8/3/2018 Why Ethernet Backhaul?

- Suresh - Expert Opinion - LTE University

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Why Ethernet Backhaul?

Suresh Krish 1 Apr 2013 4:30 PM 0

The Cellular infrastructure was initially designed for circuit switched voice traffic and data communication was not initially
supported on these networks. But services today are increasingly data centric and and even voice will be transported as a
data service.

The Mobile Applications these days requires a stringent QoS requirements with Service Level Aggrement (SLA). A proper
SLA ensures guaranteed bit rate, low delay for realtime services like VoIP, Video on Demand and high throughtput for
bandwidth hungry applications and five 9’s availability. Mobile networks are facing the challenge of evolving to a data centric
service capable of carrying all service such as Voice, Data, Video and other value added services like Mobile TV, Online
Gaming Applications, Video on Demand (VoD) and Music on Demand (MoD) on an unified backhaul to save costs.

To enable all these services a cost-effective backhaul technology is needed. The choices that existed those days are TDM
and ATM based Backhaul which are not cost-effective but able to backhaul the low bit rate mobile applications traffic to
some extent satisfying the customer. Let’s examine below why the TDM and ATM backhaul were not popular in the long run
and what alternate technology was chosen and its options in the following sections.

TDM and ATM Backhaul

The Legacy Mobile Networks like 2G/2.5G deployed TDM in their backhaul for reliability reasons eventhough it is not cost
effective when it is required to carry high bit rate data, video and other value added services. Wireless providers recognized
the need to support Carrier Grade functionality in the backhaul (e.g. QoS, scalability, efficient OAM, etc) with cost in mind
and so they first turned to ATM for backhaul. However, ATM networks suffer from too much manual provisioning and they do
not offer a scalable solution capable of supporting the volumes of throughput offered by 3.5G (HSPA+) and 4G
(LTE/WiMAX/Wi-Fi) networks.

To evolve to all-IP networking environment, a Carrier Grade solution must be found for the backhaul of traffic. The network
must support “5 9s” availability. Which is the right candidate? It appears that Ethernet is the right choice. Let’s find out why
Ethernet is most suitable for backhauling the mobile traffic.

Why Ethernet Backhaul?

Ethernet is the predominant technology used in corporate Local Area Networks (LANs). It is simple to deploy and maintain.
Ethernet has proven to be effective and inexpensive technology to transport data. But in its current form is it not suitable for
mobile backhaul which demands a stringent QoS and OAM capabilities.

Carrier Ethernet (more aptly called “Carrier Grade Ethernet”) standardized by MEF 22 (Metro Ethernet Forum version 22)
defines different ethernet services like E-Line (Ethernet Virtual Circuit), E-LAN (Ethernet LAN) and E-TREE (Ethenet Tree)
which makes a normal Ethernet extremely reliable, well tested and proven with Ethernet OAM, Connectivity and Fault
Management capabilities comparable to TDM, SDH/SONET in the Carrier world.

Ethernet Backhaul Options

The very widely used Popular Ethernet Backhaul options across the globe are listed below:

Packet Microwave Access: For Remote NodeBs/eNodeBs where copper or fiber access is not feasible Packet Based
Microwave Options are used in the Backhaul. The Multiple VLAN Traffic from NodeBs/eNodeBs are delivered to Packet
Based Microwave systems which can carry traffic in the order of 180 Mbps ~ 220 Mbps. Up to 6 NodeBs with the CIR of 30
Mbps or 2 eNodeBs can be aggregated using a single Packet Based Microwave system in the pre-aggregation stage.

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GPON/NG-PON/10G-PON Access: In a thickly populated cities Microwave options are not a good choice due to Line of
Sight (LoS) issues. The high rise buildings block or distort the Microwave signals. Hence the high capacity, cost-effective,
high quality backhaul using GPON is used in big cities. GPON systems are based on the Point-to-Multipoint topology uses
OLT (Optical Line Terminal) at the root and ONUs (Optical Network Units) at the leaves. The NodeBs are connected to the
ONUs through an Ethernet Switch. The aggregated traffic towards/from all NodeBs are handled by a high speed uplink
generally 1 GbE (Gigabit Ethernet interface) or 10 GbE depending on the traffic generated by the NodeBs. OLT optionally
provides redundancy over two uplinks via different paths.

The GPON system deploys a single Fiber distribution using Passive Optical Splitters (PSCs). The DL traffic towards the
NodeBs are sent as a broadcast and the UL traffic uses a Time Division Multiplexing Access (TDMA). The ITU-T Standard
G.984.6 defines the bandwidth capacity of the GPON system 2.488 Gbps in the DL and 1.244 Gbps in the UL. The GPON
system can generally cover a distance of 20 Kms from OLT or upto 60 kms with an extended reach option.

