Redefining the Backhaul Landscape with Non-traditional Bands
Delivering an Unmatched Combination of Speed, Distance, Cost and Time-to-Market
Starting at under US$10,000 per link, ExploreAir™ all-outdoor systems are available in non-traditional bands such as 28, 29, 31 GHz and 42 GHz, delivering higher per carrier throughput over greater distance than any sub-60 GHz system in the world.
ExploreAir all-outdoor systems in non-traditional bands offer:
- Up to 500 Mbps full-duplex guaranteed Layer 2 throughput
- Only platform in the world available in both FDD and CarrierTDD™ technologies, the former with unique field-replaceable diplexers that allow single-unit sparing for an entire band, reducing the cost of spares by 50% to 90% compared to split-mount or other outdoor FDD systems. CarrierTDD allows high throughput single channel operation in very narrow bands, together with ExaltSync collocation and throughput symmetry control for maximum operating flexibility and performance.
Two interface configurations are available to meet a wide range of deployment, application and migration scenarios:
- ExploreAir rcXX105 models: 1x10/100/1000BaseT (PoE) + 2x10/100/1000BaseT
- ExploreAir rcXX110 models: 1x10/100/1000BaseT (PoE) + 4xT1/E1
*XX denotes frequency, e.g. 28, 29, 31, 42 GHz
Like all Exalt radio systems, ExploreAir all-outdoor radios are fully software defined and software configurable, easily scaling their capacity and dynamically allocating traffic between Ethernet and TDM (XX110 models). License key upgrades are used to augment base Ethernet capacity of 100 Mbps to 200, 300, 400 or 500 Mbps depending on the model. ExploreAir all-outdoor licensed systems boast a wide variety of features:
| Feature | Description and Benefits |
Field-replaceable
diplexer | - Enables a single ExploreAir unit to spare an entire band (e.g. 28 GHz), cutting the cost of spares by 50% to 90%
- Highest flexibility for LMDS 28 GHz (A1) and 42 GHz bands. In these wider bands, ExploreAir delivers the highest throughput and lowest latency performance with the highest deployment flexibility available.
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| CarrierTDD™ | - Only single channel technology delivering predictable, guaranteed performance with low latency and high availability with native Ethernet and native TDM transport.
- For narrow bands like LMDS 31 GHz B1 or B2-blocks with only 75 MHz of spectrum, ExploreAir delivers an unprecedented 330 Mbps of aggregate throughput.
- Proven Exalt technology with thousands of systems deployed world-wide.
- No need for diplexers. The same terminal can be used at either end of the link.
- Allows collocation for multi point-to-point topologies utilizing a single channel at full throughput per link
- Throughput symmetry control allows throughput optimization for upload/download traffic without wasting bandwidth and capacity.
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Ultra-compact, zero
footprint | - At 8.2 lb / 3.6 kg, ExploreAir minimizes visual impact and tower loading and maximizes installer safety
- Reduces deployment complexity
- Cuts recurring lease expense
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Hitless & jitterless
adaptive
modulation | - Fully programmable adaptive modulation settings
- Ensures that the performance of any traffic stream will be unaffected during modulation shifting
- Enables peak uncompressed throughput in excess of 500 Mbps at 20+ miles (11 GHz)
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| Native Ethernet | - Ensures that the radio adds no additional packet delay, unlike systems that map Ethernet over TDM
- Allows ExploreAir to offer < 100 μsec latency over Gigabit Ethernet at full throughput
- Allows sustained throughput independent of packet size or traffic loading conditions
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Native TDM
(rcXX110) | - Users can migrate from TDM to IP/Ethernet at any time without new investment and without stranded capacity
- Ensures low latency, circuit-switched performance for TDM connections
- Maximizes radio channel efficiency by avoiding overhead associated with circuit emulation protocols
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Three Gigabit
Ethernet ports
(rcXX105) | - Enables on-tower hub aggregation, in which a single ExploreAir can aggregate two last mile links without an external switch
- Allows for direct switching of traffic from two IP devices or repeater configurations without the use of an external switch
- Reduces hardware costs for cable runs, surge suppressors and switches (depending upon application requirements)
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Advanced data
networking | - QoS (802.1p) featuring 8 priority levels and 8 individual queues provides a high degree of flexibility for traffic classification
- Data ports can be assigned and managed using VLAN IDs (802.1q) with additional port-specific Ethernet rate limiting
- Administrators can choose from a variety of classification mechanisms: 802.1p bits, IPv4 TOS or DiffServ, IPv6 traffic class, VLAN ID, source MAC address and destination MAC address
- Up to three GbE ports and a built-in layer 2 switch support any network configuration and minimize the need for external devices
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| High security | - Available 128-bit and 256-bit AES provide the highest level of data security available, meeting stringent NIST FIPS 197 standards
- Hardware-based encryption ensures that latency and throughput are unaffected when data is running over an encrypted link
- Management traffic security can be assured through use of encrypted SNMPv3 or secure socket layer (SSL/SSH)
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Advanced spectrum
diagnostics | - A spectrum analyzer is built into every ExploreAir radio
- Simplifies site surveys, aids in antenna alignment, installation and RSL optimization
- Can be used for swift troubleshooting and recording of interfering signals
- Useful tool for ongoing, remote system maintenance
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ExploreAir All-Outdoor Licensed
System Applications
ExploreAir in non-traditional bands is designed to serve a wide range of Ethernet/IP and TDM applications, including:
- Micro and pico cell backhaul. The ExploreAir all-outdoor systems in non-traditional bands are ideal for backhaul of high capacity edge RAN nodes that include any mix of 2G, 3G and LTE as well as for Ethernet aggregation points and ring sites common to 4G network architectures. The zero footprint design minimizes site costs while single-unit sparing keeps inventory costs to a minimum. As the only radio in the category that transports TDM natively (no protocol conversion required), ExploreAir can simultaneously support the latency requirements of 2G voice traffic and the growing capacity requirements from 3G and 4G data traffic.
- IP backhaul. As wireless ISPs, WiMAX operators and private network operators grow and re-architect their networks to accommodate greater volumes of data traffic, ExploreAir is the most cost-effective means available of rapidly delivering high Ethernet capacity over backbone, ring and mesh networks. ExploreAir's zero footprint form factor minimizes site costs, while upgradeable capacity provides pay-as-you-grow CAPEX deferral. Field-replaceable diplexers dramatically reduce the number of spares required, further reducing overall deployment costs.
- Campus connectivity. As WLANs migrate from 802.11g to 802.11n, capacity requirements for building-to-building and campus-to-campus traffic increase significantly. Point-to-point ExploreAir links deliver fiber-like performance using a familiar all-outdoor form factor and can be deployed far more inexpensively and rapidly than fiber. Support for native TDM ensures toll-quality voice while QoS, VLAN and rate limiting allow network policies to easily extend across the link, while ensuring the quality of latency-sensitive applications such as VoIP and video.
- Video Surveillance. As video surveillance networks grow in scope and camera resolution increases, surveillance networks require higher capacity backhaul to carry traffic from cameras and, in some cases, mesh nodes back to a monitoring control center. ExploreAir is ideally suited for carrying these high traffic volumes while conforming to the all-outdoor paradigm common to these deployments.