WCE - Product - Description v1.06 PDF

Wireless Cloud Element
Product Description
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Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972
Document Issue: 01.06 / EN
Document Status: Standard
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WIRELESS CLOUD ELEMENT PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Copyright © 2013 Alcatel-Lucent. All Rights Reserved.
About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service providers,
enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video communication
services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP
technologies, applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end solutions that
enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on the move. For
more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: www.alcatel-lucent.com
Notice
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. At the time
of publication, it reflects the latest information on Alcatel-Lucent’s offer, however, our policy
of continuing development may result in improvement or change to the specifications
described.
Trademarks
Alcatel, Lucent, Alcatel-Lucent and the Alcatel-Lucent logo are trademarks of Alcatel-Lucent.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Alcatel-Lucent assumes no
responsibility for inaccuracies contained herein.
Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard
Alcatel-Lucent – Proprietary 2 / 30
CONTENTS
1.1 OVERVIEW..................................................................................................... 5
1.2 SCOPE OF THIS DOCUMENT ..................................................................................... 6
2 WIRELESS CLOUD ELEMENT .................................................................................. 8
2.1 OVERVIEW..................................................................................................... 8
2.2 CUSTOMIZATION ............................................................................................... 8
2.3 SCALABILITY ................................................................................................... 9
2.4 CAPACITY ................................................................................................... 10
2.5 HARDWARE INDEPENDENCE ................................................................................... 10
2.6 DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING AND ELASTIC CAPACITY ............................................................. 11
2.6.1 Distributed Computing .......................................................................... 11
2.6.2 Elastic Capacity .................................................................................. 12
2.7 HIGH RELIABILITY............................................................................................ 13
2.7.1 Quick Tenant Recovery .......................................................................... 13
2.7.2 Geographic Redundancy ......................................................................... 14
2.8 SIMPLIFICATION OF NETWORK ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONAL TASKS .......................................... 14
2.9 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE ............................................................................... 14
2.10 SECURITY ENSURED ...................................................................................... 15
2.11 SHARED TRANSPORT ...................................................................................... 15
2.12 COMPATIBILITY........................................................................................... 16
2.13 REDUCTION IN TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP (TCO) ....................................................... 16
3 UMTS RADIO NETWORK CONTROLLER (RNC) TENANT................................................. 17
3.1 OVERVIEW................................................................................................... 17
3.2 ARCHITECTURE .............................................................................................. 17
3.3 CAPACITY AND SCALABILITY .................................................................................. 19
3.4 CAPACITY LICENSE ........................................................................................... 19
3.5 CARRIER GRADE ............................................................................................. 19
3.6 EFFICIENT RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT .................................................................... 19
3.7 COMPATIBILITY .............................................................................................. 21
3.8 EVOLUTION .................................................................................................. 21
3.9 BENEFITS .................................................................................................... 21
4 FUTURE EVOLUTION ........................................................................................ 22
5 APPENDICES .................................................................................................. 23
5.1 APPENDIX A: REFERENCES ................................................................................... 23
5.2 APPENDIX A: REGULATORY STANDARDS ....................................................................... 24
5.3 APPENDIX B: GLOSSARY OF TERMS ........................................................................... 26
5.3.1 Acronyms .......................................................................................... 26
5.3.2 Glossary ........................................................................................... 30
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Telecommunications Network Diagram Using Cloud Technology ................................................ 5
Figure 2: Example Configurations ...................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 4: Distributed Computing ...................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 5: Network Elasticity ............................................................................................................................. 12
Figure 6: Alcatel-Lucent WCE UMTS RNC with IP Transport ....................................................................... 17
Figure 7: External Communication Channels ................................................................................................. 18
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview
The Wireless Cloud Element (WCE) is a pivotal element in the success of any Radio Access
Network (RAN). Using cloud and virtualization technology, the WCE combines the Alcatel-
Lucent Radio Network products into one unified manageable package providing a flexible,
scalable, and customizable wireless platform solution. In its first release, the WCE hosts the
following Alcatel-Lucent Network application known as a “tenant”:
 Universal Mobile Telecommunication Systems (UMTS) Radio Network Controller (RNC)
In subsequent releases, additional tenants are being considered for the WCE.
The list of tenants offered within the Wireless Cloud Element can be configured as individual
systems or they can be combined to share hardware computer processing units (CPU), disk
storage, and transport networking equipment. Future releases of the WCE product will include
additional wireless products in the software bundle such as the Element Management System
(EMS). This consolidated product reduces the system hardware required for each individual
product while increasing capacity and network flexibility demanded by the Radio Access
Networks.
Figure 1: Telecommunications Network Diagram Using Cloud Technology
The Wireless Cloud Element is cloud compatible supporting traditional central office
deployment or on exiting data center technology with the ability to manage run-time software
processes across multiple hardware processors. Figure 1 illustrates an example of a
telecommunications network incorporating the cloud technology. The servers can be co-
located in one physical location or distributed in multiple locations. Using this technology, the
WCE can be configured with one or more instances of the same tenant and/or with single or
multiple types of tenants executing simultaneously. This configurability allows resources to be
dynamically shared between similar or different tenant types (e.g. 2 RNC or RNC and PCRF or…
dependent on the configuration). For example, traffic may migrate from one tenant to another;
as a result, the system may reallocate computing power based on the tenant computing needs.
Additionally, the WCE can be designed to accommodate a range of capacity from small to very
large systems distributing the processing across the data servers for an efficient resource use.
The tenants are compatible with the existing radio network infrastructure using native IP
communication. The Wireless Cloud Element is a customizable system designed specifically to
meet the network requirements while efficiently using hardware resources.
The Wireless Cloud Element introduces many degrees of freedom for managing the telecom
applications by providing:
 A unified platform to easily manage several radio network applications
 A customizable platform allowing the ability to host a single or multiple applications
and one or more instances of the application
 A dynamic platform able to allocate hardware computer processing units between
applications based on demand
 A scalable platform to accommodate capacity from small to very large configuration
depending on the needs of the network
 A distributed platform enabling the applications to be allocated to multiple data servers
across the network
 A reliable platform allowing quick recovery from hardware and software failures
 A hardware independent platform with the ability to upgrade and maintain hardware
separate from the software execution with minimal to zero downtime
 A hardware independent platform which secures backward compatibility to previous
HW generations thus protecting operator CAPEX investments
 A geo-redundant platform enabling the software to be executed across multiple
physical sites
 A multi-tenant platform capable of integrating OAM functions across multiple tenants
and tenant types
 A green platform as power is reduced because of fewer hardware units and hardware
can be turned off as software processes are consolidated based on capacity usage
 A platform designed in mind with low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
 A platform which simplifies the network operations and engineering
 A compatible platform with native IP capabilities to communicate with existing radio
network infrastructure
The Alcatel-Lucent Wireless Cloud Element is a cost effective solution providing a flexible,
scalable, hardware customizable platform solution for the constantly growing radio networks.
1.2 Scope of This Document

