Cell-Site Access switch/router platform custom-designed to support the seamless backhaul of Radio Access Network (RAN) traffic from the cell site over T1/E1, Carrier Ethernet, MPLS, and IP transport networks.
Introduction
The Cisco® MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router is a cell-site access platform specifically designed to optimize, aggregate, and transport mixed-generation radio access network (RAN) traffic. It allows mobile wireless operators to significantly lower existing operating expenses (OpEx); cost-efficiently deploy new radio technologies such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS)/High Speed Packet Access (HSPA)/Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX voice and data networks; generate revenue from new cell-site IP-based services; and facilitate rapid deployment of next-generation mobile services.
Custom designed for the cell site, the Cisco MWR 2941-DC features a small form factor, extended operating temperature, and cell-site DC input voltages. It comprises a high-performance architecture, driven by a powerful Cisco IOS® Software host processor joined with a network processing engine and clocking and synchronization complex, combined with application-specific Cisco IOS Software-based operating software tailored for IP RAN transport. The Cisco MWR 2941-DC is a purpose built platform providing density, flexibility, and a variety of connectivity options at the cell site through support for select interface cards from the Cisco 2800 and 3800 Series Integrated Services Router platforms.
The Cisco MWR 2941-DC helps enable a variety of RAN solutions by extending IP connectivity to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) base transceiver stations (BTSs), UMTS/HSPA/LTE Node Bs, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)/CDMA-2000/EVDO BTSs, WiMAX BTSs, and other ancillary cell-site equipment. It transparently and efficiently transports cell-site voice, data, and signaling traffic over IP using traditional T1/E1 circuits, including leased line, microwave, and satellite, as well as alternative backhaul networks, including Carrier Ethernet, DSL, and WiMAX. It also supports standards-based Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Internet protocols over the RAN transport network, including those standardized at the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for IP RAN transport.
The primary Cisco IP optimized RAN transport solutions, which may be deployed separately or in combination to suit the operator's specific network and business needs, include:
• Optimized RAN transport over IP: Maximizes GSM/GPRS/EDGE, and UMTS/HSPA voice and data call density per T1/E1 over the RAN transport network to reduce backhaul transmission costs, which are typically the largest operational expenses in the network.
• IP/Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) RAN backhaul: Allows for a variety of backhaul transport media facilitating higher-capacity and/or lower-cost alternative RAN transport for GSM, CDMA, UMTS, and WiMAX networks, such as Carrier Ethernet, DSL, and WiMAX networks. Higher-speed broadband backhaul, such as DSL and Carrier Ethernet, is ideally suited for transport of HSPA/LTE, CDMA EVDO, and WiMAX data traffic.
• Cell-site operations support networks: Facilitates telemetry to cell sites for remote operations and network element management of the ancillary cell-site equipment to reduce costly site visits and improve operational efficiency.
• Cell-site IP points of presence (POPs): Offer new revenue-generating IP services and applications at every cell site.
Table 1 lists the advantages and benefits of the Cisco IP Optimized RAN solutions for mobile wireless operators.
Table 1. Important Advantages and Benefits of the Cisco IP Optimized RAN Solutions
Solution
Advantage
Benefit
IP/MPLS RAN backhaul
Backhaul media independent (Carrier Ethernet, DSL, EFM, WiMAX, and so on)
UMTS, HSPA, EVDO, WiMAX offload
IETF ATM and TDM PWE3
ATM permanent virtual circuit (PVC) routing for UMTS
Rapid network expansion
Single converged IP/Ethernet/MPLS backhaul
Multiple clocking options
Layer 2 and Layer 3 services
Cisco IOS Software IP service-level agreement (SLA)
Lower-cost broadband IP backhaul options
Substantial OpEx reduction
Quick response to growth demands
Simplified network management and backhaul provisioning
Ability to route different traffic types over different backhaul media types
Optimal matching of backhaul network capacity and SLA
Multiradio/multibackhaul capability
Load-balancing across backhaul options
Backup paths
Cell-site IP POPs and operations support networks
New revenue-generating services
Intelligent IP services
Cell-site telemetry and LAN extension
4G ready
Ability to reach new customers
RAN security
Fewer site visits and shorter Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
Rapid deployment of next-generation services
Optimized RAN transport over IP
50 percent measured T1/E1 efficiency gain on GSM
RAN vendor independent
No change to existing RAN design
Cisco Optimized pseudowire emulation (PWE)
Statistical multiplexing
T1/E1 "bonding" with Multilink Point-to-Point Protocol (MLPPP)
Single converged IP backhaul serving second generation (2G)/third generation (3G)/4G
Quality of Service (QoS) by traffic type and radio
Dynamic bandwidth sharing
Decouple RAN technology from transport
Inverse Multiplexing over ATM (IMA) termination at the cell site
Enhanced reliability
3GPP-compliant transport
Investment protection
Substantial OpEx reduction
Growth in GSM revenue without increasing costs
Expanded call-carrying capacity of existing T1/E1 RAN
Utilization of existing T1/E1 capacity from GSM to also handle UMTS
Ability to begin node B rollouts immediately and prewire additional UMTS capacity
Faster rollouts
Loss of T1/E1 span does not result in loss of service
Multiple traffic classes supported on common network
Per technology bandwidth monitoring and tracking
Seamless support for natural 2G to 3G migration
Broadband and Ethernet backhaul ready
Utilize standards as broadband and Ethernet backhaul become available
Reduced ATM spending, investment in IP - the future
Risk-free base station subsystem (BSS) upgrades
Positioning for 3G evolution to native IP
The Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router (Figure 1) delivers a compact, high-performance, and flexible cell-site access platform designed specifically for IP optimization of RANs, facilitating profit-enhancing solutions for today's mobile networks and offering flexibility to evolve as future growth and business needs require.
