ALFOplus Series

Microwave Radio for Point-to-Point

applications
High Capacity IP Full Outdoor



GENERAL INDEX
ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................................................................... 3
HIGH CAPACITY IP FULL OUTODOOR SOLUTION ......................................................................................................... 4
ALFOplus ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Main characteristics ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Configurations ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Adaptive Code Modulation ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Traffic classification ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Link Quality measurement ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Throughput .............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Ethernet features ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
Ethernet Interface characteristics ........................................................................................................................... 7
Enhanced Ethernet Characteristics ......................................................................................................................... 7
Ethernet Resiliency .................................................................................................................................................. 8
QoS management .................................................................................................................................................... 8
Level 2 priorities ...................................................................................................................................................... 9
IEEE 802.1Q VLANs .................................................................................................................................................. 9
Header compression ................................................................................................................................................. 10
Management System ................................................................................................................................................ 12
TMN Protocols ....................................................................................................................................................... 12
Management Functionalities ................................................................................................................................. 12
Management Software .......................................................................................................................................... 13
Mechanical Layout .................................................................................................................................................... 14
Technical Characteristics ........................................................................................................................................... 15
Physical Dimensions of system components ......................................................................................................... 15
Weight ................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Power supply ......................................................................................................................................................... 15
Power Consumption (W) ....................................................................................................................................... 15
Environmental conditions ..................................................................................................................................... 16
Annex 1 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Frequently requested standards compliances .......................................................................................................... 20



ABBREVIATIONS

ACM Adaptive Code Modulation
CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check
DCN Data Communication Network
DSCP Different Service Code Point
ETH` Ethernet
FEC Forward Error Corrector
IDU Indoor Unit
IP Internet Protocol
IPV4 IPV6 Internet Protocol Version 4 and Version 6
LAN Local Area network
LCT Local Craft Terminal
MAC Media Access Control
MDI Medium Dependent Interface
MDIX Medium Dependent Interface Crossover
MSE Mean Square Error
NE Network Element
NMS Network Management System
NMS5UX/LX SIAE MICROELETTRONICA Network Management System
ODU Outdoor Unit
QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
QoS Quality of Service
SCT Subnetwork Craft Terminal
SNMP Simple Network Protocol Management
SW Software
TMN Telecommunication Management Network
ToS Type of Service
VLAN Virtual Local Area Network


HIGH CAPACITY IP FULL OUTODOOR SOLUTION
ALFOplus

ALFOplus is the SIAE MICROELETTRONICA solution for full outdoor
applications. It is natural evolution of already-deployed ALFO
series.
The ALFOplus equipment provides scalable data rates from
20Mbps up to 500Mbps and header compression feature in a
single platform across the full range of licensed frequency bands,
from 15 GHz to 42 GHz bands and software selectable
7/14/28/56MHz Channels.
Upto 1024 QAM modulation scheme and 112 MHz signal band in the Dual carrier enhanced version.
ALFOplus provides a full set of Ethernet features and advanced switching capabilities to meet all the future
networks high-capacity compact full-outdoor and cost effective requirements. It includes a full featured IP only
radio engine.

Main characteristics

2 x GE interfaces (100/1000baseT or 1000baseX)
One auxiliary connector for:
o Power supply injection
o Local Access
o RSSI indication
Synchronous Ethernet support
POE plus (35W) compatible
In-band management
ACM (Adaptive Code and Modulation)


Configurations
Unprotected 1+1 2x(1+0)



Adaptive Code Modulation
SIAE MICROELETTRONICA implements MSE based Adaptive Modulation in all channel bandwidths. 10 ACM
profiles are provided, each selected by SW in order to build a user configured Adaptive Modulation Profile.
ALFOplus also provides two different 256/16QAM profiles (with two different FEC codes implemented) in order to
maximize throughput while maintaining two 4QAM profiles in order to maximize system gain and link availability.
This unique set of profiles allows achieving at the same time higher capacity in good propagation conditions
and really higher strength with tough conditions, for real in field applications.