This document gives customers an overview of the Alcatel-Lucent Wireless Cloud Element
software product.
Although this document provides information on Alcatel-Lucent Wireless Cloud Element
functions, it cannot be considered as a detailed feature list or a Plan of Record (PoR). This
information is provided in dedicated documents on a per software release basis in the Feature
Planning Guide.
A lot of the terms used in this document refer to definitions of the radio network standards.
Any time an Alcatel-Lucent specific term is used, it is explicitly elaborated.
This document is updated regularly under change control.
2 WIRELESS CLOUD ELEMENT
2.1 Overview
The Wireless Cloud Element is a platform capable of hosting one or more instances of Radio
Network applications known as tenants. It is a unique solution that provides dynamic hardware
independence, scalability, and flexibility. The platform provides effective management of
tenants while ensuring reliable service of the radio network products.
The Wireless Cloud Element section describes the capabilities of the platform in general. These
capabilities include:
 customization – tenant configuration capabilities (section 2.2)
 scalability – by adding or upgrading hardware (section 2.3)
 capacity – Erlangs and Mbps supported (section 2.4)
 distributed computing and elastic capacity - distribution of hardware resources
(section 2.6)
 hardware independence – decoupling of hardware to use the latest hardware
technology while at the same time protecting previous HW investments (section 2.5)
 high reliability – quick recovery from unexpected outages (section 2.7)
 Simplification of network engineering and operational tasks (section 2.8)
 A secure platform - adherence to security standards (section 2.9)
 common transport – transport connectivity and sharing of bandwidth between tenants
(section 2.11)
 Compatibility – ability to communicate with existing network equipment (section 2.12)
 Reduction in Total Cost Of Ownership (TCO) (section 2.13)
Each tenant is described separately.
2.2 Customization
The Wireless Cloud Element can be customized for the specific requirements of the network.
The WCE can be configured with a single or multiple tenant types and/or with one or more
instances of each tenant. This scalability allows each WCE to be designed uniquely to satisfy
the demands of the network.
Figure 2: Example Configurations

Figure 2 Illustrates examples of the WCE configurations with respect to tenant configuration
and capacity. The WCE can be configured with one tenant or multiple tenants scaling the
hardware to match the configuration. The “Small Footprint” is an example of one tenant with
the minimum hardware. In some cases, the tenant may require more hardware resources to
satisfy the network requirements as shown in the “Large Capacity”. The WCE can be configured
with different tenants as shown in the “Large Footprint”. The system may have one, two … or
more available tenant types. It can be configured with multiple instances of the same tenant
or with a mixture of the same tenant and other types of tenants. The Wireless Cloud Element
can have multiple combinations of tenants’ chosen specifically for the network requirements.
All the tenants configured execute simultaneously on the hardware. The tenant applications
can be configured to share the hardware resources. The sharing of hardware resources enables
the platform to dynamically allocate the hardware for efficient use. It enables the elastic
capacity and transport sharing capabilities. The hardware can be specific for the WCE or it
can leverage existing cloud infrastructure.
The Wireless Cloud Element is customized to meet the specific requirements of the network.
One or more tenant applications and instances can be configured to share hardware resources
optimizing the overall platform resource usage.
2.3 Scalability
The Wireless Cloud Element is scalable in configuration, capacity and hardware. Horizontal
scalability is defined as the ability to increase the capacity through installation of additional
hardware units. Vertical scalability is defined as upgrading existing hardware to increase the
capacity. The WCE supports both horizontal and vertical scalability.
The WCE horizontally scales by adding additional hardware units. Additional tenant
applications can be added to the system or the capacity of each tenant can be increased
individually. More hardware units can be incorporated into the system to increase the
processing power. The platform is easily modified to support the growth of the network as
required.
The WCE scales vertically by upgrading the hardware. As new technology is developed, network
operators can upgrade their hardware to increase the processing power of the platform. More
processing power can increase the capacity of the applications.
Regardless of the scalability requirements, the hardware can be added or upgraded with
minimal or zero impact to the run-time software processes. The hardware is managed
independently of the software allowing the software processes to be easily migrated across the
system.
In summary, the Wireless Cloud Element software product is scalable: in configuration, as
tenant applications can be easily added; in capacity, for easy growth in the network system;
and in hardware, for easy maintenance and growth with minimal traffic impacts. The WCE
provides a flexible solution for all network requirements.
2.4 Capacity
The WCE supports up to the maximum 3G capacity in a single tenant configuration or in a multi–
tenant configuration (i.e. no impact to maximum capacity). The WCE platform is hardware
ready to support higher capacity for future increases. Capacity targets for future releases are
to support infinite WCE RNC capacity (maximum RNC size as defined by the 3GGP standard).
The WCE maximum capacity figures are as follows, assuming a fully populated WCE (64 blades)
and Alcatel-Lucent’s CS and PS profiles:
 120,000 erlangs ; 16.5 Gbps (Iub) ; 12,000 cells (LR14.2W)
 120,000 erlangs ; 16.5 Gbps (Iub) ; 24,000 cells (LR15.2W)
2.5 Hardware Independence