Figure 1. Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router
Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router Overview
The primary hardware and software features of the Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router are described in the following overviews.
Hardware Overview
The Cisco MWR 2941-DC includes the following hardware features:
• Stackable, low-power, 1-rack-unit (RU), 12.5-inch-deep, 19-inch rack-mount form factor with front-to-back airflow
• TDM backplane
• DS0-grooming and drop-and-insert
• Common clock distribution across the chassis
• Front-panel access cabling and LED indicators
• One external timing input (BITS)
• 16 integrated RJ-45 T1/E1 ports
• Four integrated RJ-45 100/1000BASE-T ports
• Two integrated 1000BASE-X Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) ports
• One integrated 115.2-Kbps combined console and auxiliary port
• Two integrated high-speed WAN interface card (HWIC) slots that support select cards from the Cisco 2800 and 3800 Series
• Network processing engine for integrated hardware-accelerated network services
• Clocking and synchronization complex for integrated timing over packet features
• Built in Layer 2 Gigabit Ethernet switch supporting line rate traffic
• Stratum 3 network clock
• -4 to 140°F (-20 to 60°C) extended operating temperature
• 20 to 60 VDC (±) universal power supply
• Supports dual A and B DC power feeds with a single Euro Style 4 Position Connector
• Simple GUI-based management with Cisco Mobile Wireless Transport Manager (MWTM)
Software Overview
The software for the Cisco MWR 2941-DC is tailored for IP RAN transport and includes several Cisco IOS Software features specifically developed for such applications. These features include Adaptive Clock Recovery, IEEE 1588-2008, ITU-T Synchronous Ethernet, IETF ATM and TDM Pseudowire Emulation Edge to Edge, and Cisco patent-pending Optimized Pseudowire Emulation, including GSM Abis/Ater Optimization over IP, which provides optimization to improve backhaul transport efficiency. Another important feature is Cisco ATM PVC Routing, which provides the ability to route different types of 3G traffic over different types of backhaul media, while providing load-balancing and backup paths. For example, in some DSL backhaul networks the downlink supports much higher capacity than the uplink. Cisco ATM PVC Routing optimally matches HSPA transport to these asymmetric backhaul networks by routing higher-bandwidth downstream traffic over DSL links, while the lower-bandwidth upstream traffic is routed over "bonded" T1/E1 links.
The software available for the Cisco MWR 2941-DC supports Cisco IOS Software running on the host processor and microcode running on the network processor to provide hardware acceleration to increase performance of PWE3 protocols, GSM Abis optimization over IP, and ATM network services such as ATM cell segmentation and reassembly (SAR), ATM AAL0 (for AAL2 voice/data), AAL5, and IMA v1.0 and v1.1.