Figure 1 - ALFOplus ACM profiles

Traffic classification
The adaptive modulation entails a change in the available bandwidth with regard to the modulation scheme that
is used and as a consequence, moving from higher modulation downward, the decreasing of the traffic capacity.
The possibility to classify the traffic allows to decide what traffic to transport according to the available
bandwidth. For example if the modulation is reduced from 128QAM to 4QAM all traffic exceeding 4QAM
capacity cannot be carried anymore.
SIAE MICROELETTRONICA solutions have eight switch queues through which all possible priority classes can be
managed with user configurable quality management.
SIAE MICROELETTRONICA implementation manages ETH traffic as follows:
ETH packets are usually classified according to 802.1p Layer2 tag; SIAE MICROELETTRONICA systems are
also able to classify them, according to IPv4 TOS or IPv6 TC and to MPLS Exp bits.
This allows real time and high priority traffic to be always transmitted.



Link Quality measurement
In order to trigger a modulation change some switching criteria must be implemented. SIAE MICROELETTRONICA
solutions are based on MSE measurements that allow the system to react to any source of degradation, well
before errors are detected by the FEC.
It involves one direction at a time and the process is completely hitless and error free for surviving traffic.

Throughput
Throughput is defined according to paragraph 26.1 of RFC2544.
Throughput depends on configuration and capacity; in the following table different throughput values will be
specified for each configuration.
Below the maximum Throughput calculated with massive Header compressor action in following multiprotocol
scenario:
C-Tag, Multiple s-Tags , MACinMAC , multiple MPLS lables, IPv6, UDP, RTP.
Radio Throughput at point X/X' for Ethernet 128/142 bytes input traffic [Mbit/s]
Channel 4QAM
Strong
4QAM 16 QAM
Strong
16QAM 32QAM 64QAM 128QAM 256QAM 512QAM 1024QAM
7MHz 30 40 60 79 91 113 134 156 177 200
14 MHz 60 81 121 157 182 226 269 312 355 400
28 MHz 121 163 243 316 366 453 540 627 710 790
56 MHz 242 325 486 631 733 907 999 1000 1000 1000

For a complete description of the Header compressor please refer to Header Compression chapter.
For Header Compressor working in different scenarios and for the net throughput please refer to Annex 1 tables.


Ethernet features
SIAE MICROELETTRONICA ALFOplus maps Ethernet straight into the radio frames (Native IP), this approach
provides a point-to-point unacknowledged connectionless service over the radio channel. A CRC is added to
prevent wrong packets being forwarded.

Ethernet Interface characteristics
The ALFOplus implements a multi-port store-and-forward Layer2 Switch. The embedded Switch supports the
following Layer2 functionalities:
MAC switching
MAC Address learning and ageing
Auto negotiation
MDI/MDIX crossover
Automatic MDI/MDIX crossover is supported; it allows NIC-to-SWITCH and SWITCH-to-SWITCH
connection regardless of cable type (straight-through or crossover).
Layer 2 Flow Control / Back Pressure
SIAE MICROELETTRONICA implements flow control based on IEEE 802.3x (full-duplex operation) and Back
Pressure (half-duplex operation) to prevent packet loss during traffic peak.
IEEE 802.1q VLANs and VLAN stacking (Q in Q)
Quality of Service
ITU-T Y.1731 ETH OAM / IEEE 802.1ag

Enhanced Ethernet Characteristics
EVPN profiling
o Bandwidth limiting per VLAN
o Bandwidth limiting per priority.
o Frame fragmentation
o VLAN rewriting
Hard limiting or WRED algorithms (software selectable)
Enhanced Ethernet prioritization based on MPLS Exp bits
Selective QinQ based on VLAN and 802.1p priority
VLAN rewriting (Radio side)
8 queues Ethernet scheduler towards radio interface (different queue sizes options)
Layer 2 and layer 1 link aggregation


M-STP (Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol) support up to 4 instances
Ciphering
Selective RMON on VLAN basis
G.8264 (Distribution of timing information through packet networks ) support


Ethernet Resiliency
LLF - Link Loss Forwarding
PIRL - Peak Input Rate Limiting - In order to control the traffic flows incoming the equipment and thus the
network, this access limitation/control policies is introduced with a leaky bucket architecture
RSTP - Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol - is a link layer network protocol that ensures a loop-free topology for any
bridged LAN. Thus, the basic function of STP is to prevent bridge loops and ensuing broadcast radiation.
ELP - Ethernet Link Protection - ELP is used to protect the network from Ethernet link failures in various network
topologies and application
LAG - Link Aggregation is a recommendation (802.1ax-2008 or 802.3ad) designed for using multiple media in
parallel to increase the link speed beyond the limits of any one single medium and increase the redundancy
for higher availability

