Course Description
The Medium Access Control (MAC) layer is the heart of the 5G NR Layer-2 protocol stack. It is responsible for scheduling radio resources, multiplexing logical channels, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), Random Access procedures, Buffer Status Reporting (BSR), Scheduling Requests (SR), Discontinuous Reception (DRX), and many other critical functions that directly impact network performance.
This comprehensive course is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of the complete 3GPP TS 38.321 specification while bridging the gap between theory and real-world implementation through extensive Amarisoft Test Bed Log Analysis.
Unlike courses that only explain protocol concepts, this training demonstrates how MAC procedures actually appear in live protocol logs, allowing you to understand what happens inside a commercial 5G network. Every major MAC procedure is correlated with practical examples so you can confidently analyze and troubleshoot real network issues.
Throughout the course, you will study every important chapter of TS 38.321, including MAC architecture, services provided to upper layers, logical channels, transport channels, MAC entities, MAC PDU formats, MAC Control Elements (CEs), scheduling mechanisms, HARQ operation, Random Access procedures, Buffer Status Reports, Power Headroom Reports (PHR), Scheduling Requests, DRX operation, Timing Advance procedures, multiplexing and demultiplexing, priority handling, uplink and downlink transmission procedures, sidelink MAC procedures, and the latest enhancements introduced in recent 3GPP releases.
To reinforce every concept, the course includes extensive hands-on decoding of Amarisoft gNB and UE logs, where you will learn to identify MAC PDUs, interpret MAC Control Elements, analyze scheduler decisions, understand HARQ retransmissions, investigate Random Access failures, decode Buffer Status Reports, verify Timing Advance updates, monitor DRX behavior, and troubleshoot common MAC-layer issues encountered in live deployments.
By the end of this course, you will be able to read and interpret MAC logs with confidence, correlate MAC events with RLC, PDCP, and PHY activities, identify scheduling and radio resource allocation issues, perform protocol-level troubleshooting, and understand how MAC contributes to the overall performance of a 5G NR network.
Whether you are preparing for telecom interviews, working in protocol development, integration, protocol testing, optimization, or troubleshooting, this course will provide the practical knowledge needed to understand and analyze the 5G NR MAC layer from both the 3GPP specification and real network implementation perspectives.
What You'll Learn
Complete understanding of the 3GPP TS 38.321 specification
5G NR MAC architecture and functional entities
Logical, Transport, and Physical Channel mapping
MAC Service Access Points (SAPs)
MAC PDU structure and decoding
MAC Subheaders and MAC Control Elements
Scheduling mechanisms and resource allocation
Dynamic and Semi-Persistent Scheduling
HARQ processes and retransmission procedures
Random Access (Contention-Based and Contention-Free)
Buffer Status Report (BSR) procedures
Scheduling Request (SR) procedures
Power Headroom Report (PHR)
Timing Advance procedures
DRX operation and power-saving mechanisms
Multiplexing and demultiplexing procedures
Priority handling and logical channel prioritization
Uplink and Downlink MAC operations
Sidelink MAC procedures
Release enhancements in TS 38.321
End-to-end Amarisoft Test Bed MAC log analysis
MAC troubleshooting techniques used in commercial networks
Who Should Enroll
5G Protocol Engineers
Telecom Software Developers
gNB Developers
UE Modem Engineers
Protocol Test Engineers
Integration Engineers
RAN Optimization Engineers
Telecom Researchers and Students
Anyone preparing for 5G protocol interviews or working with Layer-2 technologies.
Master the complete 5G NR MAC protocol from specification to real-world implementation and gain the practical skills required to analyze, decode, and troubleshoot MAC-layer procedures using industry-standard Amarisoft logs.
External Reference:
https://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=3194
Internal Reference:
https://edunavo.com/courses/5g-rlc-mastery-complete-ts-38-322-with-hands-on-log/
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