PTN and IP RAN are converging in the competition

Broadband and IP have become the development trend of telecommunication networks. Under this trend, light and IP inevitably collide and merge.

At present, in order to better and faster adapt to the needs of network and business development, the integration of optical and IP is no longer just a single field, but a more comprehensive and deeper integration for the entire network. To this end, this topic will demonstrate the integration of optical and IP from multiple perspectives such as backbone network, metropolitan area network, and access network.

With the rapid development of mobile data services, the traffic and bandwidth requirements are increasing exponentially, and the traditional base station E1 uplink mode is gradually changing to Ethernet uplink. The original MSTP-based backhaul network is still essentially TDM technology. No matter whether it is scalability or bandwidth cost, it can no longer meet the needs of business development. In order to solve this problem, the IP transformation of the base station bearer network has become an inevitable trend for future development. In this new situation, the industry's interest in mobile base station backhaul is increasing.

Base station backhaul is mainly concentrated in the transmission network between the base station (BTS) and the base station controller (BSC), called RAN (RadioAccessNet-work). In the selection of a new generation of bearer solutions, two competitive technologies have emerged: PTN and IP RAN. From the perspective of communication theory, the essential difference between transmission networks is reflected in three levels: the first is the essential difference between time division multiplexing and packet multiplexing, the typical one is the difference between SDH network and IP network; the second is connection-oriented and connectionless The difference is typically the difference between IP and ATM networks; the last is the difference between dynamic addressing and static addressing.

PTN and IP RAN, whether it is based on IP packet grouping or MPLS label switching, are packet multiplexing networks, but PTN is connection-oriented, while IP RAN is connectionless, addressable by IP address, PTN is static Configure addressing, without dynamic addressing capability. These two technologies are derived from voice communication technology and data communication technology, respectively, and currently form two camps at the manufacturer level. Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson, UT Starcom, FiberHome, etc. support the PTN solution, Cisco mainly promotes the IP RAN solution, while Huawei, ZTE, and Alcatel-Lucent can provide two solutions.

The three major domestic operators are actively exploring the next-generation mobile backhaul bearer solution after MSTP. China Mobile is the fastest growing PTN camp, and there are already 200,000 PTN devices in its current network. In February of this year, China Mobile took the lead in organizing the PTN equipment interoperability test and conducted a prospective interoperability verification of its leading PTN OAM solution based on G-Ach + Y.1731. In the IP RAN camp, domestic operators such as China Telecom have conducted a large number of IP RAN pilots in recent years. In March, China Telecom conducted end-to-end IP RAN packetized bearer technology pilots in multiple locations in China to test IP RAN solutions. IP-bearing capacity of 3G base stations. China Unicom adopts a dual insurance strategy. After conducting the test of the packet transmission experiment network in 8 cities in March, a pilot test of PTN bearer HSPA + services in 7 cities was conducted recently. At the same time, China Unicom is also considering the introduction of the IP RAN solution. Currently, large-scale IP RAN commercial pilots are being conducted in Beijing, Changsha, Shenyang, Changzhou, Zhuhai and other places.

From the perspective of technological development, the IP of the network is the mainstream trend. The IP RAN solution based on IP / MPLS technology is very suitable for IP networks. This will also be a major development direction in the future. However, most domestic communication networks are still based on The traditional transmission network architecture makes PTN technology rooted in the transmission network more compatible with existing networks. The choice between the two technologies also makes it difficult for operators to make up their minds. From the perspective of the entire industry, PTN and IP RAN are based on different network foundations and different evolution routes. However, the core technologies of the two are the same, and ultimately they are all used to carry IP-based full services. Relevant experts from the Telecommunications Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that the MSTP-based network is suitable for transition to PTN, and the new Ethernet architecture can be considered for the IP RAN solution.

Operators' exploration and testing of new technologies have brought opportunities for continuous improvement of the industry chain. Today, the two solutions are also developing in a more integrated direction. PTN is emerging from the bearer base station backhaul, but today it is not like this. From access to aggregation to switching, manufacturers can provide corresponding PTN equipment. The packet transmission capabilities of PTN are being Field penetration. Router manufacturers are also enhancing the OAM performance of routing solutions to allow routers to provide higher QoS. Tang Xiongyan, deputy chief engineer of China Unicom's Broadband Business Application National Engineering Laboratory, believes that in the future, it is not ruled out to choose different technical solutions in different regions based on different business application scenarios and network deployment status. Industry experts believe that the two technologies are borrowing from each other and are increasingly converging. This trend of narrowing or even disappearing the technical differences is very beneficial for operators. Without the worries of technology selection, operators only need to use specific product application cases. , Cost, industry chain support and other perspectives to comprehensively consider.

Guangzhou Ehang Electronic Co., Ltd. , https://www.ehangmobile.com