QoS management
QoS refers to the ability of a network device to provide improved services to selected network traffic over various
underlying technologies, including Ethernet and wireless LANs. In particular, QoS feature provides an improved
and more predictable network services, as follows:
Improving loss characteristics
Avoiding and managing network congestion
Prioritizing services to different kinds of network traffic
Optimization for packet delay variation (PDV)
Setting traffic priorities end-to-end
QoS is implemented in SIAE MICROELETTRONICA products in a multilevel approach:
VLAN per port
Layer2 VLAN identifiers (802.1Q)
Layer2 priority bits (802.1P QoS)
Layer3 priorities IPv4 (ToS or DSCP) or IPv6 (TC)
Frame prioritization based on MPLS EXP bits



Layer2 priorities
Priority queues are introduced on switches output ports. 802.1p describes 8 priority levels, mapped onto 8
output queues.
A typical mapping scheme is shown below.
802.1p priority levels Traffic type Used queue
0 Best Effort 0
1 Background 1
2 NOT DEFINED 2
3 Excellent Effort 3
4 Controlled Load 4
5 Video ( latency 100 mS ) 5
6 Voice ( latency 10 mS ) 6
7 Network Control 7


Two scheduling algorithms are available in SIAE MICROELETTRONICA equipment: strict priority or weighted
scheduling WFQ (SW selectable).
Strict Priority means that Higher priority queues are emptied first
Weighted scheduling (WFQ) means that queues are served proportionally to their configurable weights
(from 1 to 100)
Mixed Strict Priority and WFQ

IEEE 802.1Q VLANs
Virtual LAN (VLAN) support is the ability to logically break a LAN into a few smaller LANs and prevent data from
flowing between the sub-LANs.
VLANs can be activated in three different ways:
Based on Port. A packet belongs to a particular VLAN, depending on the local port ID. This means that
each packet received on a specific port will be forwarded only to the ports belonging to the same VLAN.
Based on IEEE 802.1Q TAG. A packet belongs to a particular VLAN, depending on its VLAN ID, defined by
the VID (VLAN Identifier) TAG content.
Hybrid. It is a mix of previous ones. Locally configured tagged frames are managed according IEEE 802.1Q
TAG, all others follow port rules.
SIAE MICROELETTRONICA equipment can also be configured to add a VLAN tag (VD and user priority) to untagged
traffic.


SIAE MICROELETTRONICA products support VLAN stacking (QinQ). This means that if input traffic is 802.1Q
compliant i.e. VLANs are implemented it is possible to create other VLAN inserting 4 additional bytes in
Ethernet header for traffic switching and QoS purposes.
VLAN stacking (also named QinQ) is a feature that allows an Ethernet frame to include more than one IEEE
802.1Q TAG. The scope of VLAN staking is to differentiate the traffic at different levels when the packets must
cross networks managed by different entities.
SIAE MICROELETTRONICA radio systems supports the VLAN stacking. Once a packet comes into the radio, it is
possible to add a new IEEE 802.1Q TAG with an ID depending from the port, from VLAN or type of service. Of
course, at egress side it is possible to remove such additional VLAN tag, making transport totally transparent.
Header compression
SIAE MICROELETTRONICA has developed a two level header compressor that is able to hash L2, L2.5, L3 and L4
headers protocols and thus massively increase the available radio throughput.
The packet compression gain provided is from 3% up to 200% , depending on payload, protocols stacks and
packet size.
In the following figure, supported Header Compression protocol and various compression rates are reported, in
relation with packet sizes compressed protocol stacks.



Figure 2 - Layers involved in the Header compression process


Two stages of compression are possible:



Basic compression (1
st
stage):
Single layer packet compression, supports header up to 68 bytes (Ethernet + MPLS + IP/UDP + RTP/GTP)
Deep/IP tunneling compression (1
st
stage + 2
nd
stage):
Two levels packet compression, supports header up to 128 bytes (Ethernet + MPLS + IP/UDP + RTP/GTP
with additional IPv4/IPv6 tunneling)


Figure 3 - Relation between packets size and compression ratio





Management System
TMN Protocols
ALFOplus allows local and remote management thanks to an embedded SNMP agent and WebBrowser.
All ports previously described can be logically connected through Full IP protocol stack.
When implementing the IP stack, Layer1 to Layer3 are compliant with recommendations ITU-T Q.811, Q.812 and
G.784.
The implementation of standard communication protocol stacks in conjunction with industry-standard interfaces
(as depicted in the following figures) enables equipment connection to any IP based DCN.



