Migrating to a Tarana Network

Tarana has developed a next-generation fixed-wireless access (ngFWA) platform, Gigabit 1 (G1), to address the toughest challenges facing operators designing and deploying large-scale FWA networks. It is understood operators typically have other equipment already in place and need a way to gracefully move to G1 with minimal impact to current service. This document presents guidelines and best practices for migrating from an existing network to G1.

Site Preparation

Ensure proper power is available onsite for the Base Node (BN). The BN uses VDC -48V with a peak usage of 325W and a nominal usage of 275W. The power port uses a Harting push/pull connector. The BN Installation Manual has full details.

Figure 1: BN power connector cable view and chassis view</span >

The BN supports 10 Gbps on the two SFP+ ports (DATA 1, DATA 2) and 1 Gbps on the Ethernet port (DATA 3) and management port (MGMT). All data connections use a Harting push/pull connector. A 10 Gbps data connection is recommended over a 1 Gbps copper data connection in order to avoid a data bottleneck as the BN supports 2.4 Gbps of wireless data.

Figure 2: Schematic of physical ports and cabling for a BN</span >

Deployment Planning

It is recommended to use an RF planning tool such as Google's Network Planner - including clutter data to determine the optimal height for the given tower. In many cases, a slight change in height can make significant differences in coverage area.

Determine the optimal frequencies to be used by the two 40-MHz carriers (channels) on the BN. This is best accomplished by doing a spectrum scan at the exact mounting location of the BN. It is important to note that the two carriers used by the BN do not have to be adjacent. For example, one carrier could be in the UNII-1 band (~5200 MHz) and the other carrier could be in the UNII-3 band (~5800 MHz).

Spatial nulling is performed dynamically by both the BN and RN to cancel active interferers and substantially increase link reliability. When a Tarana BN receives a signal from an RN and a local interferer transmits, this interference can be much stronger than the BN’s desired signal from the RN. Tarana’s Asynchronous Burst Interference Cancelation (ABIC) technology cancels interference signals up to 10 dB stronger than the desired signal.

It should be noted that, in extreme cases, interference can result in performance degradation. To avoid this, it is recommended to maintain 2-3 m (6.5 to 9.8 feet) minimum vertical and horizontal separation from other transmitting devices. Although horizontal separation is more beneficial than vertical, both are recommended for optimal performance.

Figure 3: Distance separation between two transmitters

In the same scenario, the downlink (DL) performance can be decreased as the RN may see the interference source in the same line as the BN, which renders the RN unable to null out the interference. In other words, the RN cannot receive and “null” in the same direction (see figure below).

If there is a same-channel interference source in the same line as the RN - either behind, or in front of the RN, the BN will not be able to null this out. This can result in degraded uplink (UL) performance.

Figure 4: Co-located and co-linear interference sources

BN Deployment

Once the operating frequencies have been determined, the BNs should be configured appropriately and installed at the desired locations. When mounting a BN to a tower, care should be taken to ensure it is oriented so that all of the RNs are within the BN’s 90° field of view. In general, four BNs should be used to cover the full 360 degrees around a given tower.

Figure 5: 4 sector BN deployment

When mounting and installing the BN, avoid pointing the BN in the same azimuthal orientation as nearby interfering devices if possible.

Figure 6: Azimuth orientations

Once the BN has been installed, RNs may be deployed and connected. When all subscribers have been migrated to RNs, the old AP may be decommissioned. At this point, the BN can be moved to the frequencies used by the previous equipment, if desired, for a full transition.

Network Connectivity

During installation, the user must input the following as part of the initial configuration of the BN:

• Management IP (static or DHCP)
• Management default gateway (must be routable to the Internet)
• Data VLAN (required between BN and router)
• Management VLAN (optional)

Appropriate VLAN configuration is necessary for the proper functionality of Tarana devices. The data traffic between the BN and the router must be 802.1q tagged, with the default VLAN being 2000. The data VLAN is configured via the BN’s web UI and is required for operation.

Tagged and untagged management traffic is supported. By default, management traffic is untagged. This optional feature is also configured through the BN’s web UI. Please see the Tarana G1 Admin Guide for detailed information on G1 VLAN logic and configuration.

The following IP configurations are reserved for internal use and may not be used:

• VLANs: 4092, 4093, 4094
• IP subnets: 172.27.0.0/18, 10.240.0.0/12

BNs and RNs require access to the Tarana Cloud Suite (TCS) in order to be managed. This requires the following ports be reachable for cloud.taranawireless.com:

• 443 (TCP for HTTPS)
• 53 (UDP for DNS)
• 123 (UDP for network time)

If a firewall is used between the BN network and the internet, ensure the ports listed above are open between TCS and the BN. This could be achieved through configurations such as Network Address Translation (NAT) to allow access from the BN to TCS. As noted above, the IP subnets 172.27.0.0/18 and 10.240.0.0/12 may not be used as these are reserved for internal use by TCS.

RN Deployment

RNs are installed at the subscriber location and connect to the network via the BN. RNs can be mounted either on a pole or a flush surface. A migration from an existing network to Tarana G1 will require swapping old customer premise equipment (CPE) with RNs. This will involve a swap of the CPE unit, power, and possibly network connectivity.

Figure 8: RN and accessories

The RN uses Power Over Ethernet (POE) with a peak of 43W and nominal of 35W. The Tarana POE injector should always be used to power an RN. An Ethernet cable rating of Cat 5e or higher is recommended.

The device connected to the RN must support gigabit Ethernet (1 Gbps), as the RN will not negotiate to lower speeds.

The RN does not require an IP address once configured and operational. For the initial configuration and installation, an IP of 192.168.10.2/24 may be used to access the RN’s web UI. Once an RN is installed, it is recommended that the RN be managed exclusively from TCS.