Low throughput on DGX Spark + WNC O-RU: DL only ~500 Mbps and UL only ~3 Mbps compared with documented 1.5 Gbps DL / 210 Mbps UL

Hi NVIDIA Aerial team,

We have successfully brought up an Aerial setup based on DGX Spark and a WNC O-RU, following the NVIDIA Aerial documentation. The system can run end-to-end and UEs can attach successfully.

However, the measured throughput is significantly lower than the performance shown in the Aerial CUDA-Accelerated RAN 26-1 documentation for DGX Spark, where the documented E2E result reaches approximately:

  • DL: 1.5 Gbps
  • UL: 210 Mbps
  • 1 peak cell
  • Validated CX7 performance and timing capability

In our current setup, the best throughput we can achieve is approximately:

  • DL: ~500 Mbps
  • UL: ~3 Mbps

The UL throughput is especially low.

Our setup:

  • Platform: DGX Spark
  • Aerial version: ACAR 26-1 / Aerial Testbed 1.0
  • O-RU: WNC O-RU, 4T4R
  • Band: n78
  • Bandwidth: 100 MHz
  • SCS: 30 kHz
  • O-RAN split: 7.2x
  • C/U-plane VLAN: 2
  • M-plane VLAN: 100
  • PCP: 7
  • Compression: BFP, 9 bits
  • PTP: synchronized
  • Fronthaul NIC: CX7
  • UE count tested: 2 UEs
  • Traffic test: iperf / throughput test

We would like to understand whether this performance gap is expected with the WNC O-RU, or whether we should adjust some configuration parameters to approach the documented DGX Spark throughput.

Specific questions:

  1. Is the documented 1.5 Gbps DL / 210 Mbps UL result on DGX Spark tied to a specific O-RU model, UE model, number of layers, TDD pattern, MCS, or test configuration?

  2. For WNC 4T4R O-RU, what DL/UL throughput should we reasonably expect with 100 MHz n78 and 30 kHz SCS?

  3. Are there recommended reference configurations for DGX Spark + WNC O-RU, especially for:

    • cuphycontroller.yaml
    • OAI gNB config
    • TDD pattern
    • PRACH configuration index
    • PUSCH / PUCCH / SRS configuration
    • eAxC ID mapping
    • compression settings
    • phase compensation settings
    • MTU / jumbo frame settings
    • PTP / SyncE / G.8275.1 settings
  4. Since DL can reach around 500 Mbps but UL stays around 3 Mbps, which areas should we check first?

    • UL scheduling?
    • PUSCH MCS?
    • UE capability?
    • TDD UL slot allocation?
    • SRS configuration?
    • PRACH / timing advance?
    • O-RU RX gain?
    • eAxC mapping for UL?
    • PTP timing stability?
    • fronthaul packet loss or dropped packets?
  5. Are there any known limitations or required tuning steps for UL throughput on DGX Spark with WNC O-RU?

  6. Could you share the exact reference setup used for the documented DGX Spark result, including:

    • O-RU model
    • UE model
    • number of UEs
    • number of MIMO layers
    • TDD pattern
    • bandwidth / SCS
    • gNB configuration
    • cuphycontroller.yaml
    • iperf or traffic generation method

We are trying to determine whether the current bottleneck is caused by the O-RU, by the UE capability, or by a configuration mismatch in the Aerial/OAI/O-RU setup.

Any guidance on the recommended debug steps would be very helpful.

Thanks.

Hi @xudong.zhao
The 1.5Gbps DL/210Mbps UL was with

  • TDD pattern: DDDDD DSUUU,
  • DL: 4 Layers, UL: 2Layers,
  • WNC 4T4R R1220 O-RU
  • BW 100Mhz
  • 30 kHz SCS.
    The reference configuration files are as cuphycontroller configuration files
  • cuphycontroller: cuphycontroller_P5G_WNC_DGX.yaml

  • oai-gnb: ./targets/PROJECTS/GENERIC-NR-5GC/CONF/gnb-vnf.sa.band78.273prb.aerial.conf

  • WNC: WNC R1220
    wnc-running-config.rtf (7.0 KB)

The performance might be various with the OTA environment. Maybe you can share your configuration files with us, so we can take a look.

Thanks!