Wireless Backhaul

Most deployed wireless base stations connect to the backhaul network via PDH circuits (T1s or E1s). These PDH circuits may be used to backhaul traffic directly from the cell tower to the mobile switching center or connect to microwave radios at the cell tower for backhaul-to-hub site locations, which aggregate the traffic over a SONET or SDH optical transport network back to the mobile switching center.

As mobile operators migrate their transport networks to carrier Ethernet, they need to support multiple generations of base station technologies that support circuit-based or packet-based traffic over PDH interfaces as well as IP-based traffic from 4G base stations that support Ethernet user-to-network interfaces (UNIs).

As the carrier Ethernet transport network is deployed, it is often not cost effective or possible to upgrade tens of thousands of base stations to support Ethernet UNIs to attach directly to the carrier Ethernet backhaul network. Therefore, a gateway device is required at cell sites to convert the circuit-based and non-Ethernet packet/cell-based traffic from the base stations to Ethernet for transport over the carrier Ethernet backhaul network. This conversion technique is called pseudo-wire emulation (PWE).

The carrier Ethernet backhaul network may consist of a direct fiber connection from the cell site base stations or Ethernet connections into microwave radios that connect to the carrier Ethernet backhaul network to the mobile switching centers. Carrier Ethernet enables the scalability, reliability, and service performance required to meet the explosive growth in mobile data traffic, as it ensures the high availability and QoS required for mobile applications, networks, and services.

How can mobile operators migrate their SONET/SDH or PDH backhaul networks to carrier Ethernet to optimize their backhaul networks for emerging 4G IP services as they simultaneously support their existing legacy 2G and 3G services?

How can mobile operators deploy new carrier Ethernet backhaul networks without compromising their existing 2G and 3G services?

How can mobile operators leverage the capital assets in their existing SONET/SDH backhaul network infrastructure to minimize the CapEx and OpEx requirements to migrate their backhaul network to carrier Ethernet?

 

Force10's Wireless Backhaul solution utilizes the MASTERseries® smart integrated access device (SIAD) and the Traverse® multiservice transport switch.

The MASTERseries SIAD aggregates and manages cell site base station traffic and optimizes bandwidth for transport over PDH or Ethernet backhaul network connections to the cell site.

The Traverse platform aggregates, grooms, and switches high density TDM and Ethernet traffic at the mobile switching center and at hub sites in the SONET/SDH or Carrier Ethernet transport network.

The TransNav Element Management System is an advanced management system designed to support comprehensive control, fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security monitoring. Through a feature-rich graphical user interface, operation and support personnel can control, configure, and troubleshoot networks of Force10 products.

Using PWE the Force10 Networks MASTERseries platform enables 2G and 3G GSM base stations that connect via T1 or E1 PDH circuits, as well as 3G and 4G base stations that connect via Ethernet for efficient transport over a carrier Ethernet backhaul network.

 

The MASTERseries platform also supports PDH circuit connectivity to the backhaul network. Therefore, mobile operators can deploy MASTERseries to optimize bandwidth for cell sites that currently do not have Ethernet access, and allow operators migrate those cell sites to a carrier Ethernet backhaul network as the operators require.

The Traverse platform facilitates migration from a PDH or SONET/SDH backhaul network to a carrier Ethernet backhaul network by efficiently transporting Ethernet over SONET/SDH. This provides efficient Ethernet transport with the carrier-grade capabilities of SONET/SDH that mobile operators have been using for years. Traverse also enables any mix of 2G and 3G services from PDH-connected cell sites with emerging Ethernet-connected cell sites over a common transport network used for all 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services.