Software downloading in reconfigurable networks of open wireless architecture using SDR technology

The remarkable advances of practical software-defined radios that use programmable digital devices and radio architectures will enable people with different kinds of equipment running on different frequencies to communicate with one another by proper reconfigurations of their communication devices. In the future fourth-generation mobile communication systems, various access technologies will be integrated into a common platform called the open wireless architecture. SDR technology can be used to implement an OWA system. In a multihop SDR reconfigurable network that follows OWA standards, nodes may be reconfigured while they are working; however, if an error occurs during software dissemination, some nodes may not receive the software correctly, and the network is thus partitioned. Hence, it is very important to ensure that every node in the network can receive the software and update itself correctly. This article proposes a download scheme for real-time software download, application software upgrades, or radio protocol change of wireless nodes in multihop reconfigurable networks. In addition, related enabling hardware techniques are reviewed