Nokia AirScale

Nokia AirScale is a base station.

2021: AirScale 5G based on ReefShark technology

On June 24, 2021, the company Nokia announced the launch of its line of AirScale products 5G covering digital processing modules, radio modules and Massive MIMO active antennas with digital beamforming. Solutions are based on the next generation of Nokia ReefShark System-on-Chip () chipsets SoC and provide proper network throughput and performance while enabling efficient deployment and operation. The release of products has already begun.

technology-based ReefShark

Nokia introduced the next generation of Massive MIMO AirScale active antennas based on ReefShark with support for 32TRX and 64TRX, as well as 8T8R radio modules. Active antennas 32TRX have a weight of 17 kg. This low weight also supports a wide band (200 MHz total operating band within the 400 MHz operating band) and proper transmitter output power. The wide operating frequency range of the active 32TRX and 64TRX antennas allows the operator to close both the fragmented spectrum and operate in RAN Sharing mode.

Nokia also submitted the integrated cards of expansion of capacity for modules of digital processing AirScale on the basis of SoC. Integrated ReefShark-based cards provide up to eight times more bandwidth and serve up to eight times more cells than previous generations. They are installed and simplify the upgrade of AirScale digital processing modules already installed on networks. The Nokia Digital Processing Module can support 90,000 connected users at the same time and has a throughput of 84 Gb/s. Integrable ReefShark-based cards also reduce power consumption by up to 75 percent. Nokia's modular digital AirScale processing unit enables mobile operators to scale capacity flexibly and efficiently as their 5G business grows.

According to the company, the Nokia Single RAN software now includes 5G support, accelerating the deployment of 5G and reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the radio access network by using common software, common transport, common management system and enhanced network sharing capabilities. The combination of Nokia Single RAN software and integrated cards provides multi-mode (2G, 3G, 4G , 5G) and multi-band, as well as supports interfaces with radio modules (eCPRI) on a single platform, simplifying the network and reducing costs.

Massive MIMO AirScale

By separating the L1 and L2 signal processing processes (Layer 1 and Layer 2) from the L3 (Layer 3) processes and transport functions over different integrable cards in the digital processing modules, you can add capacity when needed and where needed in the network. Network upgrades can simply be achieved either by updating the software or by adding integrable cards to existing digital processing modules.

Nokia Reefshark chipsets will also play an important role in the implementation of algorithmic artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning ( ML). Nokia has already implemented AI/ML functionality for predictive load balancing, detection of abnormal behavior and traffic distribution between network nodes, frequency layers and various technologies. All Nokia Reefshark platforms are ready for the introduction of AI/ML functionality, Nokia tests such functionality in 2021 to optimize the selection of beam patterns for Massive MIMO antennas, save power consumption, diversity of traffic over technologies and network nodes, optimized resource dispatching and detection of emergency situations according to certain templates.

2020

Nokia 5G Airscale Cloud RAN with vRAN2.0 technology

On June 23, 2020, Nokia announced that the 5G AirScale Cloud RAN solution with vRAN2.0 technology will appear on the market before the end of the year. Full availability for orders is planned for 2021. The Nokia vRAN2.0 solution includes a virtualized distributed unit (vDU) and a Fronthaul Gateway. As a result, the customer receives a fully cloud distributed 5G base station with good scalability, low latency, and high throughput. This solution supports various network architecture options. This solution, according to the developer, will allow operators to profit from 5G services, use flexible network slicing technology (network slicing), meet the requirements of the Internet of Things and use the capabilities of cloud computing in radio access networks (RAN).

The Nokia 5G AirScale Cloud RAN solution with vCU units in the vRAN1.0 configuration was installed in the United States in a commercial network in 2019. Nokia then created a Distributed Unit (DU) vRAN2.0 configuration solution based on conventional x86 processors with hardware accelerators for processing physical layer signals (layer L1).

