Front-haul plug-and-play configuration for a C-RAN
This disclosure relates to automatically configuring a front-haul switched Ethernet network for a C-RAN. The topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network is automatically discovered. One or more switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network are automatically configured. The configuration of the one or more switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network is automatically verified. The discovered topology can be automatically verified. Also, the discovered topology or the configuration of the front-haul switched Ethernet network can be automatically validated to check if it corresponds to a network design for the front-haul switched Ethernet network.
1. A system to provide wireless service comprising:
a baseband unit; and
at least one radio point;
wherein the radio point is associated with at least one antenna, wherein the radio point is communicatively coupled to the baseband unit using a front-haul switched Ethernet network comprising one or more switches and having an associated topology;
wherein the baseband unit and the radio point are configured to implement a base station in order to provide wireless service to a plurality of user equipment (UEs) using a cell;
wherein the baseband unit is communicatively coupled to a core network of a wireless service provider;
wherein the system further comprises circuitry that is configured to automatically configure the front-haul switched Ethernet network by doing the following:
automatically discovering the topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network;
automatically configuring the one or more switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network; and
automatically verifying the configuration of the one or more switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry system is configured to automatically discover the topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network by:
discovering the switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network; and
recursively downloading routing tables and Management Information Bases (MIBs) from the discovered switches in order to determine the links between ports of the switches, the links between the ports of the switches and the baseband unit, and the links between the ports of the switches and the radio point.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to initiate discovery of the topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network at least one of:
automatically in response to a new radio point or a new switch being added to the front-haul switched Ethernet network; and
on-demand in response to a user input.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to automatically verify the discovered topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the circuitry is configured to automatically verify the discovered topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network by:
checking if the discovered topology for the front-haul Ethernet network complies with a predetermined policy that has been defined for the front-haul switched Ethernet network.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the predetermined policy specifies at least one of: a maximum hop count for the radio point and a link budget for some links coupled to the baseband unit.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to automatically configure the one or more switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network by automatically configuring at least one of: virtual local area networks (VLANs) for communicating timing data and in-phase and quadrature (IQ) data, quality of service (QoS), link aggregation (LA), and Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) snooping.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to automatically verify the configuration of the one or more switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network by performing tests that confirm that data flows as intended.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to automatically validate that at least one of the discovered topology for the front-haul switched Ethernet network and the configuration of the front-haul switched Ethernet network corresponds to a network design for the front-haul switched Ethernet network.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to enable a user to enter an exception to any verification or validation performed for the switched Ethernet network.
11. A method for automatically configuring a front-haul switched Ethernet network for a system comprising a baseband unit and at least one radio point, wherein the radio point is associated with at least one antenna and remotely located from the baseband unit, wherein the radio point is communicatively coupled to the baseband unit using the front-haul switched Ethernet network, the front-haul switched Ethernet network comprising one or more switches and having an associated topology, wherein the baseband unit and the radio point are configured to implement a base station in order to provide wireless service to a plurality of user equipment (UEs) using a cell, wherein the baseband unit is communicatively coupled to a core network of a wireless service provider, the method comprising:
automatically discovering the topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network;
automatically configuring the one or more switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network; and
automatically verifying the configuration of the one or more switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein automatically discovering the topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network comprises:
discovering the switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network; and
recursively downloading routing tables and Management Information Bases (MIBs) from the discovered switches in order to determine the links between ports of the switches, the links between the ports of the switches and the baseband unit, and the links between the ports of the switches and the radio point.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein automatically discovering the topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network is at least one of:
initiated automatically in response to a new radio point or a new switch being added to the front-haul switched Ethernet network; and
initiated on-demand in response to a user input.
14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises:
automatically verifying the discovered topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein automatically verifying the discovered topology of the front-haul switched Ethernet network comprises:
checking if the discovered topology for the front-haul Ethernet network complies with a predetermined policy that has been defined for the front-haul switched Ethernet network.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the predetermined policy specifies at least one of: a maximum hop count for the radio point and a link budget for some links coupled to the baseband unit.
17. The method of claim 11 , wherein automatically configuring the one or more switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network comprises automatically configuring at least one of: virtual local area networks (VLANs) for communicating timing data and in-phase and quadrature (IQ) data, quality of service (QoS), link aggregation (LA), and Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) snooping.
18. The method of claim 11 , wherein automatically verifying the configuration of the one or more switches in the front-haul switched Ethernet network comprises performing tests that confirm that data flows in the front-haul switched Ethernet network as intended.
19. The method of claim 11 , further comprising automatically validating that at least one of the discovered topology for the front-haul switched Ethernet network and the configuration of the front-haul switched Ethernet network corresponds to a network design for the front-haul switched Ethernet network.
20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises enabling a user to enter an exception to any verification or validation performed for the switched Ethernet network.
21. The system of claim 1 , wherein the baseband unit comprises at least some of the circuitry.
22. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a plurality of radio points including said at least one radio point, wherein the baseband unit and the plurality of radio point are configured to implement the base station in order to provide wireless service to the plurality of UEs using the cell.
23. The system of claim 1 , wherein the baseband unit is configured to perform Layer-2 and some Layer-1 processing for an air interface used to wirelessly communicate with the UEs, and wherein the radio point is configured to perform Layer-1 processing for the air interface that is not performed in the baseband unit.
24. The method of claim 11 , wherein the system comprises a plurality of radio points including said at least one radio point, wherein the baseband unit and the plurality of radio point are configured to implement the base station in order to provide wireless service to the plurality of UEs using the cell.
25. The method of claim 11 , wherein the baseband unit is configured to perform Layer-2 and some Layer-1 processing for an air interface used to wirelessly communicate with the UEs, and wherein the radio point is configured to perform Layer-1 processing for the air interface that is not performed in the baseband unit.