The Wireless Cloud Element is a software product that does not depend on any specific type of
hardware. The WCE tenant processes reside in a virtual environment allowing hardware
resources to be shared. This environment enables the scalability and flexibility of the system.
Hardware independence allows network operators to manage hardware based on network
requirements. Hardware upgrades and maintenance are managed independently of the
software. Executing software processes can be easily moved across the hardware processing
units allowing almost zero software outages during the hardware maintenance procedures.
Hardware can be added or upgraded to the system to accommodate capacity increases without
impacting the existing traffic execution. New hardware technology can be applied to the
existing data center to further increase the processing power. Network operators can obtain
and incorporate the latest hardware equipment to increase network efficiency and capacity.
Obsolete hardware can be replaced with almost zero network outage. A hardware mix of
different generation of cards can be achieved based on the hardware platform capabilities.
This mix of cards allows the network operator to use the latest technology while leveraging
existing hardware to reduce capital costs.
Additionally, hardware independence allows the WCE software to use existing hardware within
the cloud data server infrastructure, thus reduce capital spending. In the case where data
servers are currently available, there would be no ($0) capital costs for the hardware
infrastructure as the WCE is applied to existing data servers. The Wireless Cloud Element
hardware independence allows network operators to easily manage hardware for maintenance
and growth without impacting existing traffic execution and minimizing costs.
The Wireless Cloud Element is designed and tested using Hewlett Packard (HP) hardware and
VMware virtualization. Requests for alternative hardware or virtualization testing and support
can be made through the regional account teams. The detailed HW configurations that have
been validated by Alcatel-Lucent are summarized within the Release Notes.
2.6 Distributed Computing and Elastic Capacity

The Wireless Cloud Element virtual environment and hardware independence (details described
in section 2.5) creates a platform allowing the applications to be distributed across the
hardware. The hardware can be located in multiple physical sites establishing the distributed
computing environment. In addition to the physical distribution, the computing resources can
be shared dynamically across the applications. CPU processing is dynamically reallocated
between the physical sites to balance the computing load for the applications enabling the
elastic capacity (see section 2.6.2).
2.6.1 Distributed Computing

The distributed computing environment is the deployment of a logical telecom function or
application across various physical geographical locations (different data centers and/or central
offices). This single logical entity enables a simplified engineering module with no boundaries
(or reduction of): single alarm stream; single management point; single billing point; single KPI
monitoring; etc. While the system has the capability of residing in multiple locations, the
monitoring and control of the operations can be centralized. Figure 3: Distributed Computing
illustrates an example configuration of 3 physical data servers managed as a single entity. In
this example, there are 3 physical sites servicing different areas. The computing resources
are shared regardless of their geographic locations creating the distributed environment. This
configuration is one example of the distributing computing environment as there are many
configurations possible.
B1
Sub-Urban
DC1 R2
DC2
B1
sB1
sS3 S3
R2 R2
Sub-Urban
Sub-Urban
B1 sR2
S3
CO1
S3
Dense Urban
Figure 3: Distributed Computing
In Figure 3, there are 3 application tenants: B1, R2, and S3. Each tenant is distributed across
2 physical sites. In the diagram, the tenant applications are distributed for the servicing areas:
B1 tenant services the DC1 sub-urban area; R2 tenant services the DC2 sub-urban area; and the
S3 tenant services the DC3 urban area. A spare application of each tenant is configured on the
third site but it remains dormant until required. As part of the Wireless Cloud Element, the
three tenants can be monitored from a central location while the execution of the applications
is physically distributed. Note that this is one configuration example. The network can be
configured with 1 application tenant across all 3 physical sites if required or in many other
configurations.
Additionally, computing resources are allocated based on the demand of the tenant
applications. During the day when the dense urban area traffic increases, computing resources
are reallocated to satisfy the tenant requirements creating a balanced system throughout the
day. This feature is described in section 2.6.2 Elastic Capacity. If there is a disaster of one of
the physical sites, the applications can be restored on hardware in an alternate physical
location with minimal loss of service. This feature is described in section 2.7.2 Geographic
Redundancy.
In summary, the distributed computing environment enables a single point of control for
operation management and analysis while providing geo-redundancy, elastic capacity and
multi-site capabilities. These features reduce the capital expenditures while ensuring reliable
service.
2.6.2 Elastic Capacity

