Cell-Site Gateway

RAD’s ACE-3220 cell-site gateway grooms GSM, UMTS, HSPA, and WiMAX traffic over a unified PSN (packet switched network) flow using diverse backhaul technologies, including ATM, ADSL2+, SHDSL.bis, and Gigabit Ethernet, as well as TDM and Ethernet microwave. Supporting operators and mobile transport providers in their migration to all-IP radio access networks (RAN), the ACE-3220 incorporates advanced pseudowire emulation (PWE) capabilities and highly accurate synchronization features, such as 1588v2, Synch Ethernet, NTR, and adaptive clock recovery (ACR) to meet 3GPP and LTE clocking requirements.

• Provides a cost-effective solution to bandwidth capacity challenges arising from mobile broadband service rollouts

• Lowers backhaul OpEx by optimizing RAN bandwidth utilization

• Simultaneously delivers 2G, 3G and Ethernet traffic to support multi-generation cell-site colocation

• Supports gradual migration to PSN networks

• Ensures service reliability and differentiated QoS through traffic classification and shaping

• Supports carrier-grade performance with alarm forwarding and flexible redundancy options

• Fully Interoperable with Cisco 76xx and Alcatel 77xx aggregation nodes and their management systems

RAD’s ACE-3220 multiservice cell-site gateway is specifically designed to accommodate the rapid expansion in cellular backhaul traffic resulting from the widespread deployment of new mobile broadband services. It simplifies service provisioning and control by enabling simultaneous delivery of GSM, UMTS, HSPA, and next-generation 3GPP/LTE traffic over the same transport network. Working opposite the ACE-340x and ACE-3600, the ACE-3220 simultaneously supports SHDSL.bis and ADSL2+ to minimize capital investment and shorten service rollout times by leveraging available DSL infrastructure to access ATM, SDH/SONET and high capacity, economical packet switched networks.

The advanced ATM shaping and scheduling capabilities of the ACE-3220 permit operators to implement overbooking strategies, enabling them to optimize network utilization, conserve existing resources and reduce the number of leased services required to support their network. The device also enables operators to converge multi-generation traffic over an all-IP RAN using IMA/UNI or standard-based CES pseudowire (PW) encapsulation, as well as Ethernet to ATM bridging according to RFC 2684. These are enhanced with various QoS schemes, including VLAN priority (802.1p), EXP or ToS/DSCP, as well as comprehensive monitoring and diagnostic capabilities, including pseudowire VCCV-BFD and ITU-I.610 ATM OAM.

 

In addition, the ACE-3220 uses PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE) protocol to allow HSDPA connectivity in a variety of DSL-based cellular backhaul applications.

Synchronization in cellular networks is critical to ensure proper quality for mobile services. As radio access networks (RANs) are rapidly transitioning to asynchronous packet switched technologies, which introduce packet delay variation and packet loss, timing distribution and recovery have become a major challenge in the migration to IP backhaul.

 

With powerful synchronization capabilities, the ACE-3220 ensures highly accurate delivery of 2G, 3G and 4G traffic over packet backhaul. It enables mobile operators and transport providers to eliminate the risk of service disruptions, impaired cell hand-offs and excessive dropped calls, thereby supporting reliable transmission of real-time traffic over PSNs. It also ensures QoS priorities for clock traffic and supports “SDH/SONET or Better” performance requirements for voice and video traffic, such as up to 16 ppb (parts per billion) frequency accuracy.

 

The ACE-3220’s SyncToP™ suite enables clock recovery either from the TDM links, the DSL link or from the Ethernet links, using PTPv2 (IEEE 1588v2), Synchronous Ethernet (Sync-E), NTR recovered clock over xDSL, or adaptive clock recovery (ACR). In addition, it features a built-in input clock interface. The ACE-3220 also enables packet timing distribution, using adaptive clock or IEEE 1588v2, as well as physical clock distribution via the TDM and Ethernet links. Furthermore, it provides unique flexibility in supporting the simultaneous use of different clock transfer methodologies, for example, employing 1588v2to receive the clock from the network then distributing it to the cell-site with Sync-E.

The ACE-3220 features flexible management capabilities, including local management via an ASCII terminal (RS-232). In addition, remote management can be performed either inband or out-of-band, using the network or user ports. Advanced FCAPS (Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security) and diagnostic tools are provided by RADview-EMS, RAD’s carrier-class element management system, via an SNMP-based GUI.

 

The ACE-3220 also supports a variety of configuration access channels, including CLI over Telnet, SNMP, Web server, and TFTP. Incorporated security features include Secure Shell (SSH), Web-based Secure Socket Layer (SSL), SNMPv3, and RADIUS, as well as management access control list (ACL).