cellular enterprise architecture solutions
DESCRIPTION
This editorial webinar reviews the various Small Cell, Cloud RAN and DAS architectures available for in-building today, highlighting the key differences and tradeoffs. Content developed and presented by David Chambers, ThinkSmallCell Senior Analyst. Webinar sponsored by Alcatel-Lucent.TRANSCRIPT
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Cellular Enterprise Solu<ons
In-‐Building Wireless Architectures from Small Cells to DAS
Editorial Webinar
Sponsored By
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Agenda
• Defining the problem • In-‐Building Wireless Architectures • Related issues and trade-‐offs • Summary
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Why is it geKng worse?
Increasing Demand Growing technical barriers
Greater usage of smartphones Increasing data requirements for Apps Growing uptake of mobile video
Building construc<on materials Use of higher RF frequencies for capacity 3G cell breathing
Increasing Demand
Customer dissa7sfac7on
Developing Business Case
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Perhaps its no surprise?
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Moving the signal indoors
• Adding extra antenna indoors – Lower RF power = longer baXery life
• Crea<ng new cells/sectors indoors – Higher quality RF channel to devices = speed/quality – High frequency reuse = greater capacity – Less interference with outdoor network
• Devices typically moving slowly – Require fewer resources than for fast mobility – Signalling demand peaks at <mes (start, lunch, end)
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Wide variety of Use Cases
Coverage
Capacity
Stadium
Warehouse
Shopping Mall
Conference
Larger Office
Hotel
Hospital
Examples for illustra<on only and will vary widely on individual basis Impact of Wi-‐Fi service also has a strong bearing on traffic demand
Small Office
Exhibi<on
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Confusing range of choices
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Repeaters – a popular/quick fix? Network Independent (Out of spec) Lower quality Low cost Impact network quality, service for others
Network Independent (Spec compliant) Higher quality Medium cost Lower impact but may affect network quality, service for others
Network Specific (Remotely managed) Higher quality Medium cost Low impact on other users. Best for remote loca<ons with no wireline broadband ILLEGAL
Enforcement ac<on applies
LEGAL IN SOME COUNTRIES
LEGAL IN MOST COUNTRIES
Repeaters don’t add capacity. Useful in remote/rural areas but counter produc<ve in congested high-‐traffic zones. Most operators replacing own repeaters with small cells.
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Basic Building Blocks
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Three broad categories
Small Cells
Distributed Radio Systems (DRS)/Cloud RAN
Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS)
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Centralised vs Distributed Antennas at edge
Antennas centralised
Baseband Centralised
Baseband at Edge
Standalone Small Cells
Small Cells local controller
Distributed Antenna Systems
Distributed Radio Systems/ Cloud RAN
Macrocells
Remote Radio Heads
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Where is the processing located?
Base Sta<on
Antenna
High speed backhaul 1Gbps-‐10Gbps
Local Controller
Small Cell
Group Controller
RF Head
Base Sta<on
RF Head
Remote Head
RF baseband processing
Small Cell
Low speed backhaul (10-‐100Mbps)
TO CORE NETWORK
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Enterprise Small Cells • Standalone – Complete cellular basesta<on func<onality
• Peer-‐to-‐Peer – Direct nego<a<on between nearby cells
• Local controller for 10 to 100 small cells – Co-‐ordinates between mul<ple small cells – Virtual cell: Smartphones don’t need handovers in-‐building
Baseband located within the Small Cell
All func<ons embedded within Small Cell
Radio Head located within the Small Cell
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Typical Enterprise Small Cells
• Similar to residen<al femtocells, except – Higher RF power, providing wider area coverage – Higher traffic capacity, typically 16-‐64 user – Powered via Ethernet (PoE) – Wall mounted, usually neutral and unobtrusive
15
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Cisco’s Snap-‐On Upgrade Cisco’s USC 5310 “snap-‐on” for Aeronet 3600 series
• Upgrades exis<ng Wi-‐Fi access point to 3G – Full 3G small cell, 16 user, 14 Mbps – Single Ethernet cable powers en<re unit – Minimal impact, straighkorward upgrade – Typically only needed for a subset of Wi-‐Fi hotspots
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
