A design framework of virtual hardware for 3rd generation medium access control protocol

A design framework for virtual hardware of the 3rd generation (3G) medium access control (MAC) protocol has been developed to provide a core-based system for running higher layers without using real hardware. In this framework, a user can create any connections from the user equipment (UE) and sends control commands and data through the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) side without using real hardware. UTRAN and UE will be emulated by the 3G virtual hardware. All communication channels pass through MAC layer and will be emulated by an Ethernet link. We believe that this tool will give us a better result than using computer simulation, e.g. all signals and data are processed in real-time, as well as more flexibility than using real hardware components, e.g. hardware modification. When, the 3G virtual hardware is un-plugged, the real hardware can be replaced.