GPON has proved to be cost-effective and well equipped with in-built OAM and QoS capabilities. GPON also supports VLAN
for carrying mutiple stream of traffic with different QoS constraints. The future PON Networks like NG-PON and 10G-PON
can support upto 10Gbps in total capacity.

Ethernet over SDH Access (EoSDH): The NodeBs which are beyond the distance limit mentioned above use the EoS
(Ethernet over SDH) option in the pre-aggregation stage of the backhaul. The Ethernet Frame is transparently carried over
SDH/DWDM systems and delivered at the Aggregation point.

The Metro Ethernet plays and important role in reducing the delay, increasing the reliability of the Networks and offers
protection, resiliency and availability compared to traditional SDH/DWDM based carrier systems. The Metro Ethernet is a
pure IP network and offers Layer 2 or Layer 3 Services using the L2VPN/L3VPN feature of MPLS Technology with rich OAM
capabilities. The 1+1 redundancy is provided in the Aggregation Stage of the backhaul by connecting EoSDH or GPON
uplinks to two PEs (Provider Edge Routers) in the Metro Ethernet Networks. Let’s see in the following two sections how the
Ethernet Backhaul Technology options are deployed in Legacy 2G/2.5G Networks as well as in the Unified Backhaul
Transport where all 2G/2.5G/3G/4G traffic is carried in an all-IP network.

Transport Network in Legacy 2G/2.5G and 3G Networks

The Legacy 2G Network or 2.5G networks based on GSM/EDGE or CDMA system uses TDM as their main backhaul option
to connect the BTS (Base Transceiver Station) to the core network. Since the Bandwidth required at these Base Stations
(BTSs) are limited to a maximum of about 5 Mbps 2 or 3 E1s are sufficient. The typical Transport Network in Legacy
2G/2.5G is shown in the figure below.

Transport Network in Legacy 2G/2.5G

The GPRS Traffic at BSCs are handled by the separate Packet Core network based on the IP Technology with the help of
SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) and GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node). The private IP Network handles the
GPRS traffic before handing over to the Internet.

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8/3/2018 Why Ethernet Backhaul? - Suresh - Expert Opinion - LTE University

All-IP Backhaul is used for 3G systems based on the UMTS Technology. The NodeB or 3G Base Stations need a bandwidth
capacity or 15 ~ 30 Mbps in a non-HSPA type of cells. The HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) supported NodeBs need
about 42 Mbps or more to handle the additional Multi-media traffic from the customers. All NodeBs are generally deployed
with a minimum of Fast Ethernet (FE) Interface with VLAN capability.

Backhaul and Core Network Transport in 2G/2.5G/3G/4G Networks

The Unified Backhaul and Core Network in a hybrid environment of 2G, 2.5G, 3G and 4G systems are depicted in the chart
below. The Backhaul Access/Pre-aggregation/Aggregation uses the options described earlier. For example the Legacy 2G
and 2.5G systems uses PDH Microwave, SDH and IP-MPLS in the Access/Pre-Aggregation/Aggregation part of the
Backhaul. The NodeB in 3G UMTS uses either Packet based Microwave, EoSDH and IP-MPLS option or GPON-Metro
Ethernet and IP-MPLS option in the Access/Pre-Aggregation/Aggregation part of the Backhaul.

Unified Backhaul and Core Network in 2G/2.5G/3G/4G Networks

The Nation-wide IP-MPLS network plays an important role in linking all the component networks of Wireless Network
comprising of 2G/2.5G/3G /4G systems. The User Data Traffic, Voice traffic, Signalling and OAM Traffic , 4G Network User
Data/Signalling/OAM Traffic, IMS Traffic are transported thru’ Nation-wide IP MPLS Network. The traditional TDM traffic of
2G/2.5G are carried using SAToP (Structure-Agnostic TDM over Packet) or CESoPSN (Circuit Emulation Service over
Packet Switched Network) over Nation-wide IP MPLS Network if BSCs are not co-located near BTSs in the same city.

Future of Ethernet Backhaul

The future of Ethernet Backhaul seems to be very very bright. The current highest speed of Ethernet has already reached 10
Gigabits/sec and very widely deployed across the globe. The next higher speed interface in Ethernet family is 40G/100G
which is almost finalized in the standardization/testing is far more sufficient for future generation mobile networks beyond
4G. Before 40G/100G interfaces are widely deployed in the operators network standardization for the next higher interface
of 400 Gigabits/sec has already started. This confirms that Ethernet backhaul is going to stay for some more time as a
Predominant Backhaul Technology which can support 100s of Gigabits/sec data traffic which will improve the customer’s
Quality of Experience (QoE).

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