Huawei unveils new products for its SDN-based mobile backhaul solution

Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, has announced a string of new products under its SDN-based mobile backhaul solution LTEHaul. The new product releases mark an important milestone for the development of mobile backhaul solutions as well as a milestone for SDN innovation in carrier IP networks.

Huawei now supports software‑defined networking (SDN) capabilities through the release of its CX600 series aggregation router, its ATN910 series cell site router (CSR), and U2000 Network Management System (NMS).

Based on these products, the SDN-based Mobile Backhaul solution effectively provides plug-and-play, auto service provisioning, smart traffic steering, and auto trouble shooting capabilities for a large number of cell site routers. Early tests have shown promising results with service provisioning efficiency improvements of 85% and over 50% reduction in network alarms.

Current mobile backhaul networks face many challenges as a result of the exponential growth of mobile broadband. These challenges include complex O&M for the massive scale of cell sites, time-consuming service provisioning, and inefficient network utilization.  The SDN-based Mobile Backhaul solution is well positioned to address these challenges, and it is the outcome of a joint innovation project between Huawei and the China Telecom Guangzhou Institute.

The newly added SDN features include the capability to support a massive number of cell site routers (ATN910 series) managed as a virtual cluster by centralized SDN controllers embedded in the aggregation routers (CX600 series). The SDN controller provides a centralized control plane for the cell site routers, performing centralized path calculation, service provisioning, and traffic control. The addition of the U2000 system provides a graphical user interfaced (GUI) based unified NMS for the cell site and aggregation routers.

The SDN-based Mobile Backhaul solution is based on existing network hardware while new SDN features can be enabled through software upgrades; both leveraging and protecting existing customer investments by maximizing existing resources.  This solution supports both star and ring topologies, further protecting investments in existing deployment topologies and offering flexibility for new deployments.

"Huawei is committed to helping our customers achieve business success through innovative technology solutions. Our progress with SDN technology demonstrates Huawei’s practical and effective leadership within the Carrier SDN industry," said Mr. Gai Gang, President of Huawei Carrier IP product line.

According to analyst firm Infonetics Research, Huawei ranked number two in the global IP router market, as of Q4 2012, and has become the fastest growing vendor.

Huawei has been proactively participating in international SDN standardization efforts, including the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) in collaboration with stakeholders such as operators, equipment manufacturers, and research institutions, to promote the application of SDN in end-to-end networks.