• Mul<-‐Standard : W-‐CDMA, LTE and Wi-‐Fi in a single box – Single, shared site, backhaul, power and OA&M
• Somware Defined 3G/4G Technology and RF Band – Migra<on Flexibility from 3G to 4G – Remote RF Configura<on
• Key Features – VoLTE with CSFB and SR-‐VCC, CMAS, MFBI, Priori<zed E911 – CA and eMBMS HW Ready – 3G Somware feature parity with LR 14.2 – SON, Secure Plug n Play, TR 069 management. – Common Small Cell and Security Gateway Leverage 3G OA&M Systems
ALU 9962 Mul<-‐Standard Enterprise Cell
Preliminary casing
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Picocells
• Designed as scaled down macrocells • Previously used more for outdoor than indoor • Use Iu-‐b/RNC rather than Iu-‐h/Small Cell Gateway • Higher capacity (100 – 400 ac<ve users) • Marketed with seamless co-‐ordina<on with external macrocells (of same vendor)
• Price?? • Examples: Ericsson 6402, Huawei, NSN, ZTE
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Extending coverage
Extended coverage can be achieved through addi<onal small cells. Use cases include a large warehouse, rela<vely low usage but coverage essen<al
Small Cell
Small Cell
Small Cell
Small Cell
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Daisy Chaining/External Antenna
Alterna<vely, Comba offer a daisy chain repeater unit connected by Ethernet cable
Small Cell
External antenna can also be used -‐ Reduce visible footprint on wall/ceiling -‐ Achieve higher range/performance
Galtronics 700-‐2700MHz Dual Polarised MIMO antenna
Extender Extender Extender
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Small Cells with Local controller • Standard Ethernet within building • Local controller/Services Node in basement
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Distributed Radio System
• Evolved from exis<ng basesta<on – Huawei Lampsite – Ericsson Radio DOT
• Specifically designed – Airvana OneCell
Baseband located within Host Controller
Radio Head located near the antenna
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Huawei Lampsite
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Ericsson Radio DOT
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Airvana OneCell Cloud RAN Architecture
Cloud RAN over Ethernet Standard switched Gigabit Ethernet front-‐haul All-‐IP (No CPRI, no analog) Power and <ming synchroniza<on over Ethernet
Baseband Controller
Radio Points
Ethernet Switch
Device Management System
Operator Network
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Airvana OneCell Mul<-‐Operator
Baseband Controllers: 4 operators in 2U rack space
Shared Ethernet Infrastructure
Radio Points
Mul< Radio Point Enclosure (MRPE)
“Toaster Rack” hosts mul<ple radios connected to single antenna
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS)
Major advantages – Mul<-‐vendor – Mul<-‐operator – Mul<-‐band – Mul<-‐technology (2G/3G/4G)
But – Doesn’t add capacity itself; can be very high traffic – Typically independent of Wi-‐Fi – Can be costly… $100Ks to >$1M not unusual
Baseband located within external Basesta<ons
Radio Head located next external Basesta<ons
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Passive vs Ac<ve DAS architecture
Source: RadioAccess BV hXp://www.radioaccess.eu
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Not all DAS is the same
• Different DAS products for different purposes: – Highest capacity (e.g. Stadium) – Coverage and average capacity (e.g. Office)
• Digital or analogue: Mul<ple op<ons – Older passive coax systems rarely installed today – Dark fibre RF analogue signal to antenna – Digitally encoded to closet – Digital end-‐to-‐end to radio head
• RF Power: Can be up to 5W
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Recent DAS improvements
• Wide range of frequency bands – 300MHz of spectrum from ~700MHz to 2700MHz
• CAT6 cabling within same floor – Fibre to the closet, dedicated CAT6 to antenna
• Simpler Installa<on – Guided cable connec<ons, planning tools…
• Bypass inefficient RF stage – Connect directly via CPRI
• Configurable sectors – Rou<ng RF to different zones per <me of day
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Direct digital connec<on into DAS
Direct CPRI interface bypasses the need for basesta<on RF stage, downconverter and RF to digital encoding. Saves CAPEX plus less HVAC
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Configurable Sectors
• Mapping RF heads to basesta<on sectors – Manually, by (un)plugging cables at patch panel – Somware controlled, through “electronic switch” – “RF rou<ng” (e.g. Dali Wireless RF Router)
• Can be used to reconfigure – Stadium for sport one day, concert the next
• Unlikely to be frequent changes – Not at level of SON remote control yet – Who pays for engineering <me to manage it?
