Resilient Synchronous Gigabit Ethernet for True 4G Mobile Backhaul Network

Over the next several years, LTE worldwide deployments by mobile operators will continue to grow in support of the increased bandwidth demands being driven by new data services. According to Cisco's recent projections, there will be a 92% compound growth rate in mobile data traffic from 2010 to 2015 and 5.6 billion personal devices will be connected to mobile networks by 2015. 2G and 3G service subscriptions will be around for quite some time although this number will drop steadily with the growing adoption of 4G/LTE services, according to Infonetics Research (www.infonetics.com). (See Figures 1 and 2.) Connection speeds of mobile devices increase with each new generation; 2G, 3G and 4G mobile devices are designed to handle speeds of 230 kbps, 14 Mbps and 1 Gbps, respectively resulting in a 15-fold increase in bandwidth capacity requirements as more subscribers convert to 4G services. Building the next generation mobile network in support of these trends requires careful consideration of all the building blocks that make up the network. Mobile backhaul is a critical component, playing a pivotal role in the overall performance of the network. It connects to multiple cell sites supporting thousands of roaming subscribers and must efficiently handle changing traffic patterns. The widely deployed TDM and circuit-switched backhaul networks, such as SONET/SDH are recognized as highly resilient and reliable but are expensive to operate and the shift to an all-packet mobile backhaul is driven by the need to lower the total cost of ownership. For this reason, Ethernet is today's choice for mobile backhaul. The projected mobile landscape calls for a true 4G Ethernet mobile

backhaul network one that is capable of providing simultaneous support for multiple generations of high quality services while efficiently handling the exponential increase in data traffic that will traverse the network. A true 4G Ethernet mobile backhaul network must meet three fundamental design requirements resiliency that provides five 9's availability, synchronization of real-time services and low-latency, line-rate performance. The objective is to provide subscriber's access to the highest level of service quality at anytime from anywhere while providing the scale to meet future bandwidth capacity requirements. Two types of Ethernet mobile backhaul deployments include the Multi Radio Access Network (RAN) and Resilient Microwave Access Ring. (See Figure 3.) In the multi-RAN, cell-site routers with multiple T1/E1 and Ethernet ports are deployed at the cell site and collect traffic from 2G, 3G and 4G radio towers for handoff to the mobile backhaul over fiber or copper. Built-in pseudowire capability converts T1/E1 connections from 2G and 3G services to Ethernet mobile backhaul to enable the simultaneous support of all three generations of services over the same backhaul network. This is an important requirement given the wide deployment of 2G and 3G base stations and mobile operators have a need to preserve existing investments as new radio towers are deployed for LTE services. At the cell-site aggregation, cell-site aggregation routers are connected to via multiple, resilient synchronous Gigabit Ethernet rings and are responsible for aggregating multiple Ethernet links from various cell sites and routing the traffic to the mobile core. Resilient microwave access rings will be commonly deployed in many parts of the world where microwave deployments are a predominant choice for backhaul access due to its relative low-cost. Ring configurations, as opposed to the commonly deployed point-to-point configuration provide both high capacity and the required level of resiliency.

Resiliency An important component to achieving five nines availability is through the implementation of packet ring resiliency protocols, namely, ITU-T G.8032 and RFC 3619 Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching (EAPS) both at the cell site for microwave access rings and at cell site aggregation for the implementation of multiple resilient Ethernet rings. G.8032 and EAPS provide protection switching; EAPS is a proven technology currently deployed in thousands of service provider networks around the world today andG.8032 is a standard that builds on the proven success of EAPS. Depending on the requirements, mobile operators with EAPS already deployed in their network, can choose to migrate to G.8032.

Synchronization Synchronization is enabled through IEEE 1588v2 (also referred to as Precision Time Protocol, or PTP) and ITU-T G.8261 Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE). Real-time traffic synchronization is crucial to ensure a smooth radio tower to radio tower handoff during roaming in order to avoid dropped voice calls and to maintain the required quality of service. These protocols ensure the same level of service performance supported by legacy backhaul networks based on T1/E1 and SONET/SDH technologies that achieve synchronization of real time services using Time Division Multiplexing. As a physical layer protocol, SyncE derives its reference timing signal from a clock source such as Building Integrated Timing System (BITS). The physical layer of the Ethernet port is used to distribute the clock frequency among all the nodes in the network. It provides the benefit of predictable service performance independent of the amount of traffic traversing the network. 1588v2 distributes both time and frequency, operates at a higher level (Ethernet/UDP) and utilizes time stamps to synchronize the network nodes with a master clock. In certain deployments, the two protocols are used together in hybrid mode where the frequency is obtained through SyncE and time of day is obtained through 1588v2. Line-Rate Gigabit Ethernet Access and 10 Gigabit Uplink Ports Single or multiple ports of gigabit line-rate access at the cell site to the mobile backhaul provides ample current capacity and more links can be added to address the future data traffic growth. Additionally, the cell-site aggregation routers that provide high-density line-rate gigabit Ethernet rings are crucial for scalable service performance. High capacity connections to the mobile core and intra-ring connections are achieved via single and multiple full line-rate 10 Gigabit links. Summary In order to enable true 4G services, the Ethernet mobile backhaul network must provide a combination of resiliency, synchronization, and full capacity line-rate GbE and 10 GbE performances. It is essential to meet subscriber expectations in service quality for all generations of services while preparing for the explosive mobile data traffic growth over the next decade and beyond.