Converged WiMAX-Cellular Backhaul Networks: Exploiting Wireless Ethernet Mesh Technology

Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 3 WiMAX Driven Networking Requirements .................................................................................................... 3 Exploiting Wireless Ethernet Mesh for WiMAX Metropolitan Backhaul ........................................................ 4 The Additional Requirement to Backhaul TDM-Based Cellular Traffic ......................................................... 6 Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... 7

DWI-APP-169

Page 2 of 7

DragonWave Inc. June 2009

Introduction
With the migration to high bandwidth IP-based services in the cellular access market, operators are increasingly considering WiMax technology as an access technology which can support this new paradigm in mobile services. WiMax provides high bandwidth data services and the promise of a highly standardized, cost effective implementation with "global" utility. Mobile operators form one group that has recently shown a lot of interest in WiMax technology. Logically so, since these operators are well equipped to embrace WiMax through their experience with wireless networking and services as well as their [significant] investments in the necessary distributed physical infrastructure components needed to support network build-outs. In adding WiMax as an "overlay" onto their networks, mobile operators are often confronted with the need to add a significant amount of capacity and capacity-scalability to their metro backhaul infrastructure. At the same time, they need to preserve the TDM performance of their existing mobile voice network. This paper examines the use of Wireless Ethernet Mesh technology as a backhaul solution which delivers a high capacity, highly scaleable backhaul solution whilst providing cost effective support of legacy T1/E1 circuits needed to support existing [legacy] basestation backhaul.

WiMax Driven Networking Requirements

WiMax-based services span a large number of possible applications. These include those which place significant performance demands on the network and those that do not. Table 1 summarizes some typical service/application-driven network performance attributes.

Application Internet Access (IA) VPN, LAN extension

Demand on the Network Best effort, high bandwidth High bandwidth, moderate latency control, very low packet loss

VoIP

Advanced traffic policing, Low latency and low latencyvariability (including failure re-routes)

VoD using VIDoIP Live Video (incl conferencing) using VIDoIP TDM transport using Psuedo-Wire (TDMoIP)

High bandwidth High bandwidth, Advanced traffic policing, low latency, low latency-variability (including failure re-routes) Low latency, low latency-variability (including failure reroutes), Advanced traffic policing,

Table 1 Network Performance Demands Driven by Various Applications/Services

DWI-APP-169

Page 3 of 7

DragonWave Inc. June 2009

An additional key underlying performance attribute associated with data-centric networks is that of bandwidth scalability. This is a manifestation of the nature of a users session and the nature of the attributes of a given community of similar users. Bandwidth demands can tend to increase significantly within short periods of time with the advent (or mass adoption) of a new application. For instance, witness the changes which are occurring as a result of music and video sharing applications. In contrast, voice-based networks tend to exhibit bandwidth scaling which is a slowly-varying function of population growth and consumer telephony habit. Therefore bandwidth scalability is a far more crucial value factor in a data (or mixed data-voice) network than it is in its voice-only counterpart. On a metropolitan scale it is common for the backhaul network designs to support large bandwidths. A typical US city design might require a scaling factor of 10x 20x and be capable of supporting a maximum metro capacity of 2 8 Gbps (full duplex CIR). Supporting these services, particularly those beyond best-effort-Internet-Access, the network needs to exhibit reliability and availability. Although this is depicted in the table through the low packet loss attribute, availability also encapsulates broader network attributes which keep the customers connection alive. Hardening, resilient design, self-healing measures are normally taken in the network design to support this demand.
1

Exploiting Wireless Ethernet Mesh for WiMax Metropolitan Backhaul

Wireless Metro Ethernet Mesh networks offer a broad range of benefits which address the needed network attributes outlined in Table 1. Exploiting constrained meshing enables a range of functionality vital to the realization of a high performance, cost-effective network solution. Wireless meshes can be designed for; Ultra low latency (and latency-variability) Very high bandwidth (and bandwidth scalability) High availability and self-healing resiliency (with SONET-like reroute recovery dead times) Low/zero packet loss and high performance traffic policing functionality

