White Paper
Wireless Transport Modernization for 5G
Enhancing Fitness with Telemetry and Intelligence
Introduction equivalent services are already available on
Since the advent of the Internet, the evolution 4G/4G+ networks. However, many other
of technology has fueled dramatic changes in cases that rely on tighter coordination of
how people communicate and do business. hardware and software can only be delivered on
Now the completion of a major milestone is 5G architecture that has been designed from
taking the mobile industry by storm. The the ground up. At the end of the day, how
standalone (SA) 5G specifications have been these services are deployed efficiently,
fixed by 3GPP in June 2018, following the uninterrupted without operational overhead,
release of the NSA (non-standalone) specific- and maintaining a high QoE, is key.
ations just six months earlier. Operators and
equipment vendors are rushing to capitalize on Connectivity
the new technology that will shape the mobile Mobile operators with existing 4G networks will
landscape for the next decade. Several pilot continue to use them to maximize their
5G networks have already been launched well investments even when 5G comes along, as it
before the general availability of compatible was the case for the 3G-4G migration. This
handsets and cellular devices from leading composite network comprising several gene-
phone makers. The hype for 5G will culminate rations of mobile technologies and other
with the 2020 global sports event in Tokyo, infrastructure like wireless, optical, and IP
capturing the spotlight as the platform to transports, results in a limitless combination of
showcase full-scale deployment of the 5G units, all for which connectivity has to be
ecosystem. established. All can be changed on the fly
depending on factors such as resource
5G can generally be defined as a mobile availability. Imagine the burden of operating
technology that is different from the previous and maintaining such a diverse network
generations in throughput, latency, and number manually, with virtualization, cloudification, and
of connections, represented by the 3 service other new schemes to take into account.
categories of eMBB (enhanced Mobile
Broadband), URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low Latency
Communication), and mMTC (massive Machine-
Type Communications) respectively. New and
yet-to-be created services will inherit some or
all the traits in these categories and evolve
around them.
As end users take always-on connectivity for Figure1 Connectivity in 4G and 5G Domains
granted, mobile networks change at a fast rate.
More diverse and critical services are provided In addition to how connectivity is realised, their
over mobile and split-second decisions are numbers will also grow exponentially with the
crucial. The slightest outage will reduce the proliferation of IoT (Internet of Things) and V2X
customer QoE (quality of experience) and (Vehicle-to-Everything) (URLLC) services. The
revenue opportunity, the cumulative effect may associated set up and termination rates will rise
be significant enough to affect churn in the long as well. These will likely deplete available
run. network resources quickly if not adequately
monitored and controlled.
Several use cases such as mobile broadband
and finances are not exclusive to 5G; in fact Because of this, real-time assessment and
1
management of resources are becoming more up and taken down on demand at different
and more imperative to make instantaneous locations, or HetNet (Heterogeneous Network)
decisions to choose the appropriate resources where a number of diverse cells serve
and reclaim them from terminated services. overlapping areas and UEs connect to
To make this happen, real-time data collection, whichever cell providing the best connection,
as realized by telemetry, and ensuing etc.
processing and analytics through intelligence
are required. These conditions should be constantly
monitored to finely tune individual slices and
Services and Transport Slices maintain service qualities. Per service slicing
5G will bring about a variety of services, each would offer the best performance, but a single
having its own set of performance requirements, slice can accommodate several services with
tied closely to the expectation of the end user, similar requirements. This arrangement is
like faster download, smooth video delivery, etc. much more resource-friendly and less
These expectations, when met, are resultant in operationally taxing.
fostering high QoE. Conversely, when they fall
short, QoE is low. This is a huge advantage for mobile operators.
Not only they can manage traffic accordingly,
A single flat network catering to all these but this creates an opportunity to market this
requirements will be a vast undertaking, and as a service to content providers and OTT
one that is bound to fail. Prioritization among players who do not have this level of visibility
these services must be enforced so that certain into the network and its traffic.
services, for example, mission critical ones for
public safety, social infrastructure, and finance, Lifecycle and Automation
are handled promptly over less important Services that run over the transport should be
services, such as broadband. More import- accounted end-to-end, spanning the mobile
antly, it is necessary to ensure isolation among access, transport and the core. An entity that
these services to ensure that a failure or fault oversees the entire network should be able to
in one does not have a detrimental effect on visualize, collect data, configure devices, as
another. well as coordinate and manage these elements
across multiple network domains together
intelligently to provide service, connectivity,
and visibility. This, consequently, is the
essence of LSO (Lifecycle Service Orchest-
ration) and closed-loop automation.