Elastic capacity is defined as the ability of the system to dynamically shift resources to meet
changing needs in a dynamic network. The capacity requirements for the tenants vary
throughout the day. In today’s networks, it is not uncommon for servers to be relatively idle
based on daily capacity variations. The Wireless Cloud Element has the capability to shift
processes between resources to efficiently accommodate the daily capacity requirements while
efficiently using all resources. Essentially, the WCE creates a balanced load across the tenant
applications and across the computing resources.
Capacity migration can be required between rural or sub-urban areas and dense urban area
(city center) as people commute to their daily workplace. The Wireless Cloud Element is
configured to span larger geographical areas allowing a natural shift in resources required to
service the dynamic traffic demands between urban and sub-urban areas. Resources normally
dedicated to servicing low capacity geographical areas are redistributed based on the system
demands to higher capacity geographical areas. As a result, the server loads remain constant
while servicing the change in physical location. Figure 4 illustrates the shifting traffic handling
capabilities during the day while the server load remains consistent. The WCE product satisfies
the system capacity and geographical demands while managing the resources efficiently.
Common Servers
... server load

is uniform
RNCa RNCb
Rural
Dense Urban
Sub-Urban
As traffic shifts during the day ...
Figure 4: Network Elasticity
The distribution of resources is flexible to accommodate changes for a single tenant or between
multiple tenants. As an example, the Small Cells network capacity demand may vary differently
from the UMTS network capacity demand. The WCE is capable of shifting resources from one
tenant application to another keeping the server loads consistent for the dynamic capacity
distribution across the tenant applications. The elastic capacity enables efficient use of the
hardware resources while maintaining a consistent service level for each tenant application.
The Wireless Cloud Element is a dynamic distributed computing platform allowing the network
operators to easily manage the changing capacity requirements across the radio access
network. It is a cost effective solution with the ability to accommodate changes in peak traffic
areas during the day.
2.7 High Reliability

In addition to the use of high reliability hardware equipment, the Wireless Cloud Element
provides extreme high reliability with the accommodation of cloud and virtualization
technologies. Tenant applications can be recovered quickly from unexpected outages.
Software processes can be migrated to alternate hardware resources with minimal to zero
impacts. The WCE tenant applications can be recovered remotely on a different physical site.
The Wireless Cloud Element provides multiple options to recover unexpected outages quickly
and efficiently.
2.7.1 Quick Tenant Recovery

Virtualization allows tenant application processes to be recovered quickly from unexpected
outages. The tenants are recovered from unexpected hardware and software failures with
minimal outages to the service.
In the case of one physical server failure, the processes are recovered on another server in the
same or another shelf automatically. The service is absorbed by the application with minimal
to zero outages to the system.
For multiple server failures simultaneously, the tenant applications are recovered
automatically in the alternate servers. In this case, the service may be slightly degraded due
to the reduction in processing power. Once the hardware is restored, full service can be
restored quickly with no outages to the system.
In the case of a software process failure, the service is absorbed by the application with minimal
to zero outages to the system. The malfunctioning process can be restarted manually or
automatically without impacting service availability.
The Wireless Cloud Element is able to quickly recover from hardware and software failures
without impacting the availability. The processes can be restarted manually or automatically
to recover from the failure. This recovery mechanism ensures the high reliability of the
Wireless Cloud Element.
2.7.2 Geographic Redundancy

The Wireless Cloud Element provides the ability to recover the tenants from a remote site. In
the case of a serious disaster (fire or earthquake), service can be restored to another existing
site. Essential services are restored with minimal service downtime.
The geographic redundancy feature is accomplished using shadow application tenants. A
shadow application tenant is a clone of a service providing tenant created on the same or
remote site ready to provide service at any given time. It resides in a dormant state (no CPU
utilization and no external connectivity) until required to provide service. When the failure to
the service providing site occurs, the shadow application tenant takes over service. This fail
over capability provides minimal service outages providing geographic redundancy.
The geographic redundancy utilizes the reflection concept to ensure high reliability of the
Wireless Cloud Element’s tenants.
2.8 Simplification of Network Engineering and Operational

Tasks
Through a common cloud compatible platform, the Wireless Cloud Element provides network
engineering and operational tasks simplification such as:
 Single infrastructure for installation and commissioning, maintenance, support and
monitoring
 Reduction of Training and certification
 Simplified network engineering for RAN and Transport as there are fewer network
elements to manage (monitor, provision, maintain) due to multi-tenancy and high
capacity nodes
 Fewer IUR links required for WCE/RNC resulting in simplification of engineering
2.9 Operation and Maintenance

For tenants such as the RNC, the existing O&M system (i.e. OMC-R) can be used for all domains
of Software Management, Configuration Management, Fault Management and Performance
Management.
The WCE platform infrastructure is managed via a centralized or local management server
regardless of the tenant(s) active on the platform.
2.10 Security Ensured

The Wireless Cloud Element is secured and compliant with the security standards. Secured
shell and sFTP are some security applications used to maintain a secure environment. The
platform is secured for inter application, operational, analysis and management (OAM), and
external connectivity.
2.11 Shared Transport