Constrained mesh topologies can be realized using a series of mesh sub-circuits to provide geographic distribution of backhaul capacity whilst essentially extending the carrier-class qualities of the optic metro core. These sub-circuits typically employ 4 8 mesh nodes and carry 200 400 Mbps each. Each sub-circuit employs a root node which is typically co-located with access to the optic metro core. A typical large metro deployment may have 5 10 of these sub-circuits. Figure 1 illustrates this network concept. In this illustration, 4 mesh sub-circuits are sharing a single optic metro PoP site location (The drivers for this being cost saving in the fit-up of the PoP site and the aggregation of higher traffic densities at the point where metro optic capacity leasing is required). Scalability is relatively easy in Ethernet-based networks, due largely to the low cost of Ethernet switching (which allows the installation of very large initial capacity at low cost). Coupling this with highly scalable wireless 2 technology allows an extremely elegant, cost-effective implementation which can deliver a tremendous degree of bandwidth scalability. Figure 1 illustrates this capacity scaling functionality. In this example, the scaling available is on the order of 80x (!), although typically designs are targeted at scaling scenarios of 5x - 20x over 5 years.

1 2

Source: Sampling of DragonWave metro network designs undertaken on behalf of various operator-customers For example, available wireless technology can scale via software from 10 400 Mbps (full duplex, CIR)
Page 4 of 7 DragonWave Inc. June 2009

DWI-APP-169

Figure 1 Wireless Constrained Metro Mesh Backhaul Concept

Figure 2 Capacity Scaling Elegance Available from the Constrained Metro Mesh Architecture

DWI-APP-169

Page 5 of 7

DragonWave Inc. June 2009

The Additional Requirement to Backhaul TDM-Based Cellular Traffic

Interestingly, the same attributes needed to support advanced WiMax-based services 7 applications are also those that can enable the backhaul transport of legacy TDM traffic across the Ethernet-based Metro Backhaul Mesh. An Ethernet networking benefit for TDM transport is that novel, virtual 1:3 cross-connecting can be realized in the aggregation of T1 tail circuits without additional equipment. Additionally, the connectionless nature of Ethernet allows highly flexible deployment of T1 circuits anywhere in the network, since Ethernet allows the re-targeting and re-configuration of available network capacity with great ease. The central technical challenge with transporting legacy TDM across Ethernet lies with the traditionally3 required TDM circuit synchronization performance attributes , namely MTIE and Tdev. Recently, more capable/advanced Pseudo-Wire technology is now available and integrated directly into the wireless backhaul equipment. These solutions employ Timing-over-Packet technology in addition to jitter-buffer processing in order to robustly deliver stratum-3 TDM performance in the presence of normal/typical Ethernet network packet jitter experienced in mixed-packet-flow backhaul scenarios.

Figure 3 Use of Pseudo-Wire Based TDM Backhaul Transport to Enable the Ethernet Constrained Mesh to Carry High Quality TDM

Ref: ITU G.823 & G.824

Page 6 of 7 DragonWave Inc. June 2009

DWI-APP-169

Summary
As a result of novel Wireless Ethernet networking technologies, network operators can deploy a highly scaleable Ethernet-based metro backhaul network while retaining the capability to cost-effectively support legacy TDM backhaul functionality. This dual-role backhaul solution cost-effectively supports both WiMax based traffic/applications while hosting connectionless backhaul and aggregation of TDM tail circuits needed to support legacy cellular equipment needs. Additionally, constructing the backhaul network using highly scalable, high bandwidth native-Ethernet-based radio equipment allows the reach of the metro optical core to be effectively distributed. This minimized fibered PoP count (and cost) and escalates the aggregation of traffic at these PoP locations. This furthers the benefit of Ethernet in its ability to deliver heightened statistical gains, further reducing transport costs.

DWI-APP-169

Page 7 of 7

DragonWave Inc. June 2009