) satellite coveragecan be integrated with a terrestrialnetwork in order to ensure coverageeven in urban areas (where thesatellite is hidden by buildings).

There are thought to be thousandsof collectors.

We are carrying out the feasibilitystudy Together with Eutelsat S.A.









A Random Access spread-spectrum protocol is an exceptionaltool for investigating the propagation channel (how distance,environment, amplifications or converter impact on receivingsignals).

We are developing an instrument to study the propagationchannel using the S-MIM protocol.This tool will be used to investigate:

frequency instability (Doppler effect, converters, ...)

phase jumps

attenuation and fading

presence of multipath echoes and their delay, attenuationand phases









The Hardware Abstraction Layer approach allows for the easy introductionof new computation frameworks.

A framework specialized for DSP will make it possible to reuse the samesoftware (for the transmission side) with low-price SDR terminals thusproviding low price transmitting prototypes for on-field tests of theprotocol with small coding effort.





The future: hopesWishes:

Newtransmissionprotocols

Many functionalities are shared with other protocols.

The framework we have developed can be reused, by integrating it withnew algorithms, in order to implement components for other emergingprotocols.

We are currently investigating the possibility of implementing aDVB-RCS2 demodulator





Summary: GPU meets telecommunications

A satellite hub for a new telecommunication protocol has beenimplemented using a CPU/GPU system.

This experience shows the feasibility of using GPU technologies intelecommunications. This may be a source of reciprocal advantages:

A new market for GPU producers and programmers can open

New instruments for facing telecommunications challenges areavailable.


francesco basile gaetano mendola

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