The Cisco IOS Software features supported on the Cisco MWR 2941-DC include:
• Structure-Agnostic TDM over Packet (SAToP) - RFC 4553
• Structure-Aware TDM Circuit Emulation Service over Packet Switched Network (CESoPSN) - RFC 5086
• Encapsulation Methods for Transport of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) over MPLS Networks - RFC 4717
• Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Transparent Cell Transport Service - RFC 4816
• Pseudowire Setup and Maintenance using the Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) - RFC 4447
• IETF ATM Pseudowire Emulation Edge to Edge (PWE3) over MPLS; Transparent Cell Transport Service/ATM Port Mode; ATM AAL5 CPCS-SDU Mode; ATM N:1 and 1:1 VCC cell mode; ATM N:1 VP Cell Relay Mode; ATM Port Cell Relay Service; ATM cell packing; VPI and/or VCI rewrite
• Structure-Agnostic TDM over Packet (SAToP) and Circuit Emulation Service over Packet Switched Network (CESoPSN)
• User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and compressed Real Time Protocol/compressed UDP (cRTP/cUDP), Address and Control Field Compression (ACFC)
• IMA v1.0, 1.1, ATM SAR, ATM AAL0 (for AAL2 voice/data), AAL5, ATM Class of Service (CoS) features CBR and UBR, per virtual circuit queuing, ATM PVC Routing
• High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC)
• Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol, Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD)
• Label Distribution Protocol (LDP)
• IP Precedence (Type of Service or ToS), DiffServ (Differentied Services Code Point or DSCP) traffic shaping and policing, Priority Queuing, Weighted Fair Queuing (WFQ), Class-Based Weighted Fair Queuing (CBWFQ), Low Latency Queuing (LLQ), Weighted Round Robin (WRR)
• PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE), PPP Authentication Protocol (PAP), Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP), Secure Shell (SSH) Protocol Version 2, access control lists (ACLs)
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), IP Control Protocol (IPCP)
• Cisco GSM Abis optimization over IP
Table 2 lists important features and benefits of the Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router.
Table 2. Important Features and Benefits of Cisco MWR 2941-DC
Feature
Benefit
Custom-Built for the Cell Site
Small form factor
• 1-RU/12.5-in. (31.75-cm)-deep chassis preserves limited rack space available at the cell site
Universal DC power supply
• Compatible with the range of DC input voltages specifically available at cell sites
• Facilitates deployment at either 27 VDC or -48 VDC cell sites
• Dual A and B DC power feeds support redundant power sources
Extended operating temperature
• Functions reliably in cell sites subject to higher operating temperatures
• Low power operation makes more efficient use of cell-site batteries and produces less heat
Front panel access cabling and LED indicators
• Facilitates easy access and at-a-glance activity status
High-Performance Architecture Designed for RAN Aggregation, Optimization, and Transport
Hardware-accelerated network services
• Provides hardware-accelerated GSM Abis/Ater and UMTS Iub transport over T1/E1 or IP backhaul with up to 50 percent traffic optimization or greater, CESoPSN, SAToP, ATM PWE3 over MPLS and L2TPv3
• Facilitates ATM segmentation and reassembly and IMA
• Achieves proven transparency in GSM, UMTS, CDMA, WiMAX networks
Unique software bundle for RAN transport and optimization
• Customized Cisco IOS Software-based software boosts performance and availability of IP optimized RAN applications and backhaul-independent transport
Multiple clocking options
• Allows choices for clocking to match backhaul media and requirements
Cell-Site IP Connectivity
Optimized RAN transport over IP
IP/MPLS RAN backhaul
Cell IP POPs
• Maximizes voice and data call density per T1/E1
• Provides higher-capacity and lower-cost alternative RAN transport backhaul media
• Facilitates new revenue-generating IP services and applications; cell-site telemetry
Investment Protection
Flexible fixed port and modular architecture
• Combination of fixed ports and HWICs gives greater density and flexibility to customize for specific network requirements and to create new configurations as requirements change
• Network interfaces are field-upgradeable to accommodate future technologies
Cisco IOS Software
• Supports Cisco IOS Software features in common with the Cisco 2800 and 3800 Series Routers
• New releases of Cisco IOS Software add support for new services and applications
• Cisco IOS Software QoS features allow concurrent GSM/UMTS or CDMA and IP application traffic to be transported over a common backhaul network without any impact to GSM/UMTS or CDMA traffic and voice/data quality
Platform Manageability
Cisco MWTM
• Allows simplified and scalable network element management, performance monitoring, and advanced statistics reporting
Specifications
Table 3 lists the system specifications for the Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router.
Table 7 describes the HWICs supported on the Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router.
Table 7. Cisco MWR 2941-DC HWICs
WIC and VWIC Part Number
Description
HWIC-4T1/E1
4-port T1/E1 HWIC
Ordering Information
Table 8 gives ordering information for Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Routers.
Table 8. Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router
Cisco MWR 2941-DC Part Number
Description
MWR-2941-DC
Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router
ASM-M2900-TOP
Timing over Packet Accessory Service Module for the Cisco MWR 2900 Series Mobile Wireless Routers
Summary
In current cellular networks, the RAN accounts for a significant percentage of total operational expenditures. By using the Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router, operators can simplify and optimize their current RANs with a compact, high-performance, and modular cell-site access platform, reducing operating costs and enhancing profit opportunities. These flexible and agile RANs can easily adapt to accommodate new radio and networking technologies and services as future growth and business needs require.
Service and Support
The award-winning service and support offerings from Cisco provide presales network-audit planning, design consulting, network implementation, operational support, and network optimization. By including service and support when purchasing the Cisco MWR 2941-DC Mobile Wireless Router, customers can confidently deploy a network architecture using Cisco expertise, experience, and resources.