The Wireless Cloud Element tenant applications share a common native IP transport. Some of
the characteristics of the transport are as follows:
General
 10G interfaces (SFP+)
 IPv6 hardware-ready
 IEEE 802.1Q VLANs (Virtual Local Area Network) for traffic segregation
Management
 local & remote configuration and management
 policy & port-based mirroring
 sFlow & RMON (RFC 3176 & 2819)
 IEEE 802.1AB LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol)
 IEEE 802.3ah & 802.1ag Ethernet OAM
QoS
 DSCP (Differentiated Service Code Point) marking configurable according to 3GPP
traffic classification
 IEEE 802.1Q priority bit marking configurable according to DSCP marking
 8 priority-based hardware queues per port
 mix of strict priority and fair-share scheduling
Transport Reliability
 path diversity:
– route redundancy
– load balancing
 quick fault detection and failover (< 500 ms)
 IEEE 802.1AX link aggregation & LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol)
 multi-chassis link aggregation (MC-LAG)
Security
 SSH (Secure Shell) & PKI Capable (Public Key Infrastructure)

 RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service)
 TACACS (Terminal Authentication Controller Access Control System)
 Line Rate ACLs (Access Control List)
 MAC (Media Access Control) Address Lockdown
 STP Root Guard
2.12 Compatibility
The WCE UMTS Radio Network Controller tenant is compatible with NodeBs and controllers in
the existing network architecture. Additional changes are not required to incorporate the WCE
product into existing networks, providing IP transport is supported.
2.13 Reduction in Total Cost Of Ownership (TCO)

The WCE has been designed and built with the focus on reducing the TCO. Following is a list of
the key TCO savings:
Reduction in CAPEX through
 Reduction in required HW through:
- Multi tenancy for efficient resource usage reducing the required number of NEs
- Very high capacity WCE platform reduces significantly the number of NEs
- Optimized lifecycle management, less spares required.
 HW independence
- Applications will run on any generation of HW, no need to swap one generation
of HW with another.
- Can be deployed on dedicated hardware or in existing data center
 Leverage the evolution of server compute capacity for capacity evolution (server tic-
toc)
 Optimized Transport Network: Reduction in network elements due to multi-tenancy
and high capacity nodes requires fewer transport nodes
Reduction in OPEX through
 Efficient HW resources sharing through multi-tenancy and very high capacity nodes
resulting in
- Fewer sites and network elements to manage
- Efficient power consumption by turning off idle servers during low traffic
periods
- Reduction in site costs (reduction in cooling, footprint, site rental)
 Reduction in training, knowledge of one server HW type only needed for configuration
and maintenance
 Simplified network engineering (RAN and transport) with fewer NEs to manage
(provision, monitor, maintain)
 Single infrastructure commissioning & installation process: savings in time & effort
3 UMTS RADIO NETWORK CONTROLLER (RNC) TENANT

3.1 Overview
The Radio Network Controller (RNC) Tenant is key in the success of any UMTS Terrestrial Radio
Access Network (UTRAN) deployment. As such, it is imperative that deployed RNCs have the
ability to scale efficiently and to cater for flexible deployment scenarios. It is also essential
that the RNC possess the capability to improve performance over time, given the likely
exponential growth of wireless data.
The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC is responsible for UMTS call and signalling processing. It also
provides layer 2 radio protocol processing interacting with the external physical interfaces
(IuCS, IuPS, IuBC, IuPC, IuR, and IuB). Figure 5 illustrates the WCE UMTS RNC interactions within
the Radio Access Network (RAN).
Figure 5: Alcatel-Lucent WCE UMTS RNC with IP Transport
CS Core
Network
Elements
WCE RNC Elements
IP ATM
Transport
ATM
ATM Transport
Network
IpTransport
Transport
ATM Transport
Networks
Transport Networks
IuB IuCS, IuR, IuPS

RNCs
IP Transport
IPIP
IpIPIP
Transport
Transport
Network
Transport
Transport
Transport Networks
Networks
PS Core
Network
Elements
3.2 Architecture
This section describes the UMTS Radio Network Controller tenant architecture. The major
processing units and their interactions will be described to demonstrate the UMTS RNC
capabilities.
The RNC is composed of 4 major processing entities known as roles:
 3G Operational, Analysis, and Management (OAM)
 Cell Management Unit (CMU)
 User Management Unit (UMU)
 Protocol Converter (PC)
The 3G Operational, Analysis, and Management (OAM) process is responsible for interacting
with the Element Management System (EMS). Its responsibilities are:
 to retrieve configuration data from the EMS
 to gather fault and measurement data from the roles
 to communicate fault management information to the EMS
 to communicate with the WCE Manager to configure the required virtual machines
for the UMTS RNC
The RNC external communication termination is illustrated in Figure 6.
UEU UEU
UEU
UEU UEU
UEU
UEU UEU
UEU UEU
UEU
UEU UEU
UEU
UEU UEU
UEU UEU Scale for
UEU UEU 100000s of Mobiles
UEU UEU
UEU
UEU UEU
UEU
UEU UEU
UEU UEU
UEU
UEU UEU
UEU
UEU UEU
UEU UEU
UEU
UEU UMU
UMU
UMU UMU
Scale for
1000s of Cells
Dynamic
Un-spared
CMU
CMU
CMU
CMU
CMU
CMU
CMU
CMU PC PC
PC PC
UDP/IP UDP/IP UDP/IP
CPRI
over fiber
Conventional Macrocell RF only sites