According to June 2020, Nokia conducted a full-scale communication session on the 5G network with transmission data over a system consisting of the Nokia Cloud Packet Core cloud packet core, the Nokia 5G AirScale Cloud RAN cloud base station in the vRAN2.0 configuration, the Nokia Fronthaul Gateway and a commercial 5G user device. Data processing in real time and outside this mode was carried out on blocks vDU and vCU running on the servers x86 type (Nokia AirFrame Open Edge Server and Nokia AirFrame Rackmount Server). Vista Intel Creek's standard commercial hardware acceleration tool was used to handle some L1-level real-time traffic segments in vDU units. This increased performance without compromising the cloud configuration. Since 2018, Nokia Bell Labs have been working on the use of graphics processors (GPUs) as hardware accelerators. Nokia expects vRAN 3.0 solutions with this technology to be mature enough by 2022.

As noted in Nokia, the 5G AirScale Cloud RAN solution is specially designed to use existing network resources. For example, the Nokia Fronthaul Gateway allows operators to upgrade existing CPRI radio systems to the level of eCPRI AirScale 5G Cloud RAN. This solution can work both autonomously and in full integration with vDU on the optimized Nokia AirFrame Open Edge Server, which is an x86 product created and adapted for edge cloud computing and for use on the far periphery of Cloud RAN cloud systems.

According to the developer, the 5G AirScale Cloud RAN solution supports all types of network architecture and allows mobile and converged operators to freely choose any type of wireless access networks: vDU and vCU blocks can operate in colocation mode in the central or regional border cloud; The vDU unit can operate in a decentralized manner at the edge of the network or at its far edge. The unit vDU can be installed even at the base station. This flexibility is important for supporting different topologies and transport functions even within the same network. The Nokia 5G AirScale Cloud RAN software works on top of the Nokia CloudBand solution, as well as on top of the cloud infrastructure software stacks of other companies, which creates the necessary flexibility for the customer.

The installation of vDU blocks closer to the network border allows the 5G AirScale Cloud RAN solution to use the capabilities of low 5G latency and support services that require minimal delay and good reliability (for example, Internet of Things services). In addition, this solution supports the functions of network slicing from the RAN level to the transport and trunk level, Nokia emphasized.

According to the developer, the migration of vCU and vDU blocks to the cloud allows the Nokia 5G AirScale Cloud RAN solution to transfer to the access network level all the capabilities of cloud computing specific to IT networks and reference networks. This is the ability to create pools, scalability, elasticity, flexibility, standardization and automation. Operators can install various network functions and services on the periphery of their networks over the Cloud RAN solution. For example, you can support Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC), in which both content and processor power are located in close proximity to the point of use.

The solution of Nokia 5G AirScale Cloud RAN is constructed on the architectural principles of Open RAN (O-RAN) where the base station is divided into a radio component (Radio Unit, RU), the distributed block (Distributed Unit, DU), a radio access point (Radio Access Point, RAP, a combination of RU and DU), the central block (Centralized Unit, CU) and interfaces on standards of O-RAN for communication between the listed elements. The solution uses the concept of an intelligent controller (RAN Intelligent Controller, RIC), which allows you to use the capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize wireless access and system performance.

"The Nokia 5G AirScale Cloud RAN solution can transform mobile networks and provide operators with the high flexibility that is so necessary to meet user demand in the 5G era. The flexible architecture of this solution supports high speed, wide coverage areas, high throughput, and low latency. In addition, it allows operators to immediately profit, " noted Tommi Uitto, President of Nokia Mobile Networks

Add-on 5G Network Product Family with AirScale Wireless Solutions

On April 9, 2020, Nokia announced the expansion of the AirScale product family. This family includes a number of innovative solutions designed to meet the growing needs of 5G. The products will help operators fully unlock the potential of fifth-generation mobile technologies. Among the announced features are the update of the DSS software (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing - dynamic frequency sharing) on the existing Nokia AirScale base stations and the Nokia AirScale All-in-Cloud base station (lit. - everything in the cloud), increasing network efficiency.

By expanding the 5G family of products, Nokia has introduced a number of AirScale solutions to the market, including compact remote radios operating in two and three bands to enhance base station installation capabilities. In addition, a number of high-performance antennas with Massive MIMO technology were announced to support coverage areas and high 5G throughput. Solutions support 4G and 5G technologies, increase cell capacity, and reduce total cost of ownership, enabling faster delivery of 5G services to enterprise customers and individual users.

