What are the key architectural considerations in software-defined radio (SDR)?

SDR implements radio functionality in software for flexibility. Architecture considerations: ADC/DAC requirements (sampling rate, resolution, spurious-free dynamic range), RF front-end (wideband or channelized, noise figure, linearity), Processing platform (FPGA for real-time PHY, GPP for MAC and higher layers, or hybrid), Memory bandwidth and latency, and Synchronization between processing stages. Key challenges: Processing throughput for high bandwidth signals, latency for real-time applications, power consumption for mobile, and achieving performance comparable to dedicated hardware. SDR enables cognitive radio, multi-standard operation, and rapid prototyping.