BBU
Figure 6: External Communication Channels
There are two types of IP/UDP connections:
 Common Channels (CCH) required for each cell
 Dedicated Channels (DCH) and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) required for user
connections
CCH are terminated directly on the CMU and do not conflict with the PC UDP ports since the IP
addresses are different. The Cell management Unit (CMU) is responsible for the cell
management and call setup. It interacts with the PC and UMUs to setup the DCH. The number
of CMUs scales to accommodate the number of cells registered with the RNC.
Dedicated channel connections are terminated at the UMU passing through the PC. The PCs
provide a single communication point for the BTS / NodeBs for the user connections. The PCs
are responsible for resource allocation and bandwidth preservation. The UMUs are responsible
for the connection between the radio access bearer management. The number of UMUs is
scaled to meet the needs of the traffic. More UMUs are dynamically added to the system based
on the demand. Note: The total number of UMUs is limited by the capacity license.
The UMTS RNC architecture is designed to scale with capacity requirements and demands of
the network. CMUs and UMUs are dynamically added or removed to meet the demands of the
network. This architecture allows the RNC to scale to infinite capacity limited specifically by
the capacity license.
3.3 Capacity and Scalability

The cloud technology enables the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC to be scalable for growth from a
minimum configuration at network launch to a full capacity configuration. A smooth upgrade
path allows operators to optimize their investment with the high scalability of the Alcatel-
Lucent UMTS RNC mapping to the subscriber growth in the network.
Increasing the RNC’s capacity is extremely easy and flexible for an operator. The Radio Network
Controller (RNC) is designed with scalable processing entities called the cell management unit
(CMU) and a user plane management unit (UMU). These roles manage the majority of the traffic
handling on the RNC. The CMU is responsible for the cell management and the UMU is
responsible for the user traffic processing. As the capacity is increased, UMU processors are
added to handle the network growth.
This capacity leadership translates into the following key values:
 A reduced number of RNCs, which will lower the overall initial CAPEX and lower OPEX;
 A reduced number of inter-RNC handovers that will translate into optimal usage of
network resources across the access network and the core network, to support more
subscribers and subsequently increase revenue;
 A reduced footprint because fewer RNCs are required. This reduction will lower CAPEX;
 The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC is based on off-the-shelf processing technology; and
 Scalability of capacity is easily managed.
3.4 Capacity License

Capacity licensing provides the operator with the option of “pay as you grow” and to reduce
the upfront investment during network rollout. As capacity demands grow, the WCE RNC
capacity can be increased by purchasing and installing the capacity license. The WCE RNC will
license the following:
- User Mangement Units (UMUs)
3.5 Carrier Grade

Alcatel-Lucent has a history of delivering highly available, carrier grade and fault redundant
products. The UMTS RNC is designed to operate at > 99.999% availability.
The UMTS RNC’s best in class reliability is achieved thanks to Alcatel-Lucent’s rigorous carrier
grade development program which makes availability a focus at all stages of development from
requirements definition through to system level test.
The carrier grade features of the WCE UMTS RNC include:
 Minimize frequency and impact of unscheduled outages
 Minimize outages associated with scheduled maintenance procedures
3.6 Efficient Radio Resource Management