Figure 2 Network Slicing
Network slicing is a form of virtualization that
creates multiple, isolated logical networks to
run on a shared physical network infrastructure.
Each of the slices can be configured separately
Figure 3 Service Lifecycles
and adapted to a specific performance
(Source: ONAP Architecture Overview)
requirement. Ideally, slicing should be per-
formed in real-time as conditions in the network
Thus, having common interfaces and data
are bound to change rapidly. Take for instance
models among all network elements and
weather. As the prevailing weather condition
software components is of significance. A
deteriorates, wireless transport capacity will
single set of scripts will be all that is required to
diminish. To cope with this reduction, QoS and
manage the entire network. It would
traffic reroute should be executed so that
otherwise be a nightmare for engineers having
services in that slice are not affected. Other
to write unique codes for different devices and
causes include vRAN/vEPC where they are spun
to analyze data collected in various formats.
2
Speaking of data, timely collection of data has However, 5G is a totally different concept, and
become a major endeavor in the operational keeping pace with maturing 5G specifications
perspective. Traditionally, SNMP has been would require major reforms. In light of this,
used extensively for the collection of network three aspects have been identified for transport
data and statistics, where an SNMP manager modernization, namely high capacity, low
polls the target device for data of interest. It latency, and intelligence. The impact that
is still useful for basic fault management, but these metrics exert on 5G are profound, as they
vastly outdated and ill-equipped for automated will serve as the touchstones to measure and
operations where continuous network judge how much advanced 5G has compared to
monitoring and fine-grained information are previous generations.
essential.
High capacity is the most obvious requirement
that can be perceived and experienced by the
end user, thus it is important for any
communication service provider to anticipate
sufficient service bandwidth to satiate user
demand. The wireless transport network can
provide capacity in excess of 10Gbps via the
use of wider channels, higher frequency bands,
and wireless/optical convergence. However, it
should be noted that recklessly adding capacity
Figure 4 Telemetry Overview
without consideration for other variables may
impact cost and overall design of the network.
Fortunately, there are technologies and
protocols available for collecting high resolution
Latency is another metric that can easily affect
network data, generally referred to as network
the experience of the end user, especially when
telemetry, where the device streams granular
engaging in financial transactions, playing
data constantly to collector systems. One such
games, or immersed in VR/AR/MR (virtual/
example is OpenConfig. This is far more
augmented/mixed reality). However, straight-
scalable and offers greater visibility of the
forward reduction in end-to-end latency is
network than SNMP. As the network gets even
bound by the propagation speed of photons and
more complex with 5G, this visibility will be key
electrons in a particular medium such as air,
for SDN and closed-loop automation to adapt
fiber, or electrical wire. Lately, the concept of
and control the network without any delay.
MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing) has been
garnering attention to address the call for lower
As valuable as raw data can be, they do not add
delays. As the name implies, MEC places
value unless analyzed and presented in
compute and storage facilities closer to the
meaningful and insightful ways. Humans
edge, i.e., the consumers and where data is
are not capable of processing and analyzing the
generated, for faster response times.
large volume of data that a network generates.
Moreover, network dynamics will be fluid,
But there is more to MEC than just latency.
therefore this task should be relegated to
Traffic can be analyzed at the edge to figure out
computing elements with sufficient power and
various attributes of the network edge, like
intelligence. In the meantime, it is essential
which cells or links have capacity to spare, etc.
for the network administrators to understand
Ongoing trend analysis and refinement of data
and know what is going-on in the network in
provide better insights into current bottlenecks.
order to make critical decisions that cannot be
Backhaul requirements would also be reduced
done by the processing nodes. To realize this,
as traffic would not traverse all the way to the
masterful collection, analytics, and visualization
core. Other benefits of having a local
of data should be integrated into the workflow.
computing infrastructure is that it provides
more seamless service creation opportunities,
Transport Modernization decreases the vulnerability of network wide
What is already in the operators’ networks can attacks, ensures data localization which may be
support a couple of services meant for 5G. required by local authorities.
