4.Backhaul Migration Towards 3G and Beyond

Backhaul Migration Toward 3G and Beyond

Backhaul Migration Toward 3G and Beyond White Paper December, 2008

© Copyright by ECI Telecom, 2008. All rights reserved worldwide.

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CONTENTS

ECI Telecom Ltd. Proprietary iii

Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................................... 5

Infrastructure Migration to 3G IP................................................................................... 6

Comprehensive Coverage for the Long Term............................................................. 9

Conclusion .....................................................................................................................11

About ECI Telecom .......................................................................................................12

CONTENTS

iv ECI Telecom Ltd. Proprietary

List of Figures

Figure 1: Converged shared infrastructure for 2G, 2.5G, 3G ATM, and 3G IP............... 7

Figure 2: Evolution to packet infrastructure .................................................................... 10

INTRODUCTION

ECI Telecom Ltd. Proprietary 5

Introduction

The most widely held belief regarding data-centric mobile environments is that a packet-based aggregation network is the optimal transport solution for the long term. However, the migration plan from an existing multitechnology infrastructure to an all-IP utopia varies from operator to operator. Even within a single cellular network, individual sites may have different requirements and different preferred migration paths based on the existing infrastructure for BTS/Node B connectivity, the business plan, and the availability and cost of alternatives.

Being among the minority of vendors that offer a genuine selection for advanced, sophisticated, and field-proven transport platforms, ECI takes a pragmatic approach when proposing network evolution from 2G to 3G IP.

ECI's proposed strategy is based on the understanding that no two networks are alike and would benefit from ECI's diverse technologies and platforms addressing the challenges faced by 2G operators as they migrate from TDM-only aggregation networks to mixed TDM packet-based environments. The solution offers optimal migration with uninterrupted service and high-grade Quality of Service (QoS) expected from legacy networks, while benefiting from the simplicity, scalability, and lower costs of Carrier Ethernet. The migration scheme also enables 2G operators to exploit the already deployed infrastructure to the fullest, while making the gradual cost-optimized evolution towards packet based transport.

ECI's proposed evolution strategy addresses the following main challenges:

1. Linking associated backhauling costs with the scaling of services and revenues

2. Ensuring that the existing infrastructure investments in the network are leveraged to the maximum

3. Building a shared network infrastructure to support 2G/2.5G/3G Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), together with 3G IP

This document outlines ECI's approach for fiber and microwave backhauling infrastructure. Fiber and microwave are widely used in many regions of the world for this purpose. In other areas such as Europe, in contrast, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and Passive Optical Networks (PON) may also play an important role in the migration to 3G IP.

INFRASTRUCTURE MIGRATION TO 3G IP

6 ECI Telecom Ltd. Proprietary

Infrastructure Migration to 3G IP

Cellular operators typically deploy extensive Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) microwave infrastructure in the Radio Access Network (RAN). Some rely heavily on leased lines, while others are rolling out extensive fiber infrastructure as well. The traffic on the RAN is aggregated via SDH Add-Drop Multiplexers (ADMs) and/or by Multi-Service Provisioning/Transport Platforms (MSPPs/MSTPs) towards the Base Station Controller/Radio Network Controller (BSC/RNC). Building the overall infrastructure represents enormous investments, sometimes to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. CEOs and COOs are in no hurry to invest in new technologies before making sure that the existing infrastructure has been leveraged to the maximum.

The availability of Ethernet interfaces at the base station alone should not be the catalyst for replacing the existing infrastructure with new equipment. ECI's approach is to leverage the existing MSPP infrastructure with Ethernet and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) statistical multiplexing capabilities, thus protecting and enhancing the investment already made in the installed base (i.e. the PDH, SDH, microwave, and MSPP/MSTP aggregation layer). This is one of the key factors in lowering the total cost of ownership - extending the life of the installed base to support new services up to the point where full migration to IP will be required.