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
CONSIDERATIONS
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Cabling Requirements Baseband Radio Head Antenna In-‐Building Cabling
Small Cell
Fully integrated in single remote unit (Op<onally, can use external adjacent antenna)
10-‐100Mbps Ethernet
DRS/ Cloud RAN
Centralised Distributed Fibre to closet ~2Gbps CAT6 to antenna
DAS Centralised Centralised Distributed Analogue or Digital RF 2-‐10Gbps
• DAS and DRS require dedicated fibre, some<mes composite fibre/copper for power
• Small Cells only need Ethernet, can share VPN within exis<ng IT infrastructure
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
3G vs 4G and Band-‐Plans
Architecture Capability
Small Cells Most products custom designed for 3G or 4G or both Some capable of remote config to 3G/4G and bandplan
DRS/Cloud RAN RF units (and antennas) usually designed for 3G or 4G Some capable of remote config to 3G/4G and bandplan
DAS Can support any technology na<vely, FDD or TDD Older systems designed for specific frequency bands
• Demand today is 3G voice indoors • Future expecta<on 4G VoLTE • Many 3G products available Latest products are 3G/4G mul<mode, some 4G only
• S<ll large market for 3G which will evolve to 4G
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Applica<ons and Data caching
• Some small cells offer local data caching – Significantly speeds up end-‐user performance when accessing common data
– Reduces backhaul boXlenecks • Local in-‐building controller – Hosts Enterprise specific applica<ons
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Co-‐existence with Wi-‐Fi
• Combined Wi-‐Fi/Small Cell units common – Don’t interfere with each other – Dual band 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-‐Fi 802.11n or ac – 1Gbps Ethernet backhaul – Some are more integrated than others
• DAS systems typically do not integrate Wi-‐Fi – provide IP connec<on for Wi-‐Fi access points – Wi-‐Fi Access Points and DAS radio heads separate
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Neutral Host vs Single Operator
• Building owners may prefer mul<-‐operator – Venues serving guests, visitors – Businesses encouraging BYOD
• Operators may prefer single operator – Differen<ate higher quality service – Lock-‐in enterprise contracts
• Trade-‐offs – Small cells and DRS typically single operator – DAS inherently mul<-‐operator – Wi-‐Fi technically neutral, but may be commercially locked-‐in
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Operator’s Risk Percep<on
• Same supplier for indoor/outdoor – Fewer compa<bility issues – Handover – Planning tools – Opera<onal processes, staff training…
• Different suppliers indoor/outdoor – More innova<on – Greater compe<<on = lower prices – Greater scalability = faster growth
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
SUMMARY
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Pros and Cons
Advantages Disadvantages
Small Cells Highly scalable Simple backhaul Very cost effec<ve
Extra nodes for mul<-‐operator Perceived new technology risks
DRS/Cloud RAN Very high capacity Not mul<-‐operator Dedicated fibre/cabling
DAS Mul<-‐Operator Mul<-‐Vendor Macro network compa<bility
Dedicated fibre and/or cabling High cost (CAPEX/OPEX)
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Building size vs Architecture
10-‐49 employees
50-‐249 employees
250+ employees
<9 employees 8 User Standalone Femtocell
Mul<ple 16 User small cells
16 User Standalone Small cell
Distributed Antenna System
Group of small cells with local controller
10-‐49 employees
50-‐249 employees
250+ employees
50-‐249 employees
250+ employees 250+ employees
42
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Conclusion
• The need for more radio units to increase coverage and capacity generally agreed – Small Cell approach introduces new vendors, technology, processes and low cost
– DRS/Cloud RAN promises highest capacity, for single operator, requires fibre and power to every site
– DAS retains exis<ng vendors, shared infrastructure, sharing higher costs
• Choice will depend on use case (esp building size) and importance of mul<-‐operator, Wi-‐Fi integra<on etc. vs budget
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
More informa<on
• Comparison of DAS and Small Cell technology – ALU white paper on Enterprise In-‐Building Wireless
• Vendor websites • ThinkSmallCell.com
© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.
Thanks to our sponsor Alcatel-‐Lucent for making this Editorial Webinar possible
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