3
5G takes network complexity to a whole new menting mechanisms to ensure that the
level, and requires coordinated efforts on both network recovers from failures fast enough.
the hardware and software components. SDN
delivers automation to some extent by enabling
holistic control of the network and doing away
with manual node-by-node configuration.
However, 5G use cases require automation in
broader domains like device provisioning,
troubleshooting, data collection, etc., not just
configuration. Figure 6 Modernization Objectives
There are already sophisticated management
tools available, to ensure proper operations,
maintaining health of the equipment and the
network. But with AI in the equation, it will be
possible to predict with accuracy when and
where (equipment, link, etc.) it is likely to fail
within the projected timeframe, and according
to this information, take necessary precautions
like unit replacements, design of backup links
Figure 5 Closed-loop Automation or traffic reroute. This is in addition to native
resiliency features of the network.
Automation can only be as good as the quality
of data over time Overwhelming data volumes NEC’s Core Strengths
are likely to increase the chance of poisoning, NEC is a leading technology solution provider
which leads to lower efficiency and higher with over 100 years of history of innovations.
burden of the analytics engine. In the telecommunications market, customers
have recognized us as an established supplier
For maximum efficiency and no active with excellence in SDN, AI, and reliability.
interaction from human operators, an auto- Particularly in the wireless transport industry,
nomous operation with extensive use of AI is a NEC provides the iPASOLINK series of wireless
must. But having said that, involvement of transmission equipment that are deployed in
administrators or gatekeepers for critical more than 150 countries and regions around
decision making and governance with the help the world, from the snow-covered mountains in
of visualization tools is still needed. the Andes to the scorching deserts in the Middle
East.
As important as high capacity, low latency, and
intelligence are, they are without merit unless The iPASOLINK series is a powerful wireless
high resiliency is sustained. Resiliency, which transmission system with rich wireless and
is a measure of a system's ability to recover Ethernet features that caters to operators
from problems that might otherwise cause it to worldwide to deliver reliable advanced
fail. This is interlinked with availability which communications services to the masses. Our
is a measure of operational time frequently top-notch support and engineering teams,
represented in class of nines, and reliability through expertise and AI-derived insight, offer
which measures failure rate and usually support to our customers, enabling efficient 5G
quantified by MTBF (mean time between transport while optimizing the existing
failures). Operatory surveys conducted by systems and infrastructure.
market research firms revealed that product
reliability was one of the most valued and “NEC the WISE” AI technology portfolio, having
sought after criteria for their microwave vendor its origin in R&D begun over half a century ago,
selection. Ensuring 5G services are not powers NEC’s unique “Smart Wireless Transport”
compromised by device failures or link downs is (Smart WTN) Solution*1 and Advanced
important, but equally imperative is imple- Performance Analytics for Transport Networks*2,
4
where AI and analytics are used to deliver quick complexities involved with operating 5G
detection, diagnostics, and recovery with networks efficiently and cost-effectively. By
minimal human intervention continuing to refine actions with relevant and
timely data from the network, automation and
Over the years, we have made numerous closed-loop control can be accomplished.
contributions to various standards bodies
promoting SDN. We also have our Netcracker Lastly, none of the advanced features matter
subsidiary providing proven SDN solutions without the equipment performing non-stop
designed to combat the key challenges of and as promised. NEC's excellence in
commercialization, multivendor services and reliability and availability can be attributed to
optimal efficiency, for an array of service our vast experiences in satellite commun-
providers around the globe. The synergy of ications and submarine cable systems, both
the two companies helps drive the modern- requiring meticulous effort to guarantee
ization of the transport network, enabling maximal uptime because of their unforgiving
realization of 5G’s full potential. environment. Our highly resilient and reliable
wireless portfolio has proven to be an important
Conclusion factor in operators’ purchasing decisions. You
The importance of intelligence and automation can count on NEC to provide uninterrupted,
is growing as operators now understand the high quality 5G services for the end users.
*1 NEC Introduces Wireless Transport Solution with AI Analytics for the 5G era
https://www.nec.com/en/press/201702/global_20170221_02.html
*2 NEC uses AI to optimize inventory and maintenance with highly precise predictions
https://www.nec.com/en/press/201802/global_20180222_01.html
About NEC Corporation
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tomorrow. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.
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