Beyond the Ethernet and MPLS embedding capabilities, the high degree of equipment agility across ECI's entire product portfolio enables customization of the migration, according to the situation and specific requirements in each area. This includes nonblocking TDM crossconnect, ATM switching, Ethernet aggregation, MPLS traffic engineering, WDM for capacity expansion, and ROADM for bandwidth flexibility – all working in unison under the LightSoft® multilayer network management system, providing the optimal migration plan.

Such a solution offers gradual migration from the existing network to an all–packet infrastructure, whereby the costs are tightly linked to actual service pick-up and where the pace is regulated by the business case backing it.

ECI's MSPP and MSTP portfolio (namely the XDM® and the BroadGate® families) plays a key role in cost-efficient transformation into a packet-based RAN. This is due to its capability for efficient aggregation, mapping, and transport of multiple data services over a shared transport facility.



The benefits include:

Protection of the operators' investment - by continued use of the existing infrastructure to aggregate data traffic: By incorporating the corresponding data cards in the XDM and BroadGate (BG) product lines, a pure TDM backhaul environment can easily aggregate ATM and Ethernet in native format, with very high efficiency. Thus, the existing PDH and SDH microwave infrastructure can be used to transport 3G services, enabling gradual inclusion of Ethernet microwave upon demand by network utilization services.

Figure 1: Converged shared infrastructure for 2G, 2.5G, 3G ATM, and 3G IP

Reduced OPEX - Integration of all aggregation technologies into one compact element ensures the reduction of footprint and power consumption to the minimum. This is extremely important when the carrier needs to lease facilities for backhauling. OPEX is further diminished because the engineers and technicians are trained on a single platform. Thus, headcount and training expenses go down while maintenance efficiency increases.

Carrier grade resiliency for all services - resulting from ECI's field-proven SDH protection scheme for TDM traffic and the combination of SDH protection mechanisms with Ethernet recovery schemes, plus MPLS fast-reroute (FRR) for 3G Ethernet backhaul.

Carrier grade management capabilities for Ethernet - The TDM maintenance capabilities of the SDH network are extended to Ethernet and MPLS, creating a winning solution for Ethernet backhaul. This offers Ethernet scalability and resource optimization with the operation, administration, and maintenance capabilities of the SDH network.

True business-optimized QoS for Ethernet backhauling - A range of flexible Ethernet transport options, reinforced by MPLS traffic engineering capabilities, provides carriers with the ability to exploit the network resources to the maximum while maintaining multiclass service quality, per application. This covers the entire range from stringent QoS for real-time traffic to unguaranteed overbooking for best-effort services.



Extensive fiber rollout support - 3G capacity demands are rising faster than the associated revenues. Many carriers are rolling out fiber to reduce their dependency on leased lines and microwave. Thus, the role of the equipment at hub locations is changing from standalone cross-connect devices to networking devices that must aggregate all traffic patterns to fiber, while implementing network-wide protocols for resiliency and efficient resource utilization.

Flexible solutions for convergence over fiber infrastructure - When fiber is available, the cellular carrier is presented with multiple choices:

To accommodate traffic growth with integrated WDM and ROADM functionality, providing more bandwidth, coupled with bandwidth allocation flexibility

To enhance the XDM with Ethernet and MPLS switching functionality, accommodating both the service scalability and the differentiated QoS required, according to the application

A blend of the two previous options, optimizing optical resource allocation for data services, without compromising the remaining TDM traffic that is transported natively

Rollout of Ethernet microwave - When data traffic exceeds the capacity provided by an individual PDH or SDH microwave link, these links can be upgraded to Ethernet, one-by-one, according to real traffic patterns, without having to replace equipment at the aggregation site or at other links in the network.

Proper timing - for the gradual rollout of individual metro Ethernet backhauling sites, when justified by traffic and revenues. At this stage, the MSPP network traffic can easily be offloaded to the Ethernet infrastructure at any hub location. This enables gradual transformation, area by area, as dictated by service demands, as shown in Figure 2.