The Alcatel-Lucent Radio Resource Management (RRM) is an essential piece of the UMTS RNC
software that controls the allocation and maintenance of the radio resources during a
communication. Efficient radio resource allocation and management is required to guarantee
QoS (Quality of Service) at maximum capacity.
The main functions related to Alcatel-Lucent's RRM solution are:
1. Admission Control
2. Congestion Control
3. Power Control
Admission Control
The purpose of Admission Control is to admit or deny new users. Alcatel-Lucent's admission
control mechanism consists of two steps and is described in [1]:
 Radio Access Bearer (RAB) Matching – Performs the mapping of the requested RAB onto
one of the supported Radio Bearer (RB) configurations. This step includes a RAB to RB
mapping table which provides a mechanism to admit a RAB at a rate lower than the
requested Maximum Bit Rate (MBR) according to the cell load and user priority. This
function, called intelligent RAB Mapping (iRM), only applies to RABs with an Interactive
or Background Traffic Class (TC).
 Call Admission Control (CAC) – Located in the CRNC, it is the function responsible for
deciding whether a request to establish a RAB can be admitted in the UTRAN or not
based on the available resources. Radio CAC is based on power and OVSF codes in the
downlink (DL) and on interference in the uplink (UL) (note that other CAC decisions are
performed at transport and node level i.e. Node B and RNC). CAC is applied:
At initial admission
On RB reconfiguration: RB bit rate downgrading/upgrading, CELL_FACH to CELL_DCH
transition, etc …
On mobility: SHO, Inter-frequency HHO & 2G to 3G HHO
Congestion Control
The task of congestion control is to monitor, detect and handle situations when the system is
reaching an overload situation with users that are already connected.
Alcatel-Lucent's congestion control provides two ways to fight against overload:
 Preventive actions to avoid overload, using iRM
 If overload happens, congestion handling mechanisms bring the system back to normal
load, this is achieved by the iRM pre-emption feature, described in [2]
Power Control
This group of functions controls the level of transmitted power in order to minimize
interference and maintain the quality of the connections. Alcatel-Lucent supports:
 DL and UL Outer Loop Power Control
 DL and UL Inner Loop Power Control and DL power balancing
 UL Open Loop Power Control
Alcatel-Lucent Power control features are described in [4].
Radio Measurements
This function performs measurements on radio channels (located in UE and UTRAN). The UTRAN
processes these measurements and uses them for Radio Resource Management (RRM).
In addition to these functions, Alcatel-Lucent's RRM solution also provides a set of sophisticated
features allowing an operator to make the best use of his radio resources such as:
 Switching from CELL_DCH to CELL_FACH and further to CELL_PCH/URA_PCH (and vice
versa) based on user activity (Always-On feature), described in [3]
 RB bit rate downgrading and upgrading based on radio conditions (iRM Scheduling
feature), described in [1]
 Adapt the RB to the application data rate (RB Rate Adaptation Feature), described in
[4]
HSPA Supported
The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC and the entire Node B portfolio support HSPA (both DL and UL)
from day one.
HSPA+ Supported
The Alcatel-Lucent UTRAN supports HSPA+ services to allow support of category 12 and 14
terminals.
3.7 Compatibility
The WCE UMTS RNC tenant is compatible with the Node B and existing radio controller. It
adheres to the 3GPP specifications for all interfaces. Additionally, the RNC adheres to the
security standards to ensure a secure reliable application. The Wireless Cloud Element UMTS
RNC application is compatible application ready for operation in radio access networks.
3.8 Evolution
Features within the UMTS RNC application will be added with each release of the product.
Network Operators can request specific features through Alcatel-Lucent Regional Teams.
Future release of this RNC application will scale to 3GPP standard.
3.9 Benefits
The Wireless Cloud Element UMTS Radio Network Controller provides a flexible and scalable
solution for network operators. Incorporating this application into their network, the operators
will achieve a reduction in capital and operational spending as a result of the following benefits:
 Reduction in the number of RNCs because of the ability to configure larger RNCs
 Reduction in the footprint required for the RNCs because fewer RNCs are required
 Reduction in inter-RNC connectivity because fewer RNCs are required
 Ability to increase capacity without impacts to the network
 Reduction in power requirements because fewer RNCs are required and there is better
optimized equipment
 Reduction in IuR and IuB re-homing and re-parenting activities because the RNCs can
accommodate more NodeB connections and the RNC capacity can increase with outages
 Reduction in physical sites as the RNC can accommodate large capacity and cover a
large physical area
 Reduction in general maintenance activities because there are fewer RNCs to maintain
The Wireless Cloud Element UMTS Radio Network Controller is a cost effective application with
the ability to satisfy capacity requirements while reducing capital and operational spending.
4 FUTURE EVOLUTION
The Wireless Cloud Element is a software product capable of supporting multiple tenants. The
Element Management System (EMS) is an example of an additional tenant to be added in a
future release. Additional tenants will be incorporated into the WCE product to provide a
complete radio access network solution that is easily managed, scalable, and flexible.
Features in the tenants will be enhanced and new features will be incorporated into the
product. New features and enhancements can be requested through Alcatel-Lucent customer
account teams.
Alcatel-Lucent is dedicated to providing and evolving their product portfolio to satisfy the needs
of the Radio Access Network operators.
5 APPENDICES
5.1 Appendix A: References

[1] UMT/SYS/DD/00128 Intelligent RAB mapping, v3.02
[2] UMT/SYS/DD/10672 iRM Pre-Emption, v1.02
[3] UMT/SYS/DD/0034 PS Call Management, v4.04
[4] UMT/SYS/DD/0086 Power management, v4.02
[5] UMT/SYS/DD/009966 High Level Compliance to 3GPP specifications v05.02 UA05.0
5.2 Appendix A: Regulatory Standards

Safety
Regulatory Standards Description
UL 60950-1 covered by CSA NRTL Mark Safety of Information Technology Equipment
(United States)
Safety of Information Technology Equipment
CSA 22.2 No 60950-1
(Canada)
EN 60950-1 Safety of Information Technology Equipment (EU)
IEC 60950-1 CB Scheme Safety of Information Technology Equipment
(International), National Deviations.
FDA 21CFR Part 1040.10 North America Laser Safety
IEC 60825-1 / 60825-2 International Laser Safety
EMC Emissions
CFR 47 FCC Part 15 Class A United States (Federal Communications
Commission – FCC)
CISPR 24 Information Technology Equipment - Immunity
characteristics - Limits and methods of
measurement (International)
EN 55024 Information Technology Equipment - Immunity
characteristics - Limits and methods of
measurement (EU)
ICES-003 Class A Spectrum Management: Interference-causing
equipment standard (Digital Apparatus) (Canada)
EMI Immunity
Regulatory Standards Region
ETSI 300-386 Europe
CISPR 22 International
Telco Environmental & Safety (North America & Europe)

GR-1089-CORE Electromagnetic Compatibility and Electrical
Safety – Generic Criteria for Network
Telecommunications Equipment (US)
GR-63-CORE Network Equipment-Building System
Requirements: Physical Protection (US)
EN 300-019 Storage and Transportation (EU)
ETS 300-753 Equipment Engineering (EE); Acoustic noise
emitted by telecommunications equipment (EU)
DC Powered Equipment
ANSI-T1.315 Voltage Levels for DC Powered Equipment Used
in the Telecommunications Environment (US)
EN 300 132-2 Power supply interface at the input to
telecommunications equipment; Part 2: Operated
by direct current (dc) (EU)
GR-499-Core Transport System Generic Requirements (TSGR):
Common Requirements (NA)
European Directives
Directive Description
DIRECTIVE 2004/108/EC Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
DIRECTIVE 2006/95/EC Low Voltage Directive (LVD)
DIRECTIVE 2002/95/EC Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous
Substances in Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (RoHS)
DIRECTIVE 2002/96/EC Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE)
5.3 Appendix B: Glossary of Terms