Figure 4 - ALFOplus Protocol Stack

Management Functionalities
The management functionalities implemented at NE level are:
Fault management (alarms, events, date, time, severity, etc.)
Configuration and Test Management (i.e. configuration of ALFOplus parameters, set-up of loop-backs,
manual forcing of 1+1 switches, mapping of relay alarms and user inputs, etc.)
Software management (i.e. software release management and software download)
Performance management and monitoring relevant to G.828 parameters.
Security Management (i.e. Network Element multi-level access according to Operators rights)


Management Software
In order to satisfy the requirements of local and centralized management, SIAE MICROELETTRONICA has
developed the following software/platforms/systems:
SCT (Subnetwork Craft Terminal) for centralized management of up to 100 Network Elements - NEs (MS
Windows OS)
NMS5-LX (Element Manager) for centralized management of medium networks with up to 5.000 Network
Elements per server (Linux OS)
NMS5-UX (Element Manager) for centralized management of large networks with up to 10.000 Network
Elements per server (HP Unix OS)
Web LCT for maintenance and line-up activities (MS Windows OS & Adobe flash) accessible via Browser

For a more detailed description of SIAE MICROELETTRONICA supervision software platforms, please refer to the
specific product literature.


Mechanical Layout
Integrated antenna solutions
Figure 5 - ALFOplus with integral antenna in 1+0 and 1+1 configurations


Figure - ALFOplus with integral antenna in 1+0 and 1+1 configuration
Not integrated antenna solutions



Figure 6 - ALFOplus with not integrated antenna solution in 1+0 and 1+1 configurations






Technical Characteristics
Physical Dimensions of system components

System Version Width (mm) Height (mm) Depth (mm)
ALFOplus 1+0 254 254 154
ALFOplus 1+1 358 254 296


Weight
System Version Weight(Kg)
ALFOplus 1+0 5,5
ALFOplus 1+1 15,3
Power supply

Range
-40.8 -57.6 Vdc
According to ETSI EN300132-2


Power Consumption (W)

Configuration ALFOplus
1+0 Radio Terminal

35

1+1 Radio Terminal

70






Environmental conditions


Environmental Conditions Range
Protection Class for ODU IP65
Wind load 200 km/h
Surge and lightning protection according to ETSI EN 301 489




Annex 1
This Annex is dedicated to show the ALFOplus throughput in different scenarios and the related compressor
efficiency according to the different traffic transported protocols.
SCENARIO 1: The tables show the benefit of Header Compression in a scenario where traffic is transported
using the following protocol stack: C-TAG + S-TAGs with IPv4 traffic in UDP sessions G729. In this case Header
Compressor works as a relaxed environment using only a single layer compressing process.
Max Throughput at point X/X' for Ethernet 64/72 bytes traffic [Mbit/s]
Channel

4QAM
Strong
4QAM 16 QAM
Strong
16QAM 32QAM 64QAM 128QAM 256QAM 512QAM 1024QAM
7MHz
17 23 34 44 51 63 75 94 100 112
14MHz
34 46 69 89 103 128 152 190 202 226
28MHz
69 92 138 179 208 257 307 383 406 455
56MHz
137 185 276 358 416 514 613 765 811 910

Max Throughput at point X/X' for Ethernet 128 bytes traffic [Mbit/s]
Channel

4QAM
Strong
4QAM 16 QAM
Strong
16QAM 32QAM 64QAM 128QAM 256QAM 512QAM 1024QAM
7MHz
12 16 24 31 36 45 53 67 71 79
14MHz
24 33 49 63 73 91 108 135 143 160
28MHz
49 65 98 127 147 182 217 271 288 323
56MHz
97 131 195 254 295 365 435 543 575 645

Max Throughput at point X/X' for Ethernet 512 bytes traffic [Mbit/s]
Channel

4QAM
Strong
4QAM 16 QAM
Strong
16QAM 32QAM 64QAM 128QAM 256QAM 512QAM 1024QAM
7MHz
9 12 18 23 27 33 40 50 52 59
14MHz
18 24 36 47 55 67 80 100 106 119
28MHz
36 49 73 94 110 136 162 202 214 240
56MHz
72 97 145 189 219 271 323 403 428 480