Unified management - reducing OPEX, while increasing network availability: LightSoft – ECI's multidimensional management solution provides a unified management system for ALL technologies and protocols, allowing quick diagnostics, easy provisioning, and easy performance monitoring.

COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE FOR THE LONG TERM


Comprehensive Coverage for the Long Term

The forecast of a packet-based backhaul network creates an opportunity for mobile operators and for those that own their network infrastructure in particular, to reduce transmission expenses by converging all services to a Carrier Ethernet transport network. This move is facilitated by the availability of Ethernet interfaces at the base stations (Node Bs) and Radio Network Controllers (RNCs), and the emergence of Ethernet on packet-based microwave. The result is higher flexibility compared to traditional solutions, while providing the quality of service required per application-in-use, at a fraction of traditional solution costs.

As a transport technology, Ethernet costs less than its TDM counterpart, while holding the promise to simultaneously support the same strict QoS, resiliency, and synchronization as traditional transport offers for legacy services. In fact, the challenge of supporting all legacy cellular backhauling traffic requirements for large-scale Ethernet/IP network implementation has been raising considerable anxiety among carriers. These worries were summarized by Heavy Reading in their report in Ethernet Backhaul: Mobile Operator Strategies & Market Opportunities in May 2007, as follows:

“There is significant concern about the maturity of Ethernet for supporting cellular traffic on a large scale, and also that the cost savings over conventional TDM-based architectures will be significantly eroded................... it isn’t surprising that hardly any cellular traffic at all is being transported over Ethernet today (other than pre-commercial trials).”

Nevertheless, it is ECI's belief that the long-term solution will be based on Ethernet-based transmission products, bolstered by MPLS and IP technologies, which will be able to deliver the related advantages of packet backhaul.

COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE FOR THE LONG TERM


To back this conviction, ECI has introduced a new state-of-the-art, scalable, highly reliable, Carrier Ethernet Switch/Router (CESR) product line – the 9000 family, incorporating full service router capabilities and a complete MEF-compliant Carrier Ethernet switching set of functions. The Carrier Grade 9000 family offers a full range of L2 and L3 features tailored to meet carrier requirements for backhaul as well as the network core, thus providing a comprehensive solution, from core to RAN.

Figure 2: Evolution to packet infrastructure

Despite the advantages of a carrier–grade, packet–based backhaul network, many operators will choose this migration scheme only when and where the business model justifies this move.

CONCLUSION


Conclusion

ECI's transport portfolio enables 2G/2.5G/3G ATM/3G IP operators to deploy a single converged network to transport voice and data services with differentiated levels of service specifications across multiple technologies and platform families. This approach provides all the flexibility and scalability to tackle the endless hard-to-predict subscriber and market demands. whenever this makes economic sense, the solution transforms any part of the backhaul network into a packet–based network, optimizing it for data services. ECI's broad portfolio ensures that the costs required to roll out new services are tightly linked to actual service pickup.

ABOUT ECI TELECOM


About ECI Telecom

ECI Telecom is a leading global provider of intelligent infrastructure, offering platforms and solutions tailored to meet the escalating demands of tomorrow's services. Our comprehensive 1Net approach defines ECI’s total focus on optimal transition to Next-Generation Networks, through the unique combination of innovative and multi-functional network equipment, fully integrated solutions and all-around services.

For more information, please visit http://www.ecitele.com.

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Copyright ©

2009 ECI Telecom

. All rights reserved. Inform

ation in this document is subject to change w

ithout notice. ECI Telecom

assumes no responsibility for any errors that m

ay appear in this document.

1Net defines ECI’s total focus on facilitating our customers' optimal transition

to Next-Generation Networks, through the unique combination of innovative and

multi-functional network equipment, fully integrated solutions and all-around services

4.Backhaul Migration Towards 3G and Beyond

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