The ACE-3600 RNC-Site Gateway is designed to accommodate the rapid expansion in mobile backhaul traffic resulting from the widespread deployment of 3G and HSDPA services. A multiservice aggregation unit, it converges multiple RNC STM-1/OC-3c links over Gigabit Ethernet, thereby reducing the number of links in the network and allowing the use of lower priced, higher speed connections. In addition to supporting higher throughput, the ACE-3600 features advanced shaping and scheduling capabilities that permit operators to implement overbooking strategies. As a result, operators benefit from substantial savings in CapEx and OpEx, generated by improved network efficiency, optimized resources and fewer leased services.
The ACE-3600 facilitates economical packet transport for Node B to RNC connections by transparently delivering multiple ATM-155 links over Gigabit Ethernet using ATM pseudowire emulation technology. Establishing up to 1,024 PW connections, it incorporates RFC 4717-compliant encapsulation methods including 1:1 VC/VP and N:1 VC/VP, allowing a single pseudowire to be mapped with either a single or multiple VCs/VPs, accordingly. In addition, it allows a single or multiple ATM cells to be encapsulated per Ethernet frame.
As ensuring proper delivery of real-time services depends on accurate timing and low latency, synchronization within the network becomes one of the main challenges in utilizing IP, MPLS or Ethernet transport for cellular backhaul. The ACE-3600 minimizes the impact of wander, jitter and packet delay variation by incorporating robust clock synchronization and flexible timing modes. These include G.823/824-compliant, per-interface RX clock recovery, as well as unicast and multicast clock distribution.
Using the ACE-3600, operators can assign each virtual connection or virtual path to a service class, define required QoS parameters and shape the ATM traffic according to CBR, VBR and UBR+ bandwidth profiles. Over packet-switched networks, outgoing pseudowire packets are classified and prioritized using 802.1Q and 802.1p, EXP, ToS or DSCP, depending on network technology.