The Nokia DSS solution is a software update for existing Nokia AirScale base stations. This solution is not only compatible with 4G and 5G technologies. It supports dynamic frequency sharing between 2G, 3G, and 4G networks, providing a convenient transition to 5G technology. The 4G-5G DSS function has already aroused great interest among operators in the 5G markets. It automatically coordinates and distributes the frequency spectrum between 4G and 5G networks and allows you to work with existing 4G networks, accelerating and facilitating the transition to 5G. Typically, 5G networks are deployed in higher millimeter and centimeter bands, and existing 4G networks continue to operate in lower frequency bands. Nokia enables low 4G bands to accelerate and reduce the cost of deploying 5G networks. The first deliveries of the Nokia DSS solution are scheduled for April 2020, and mass deliveries should begin in July. The delivery schedule is based on the availability of mobile devices that support DSS technology.

Nokia also announced a number of innovations for 5G cloud access networks, including the Nokia AirScale All-in-Cloud base station. It virtualizes baseband in real time and moves it to the edge of the network, minimizing network latency and increasing overall efficiency. In addition, Nokia Bell Labs recently demonstrated to customers a prototype solution in this area called Nokia AirScale Cloud-native RAN. This solution has all the characteristics of a pure cloud environment (cloud-native) and allows you to flexibly create a service-oriented architecture for a wireless access network. To support it, an appropriate border network infrastructure is created, Nokia'Powered by ReefShark 'chipsets, central and graphics processors. All this will further increase the performance of 5G networks.

These innovations are designed to help mobile operators implement 5G services faster and at the lowest cost and offer them to their customers. In addition, solutions will meet the growing demand for bandwidth, which is especially important in the current situation. Our innovations will help operators take full advantage of 5G, discover additional applications of this technology, develop business models and generate sources of income, - says Tommi Uitto, president of the global mobile network business group Nokia

Increase inbound capacity to 3 Gb/s

On March 25, 2020, Nokia announced another important achievement: the capacity of 5G networks on commercial Nokia devices AirScale significantly expanded with a software update. The laboratory tests demonstrated an incoming channel capacity of approximately 3 Gbit/s. Tests were carried out on the Sprint 5G network with a software update of EUTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (ENDC) and Multi-User-Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) technology. When commercially available, this solution will allow operators to dramatically increase the capacity of their networks with software updates without expanding the expensive frequency spectrum.

During the tests, Sprint's frequency range (2.5 GHz) and commercial devices were used: access points and active antenna systems Massive MIMO, which allow the implementation of MU-MIMO technology with support for 16 spatial layers, which quadrupled the throughput of the downstream channel. Traditionally, MIMO systems support two spatial layers. Massive MIMO technology, developed within the walls of Nokia Bell Labs, significantly increases the capacity of the wireless connection without using additional frequency resources. The Nokia AirScale Dual Mode Massive MIMO solution for 5G and LTE networks was created to support multi-gigabit bandwidth in the downstream channel. When using existing base station hardware, only software updates are required. You can perform the update remotely. This means that operators will be able to provide high-quality services to subscribers without visiting base stations, without replacing hardware devices and without changes at the transport network level.

The ENDC solution allows devices to expand capacity in LTE and 5G networks. This increases the bandwidth available to end users. Usually, operators use two radio devices for LTE and 5G networks, but in this test Nokia used a single AirScale device. Nokia Sprint and for March 2020 introduced 5G services in four cities:, USA, and New York City. Los Angeles Washington Phoenix

This achievement was the result of our long-term collaboration with Sprint. Demand for mobile data in 4G and 5G networks is growing exponentially, and this poses some difficulties for network bandwidth. These tests were an important breakthrough, because operators get the opportunity to dramatically increase throughput today and in the future, as well as maintain high quality user services at minimal cost, said Tommi Uitto, president of Nokia's mobile network division

2018: Nokia Features AirScale

According to information for 2018, the main features of the Nokia AirScale base station are high throughput (400 MHz in the 28 GHz^[1] range^[2]high energy efficiency, cloud access networks, and a flexible interface.

The base station supports Massive MIMO and 3D beamforming technologies, by which each subscriber whose device is connected to the BS generates its own beam, which reduces the total level of interference, allows more subscribers to be served simultaneously and increases system capacity.^[3]

Notes