Max Throughput at point X/X' for Ethernet 1518 bytes traffic [Mbit/s]
Channel

4QAM
Strong
4QAM 16 QAM
Strong
16QAM 32QAM 64QAM 128QAM 256QAM 512QAM 1024QAM
7MHz
8 11 17 22 25 31 37 47 49 55
14MHz
17 23 34 44 51 63 75 94 100 112
28MHz
34 46 68 89 103 127 152 189 201 225
56MHz
68 91 136 177 206 255 304 379 402 450

SCENARIO 2: The throughput is calculated in a typical VOIP scenario. Traffic is generated in a eNodeB using C-
TAG, S-TAG, MPLS, IPv4, GTP layers and then encapsulating VOIP shot packets in IPv6(with UDP and RTP) .
Max Radio Throughput at point X/X' for Ethernet 136 bytes traffic [Mbit/s]
Channel

4QAM
Strong
4QAM 16 QAM
Strong
16QAM 32QAM 64QAM 128QAM 256QAM 512QAM 1024QAM
7MHz
23 31 46 59 69 85 101 127 134 150
14MHz
46 62 92 120 139 172 205 256 272 305
28MHz
93 124 186 241 280 346 413 515 546 613
56MHz
185 249 371 482 560 693 826 1000 1000 1000

Header compression not activated but with header optimization.
Header optimization-only Throughput [Mbit/s]
Channel

4QAM
Strong
4QAM 16 QAM
Strong
16QAM 32QAM 64QAM 128QAM 256QAM 512QAM 1024QAM
7MHz
9 12 18 23 27 33 40 48 54 60
14MHz 18 24 36 46 54 66 79 95 107 119
28MHz 36 48 72 93 108 133 160 185 208 231
56MHz 72 96 143 185 215 266 318 390 439 488







SCENARIO 3: Header compression is not activated; all traffic is considered as a pure stream of bits.

Pure radio channel Throughput [Mbit/s]
Channel

4QAM
Strong
4QAM 16 QAM
Strong
16QAM 32QAM 64QAM 128QAM 256QAM 512QAM 1024QAM
7MHz
8 11 16 21 24 30 36 45 48 54
14MHz
16 22 33 43 50 61 73 91 97 109
28MHz
33 44 66 86 100 123 147 184 195 218
56MHz
66 89 132 172 199 247 294 367 389 436




Frequently requested standards compliances

EN 300 132-2 Power supply interface at the input to telecommunications equipment
EN 300 019 Environmental conditions and environmental tests for telecommunications equipment
(Operation: class 3.2 for IDU and class 4.1 for ODU; storage: class 1.2; transport: class
2.3)
EN 301 390 Fixed Radio Systems; Point-to-point and Point-to-Multipoint Systems; Spurious
emissions and receiver immunity at equipment/antenna port of Digital Fixed Radio
System
EN 302 217 Characteristics and requirements for point-to-point equipment and antenna
EN 301 489 Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) standard for radio equipment and services
EN 60950 Information Technology Equipment Safety
ITU-R ITU Recommendations for all frequency bands
ITU-R F.1191 Bandwidths and unwanted emissions of digital fixed service systems
CEPT CEPT Recommendations for all frequency bands
IEE 802 802.1ag (Connectivity Fault Management), 802.1p (QoS), 802.1Q (VLAN), 802.1W
(RSTP), 802.3ad-2008 (link aggregation), 802.3i (10BASE-T), 802.3u (100BASE-TX/FX),
802.3x (Flow control), 802.3ab (1000 BASE-T), 802.3z (1000BASE LX/SX)
IEE 1588-2008 Standard for a Precision Clock Synchronization Protocol for Networked Measurement
and Control Systems
ITU-T 1731 Ethernet OAM fault management
ITU-T G.8261 Timing and Synchronization Aspects in Packet Networks
ITU-T G.8262 Characteristics of synchronous Ethernet Equipment slave Clock
ITU-T G.8264 Distribution of timing through packet networks



















SIAE MICROELETTRONICA S.p.A., Via Michelangelo Buonarroti, 21, Cologno Monzese (Mi), Italy