Modeling & analysis of an LTE-Advanced receiver using mode-controlled dataflow

Mode-controlled Dataflow (MCDF) is a restricted form of dynamic dataflow that captures realistic features in such applications and allows rigorous timing analysis. We stepwise refine and develop complete and fine-grained MCDF models of an LTE-Advanced receiver that include two key features: 1) carrier aggregation and 2) enhanced physical downlink control channel processing. We schedule the MCDF models on an industrial platform to benchmark them against (static) Single-rate Dataflow (SRDF) using existing buffer allocation techniques to demonstrate that these models are analyzable and practically applicable. Moreover, we also develop latency analysis techniques for single-rate and mode-controlled dataflow. For our LTE-Advanced receiver, relative to SRDF models, MCDF models offer 1) up to 15% smaller memory consumption, and 2) up to 1.6% smaller LTE-Advanced sub-frame processing latency.