5.3.1 Acronyms
A–F
Abis BSC To BTS Interoperability Specification

ACL Access Control List
ALPS Alcatel-Lucent Positioning System
ASP A Signalling Processing
AGNSS Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System
AGPS Assisted Global Positioning System
BSC Base Station Controller
BSS Base Station Subsystem
BSSAP BSS GPRS Protocol
BTS Base Transceiver Station
CAC Call Admission Control
CAPEX Capital Expenditures
CBC Cell Broadcast Centre
CCP Call Control Processing
CELL_DCH Dedicated Channel
CELL_FACH Forward Access Channel
CELL_PCH Cell Paging Channel
CFP Central (Telecom) Function Processing
CID Cell Id
CPU Computer Processing Unit
CS Circuit Switched
DAS Distributed Antennae Systems
DCT Digital Trunk Controller
DSCP Differentiated Service Code Point
ECID Enhanced Cell Id
EDGE Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution
EGNOS European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service
EMS Element Management System
eSMLC Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center
FCC Federal Communications Commission
G–M
GMLC Gateway Mobile Location Center
GPRS General Packet Radio Service
GPRSAP
GPS Global Positioning System
GSM Global System for Mobile communications
GUI Graphical User Interface
HW Hardware
HHO Hard Handover
IP Internet Protocol
IOT Inter-Operability Testing
IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem
iRM Intelligent RAB Matching
IUrG Iur-GSM
LACP Link Aggregation Control Protocol
LBS Location Based Services
LLDP Link Layer Discovery Protocol
WCE Wireless Cloud Element
MAC Media Access Control
MBR Maximum Bit Rate
MC-LAG Multi-chassis Link Aggregation
MFS Multi-BSS Fast Packet Server
MME Mobile Management Entity
MSC Mobile Services Switching Center
MSTP Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol
MUXTRAUP Multiplexed TRAU Protocol
N-R
NEM Network Element Manager
O&M Operation and Maintenance.
OA&M Operation, Administration and Maintenance.
OAM&P Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning
OMCP O&M Control Processing
OPEX Operation Expenditures
OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival
PCU Packet Control Unit
PKI Public Key Infrastructure
PoR Plan of Record
PMU Processing Management Unit
PS Packet Switched
QoS Quality of Service
RAB Radio Access Bearer
RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service
RAN Radio Access Network
RB Radio Bearer
RNC Radio Network Controller
RRM Radio Resources Management
RSTP Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol
RTP Real-time Transport Protocol
S-Z
SBAS Space Based Augmentation System
SC Small Cell
SFP Small Form Pluggable
SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node
SHO Soft Handover
SLP Service Location Protocol
SMS-CB Short Message Service Cell Broadcast
SMLC Service Mobile Location Center
SS7 Common Channel Signalling number 7
SSH Secure Shell
STP Spanning Tree Protocol
SUPL Secure User Plane Location
TACACS Terminal Authentication Controller Access Control System
TC Traffic Class
TCU Terminal Controller Unit
TD-SCDMA Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access
TRX Transceiver
UE User Equipment
UMTS Universal Mobile telecommunication System
URA_PCH Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network Registration Area Paging channel
US United States
UTRAN UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
VLAN Virtual Local Area Network
WAAS Wide Area Augmentation Systems
WLS Wireless Location Signatures
5.3.2 Glossary
Gb Interface between the base station subsystem and the SGSN
Interface
3GPP A technical specification for 3rd Generation Mobile Systems.
LINUX A unix-like operating system
Node B The element in a UMTS network which interfaces with the mobile station,
analogous to a Base Station in a GSM network.
RMON A standard for monitoring specification that enables various network monitors
and console systems to exchange network-monitoring data.
sFLOW A technology used for monitoring network, wireless, and host devices
Tenant An application managed by the Wireless Cloud Element platform

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Wireless Cloud Element

Copyright © 2013 Alcatel-Lucent. All Rights Reserved.

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

Figure 1: Telecommunications Network Diagram Using Cloud Technology

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1.2 Scope of This Document

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2 WIRELESS CLOUD ELEMENT

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Figure 2: Example Configurations

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2.5 Hardware Independence

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2.6 Distributed Computing and Elastic Capacity

2.6.1 Distributed Computing

Figure 3: Distributed Computing

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2.6.2 Elastic Capacity

... server load

As traffic shifts during the day ...

Figure 4: Network Elasticity

2.7 High Reliability

2.7.1 Quick Tenant Recovery

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2.7.2 Geographic Redundancy

2.8 Simplification of Network Engineering and Operational

2.9 Operation and Maintenance

2.10 Security Ensured

2.11 Shared Transport

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 SSH (Secure Shell) & PKI Capable (Public Key Infrastructure)

2.13 Reduction in Total Cost Of Ownership (TCO)

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3 UMTS RADIO NETWORK CONTROLLER (RNC) TENANT

IuB IuCS, IuR, IuPS

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Conventional Macrocell RF only sites

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3.3 Capacity and Scalability

3.4 Capacity License

3.5 Carrier Grade

3.6 Efficient Radio Resource Management

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Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

5.1 Appendix A: References

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5.2 Appendix A: Regulatory Standards

Telco Environmental & Safety (North America & Europe)

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

5.3 Appendix B: Glossary of Terms

Abis BSC To BTS Interoperability Specification

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

Document Number: CMN/CTRL/DD/036972| Document Issue: 01.06 / EN | Document Status: Standard

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