Wireless backhaul for LTE - service OAM considerations

3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a Next Generation (4G) Wireless Technology, providing an evolutionary path for 3G/UMTS deployments. The LTE network architecture is based on a flat all-IP architecture which requires a full mesh connectivity between the LTE evolved Base stations (eNBs). Carrier Ethernet has emerged as a strong candidate to meet the highly scalable and flexible requirements of the wireless backhaul networks. Carrier Ethernet provides capabilities to address the end-to-end service OAM requirements of the wireless backhaul networks in a similar way as that of ATM, SONET/SDH systems. This paper explores the end-to-end service OAM requirements, challenges and options for wireless backhaul networks based on carrier ethernet. The paper analyzes the various fault monitoring (FM), performance monitoring (PM) and fault tolerance requirements in LTE wireless backhaul networks. The paper then goes on to propose a service OAM model which addresses these OAM requirements in an optimal manner for large networks. The paper concludes by validating ITU-T Y.1731 for meeting the basic service OAM requirements and suggests modifications to meet the CCM scalability requirements.