ALCATEL-LUCENT 9500 MPR Microwave Packet Wireless System Performance

ALCATEL-LUCENT 9500 MPR Microwave Packet Wireless System Performance Analysis: A Comprehensive Guide from Hardware to RF

In the field of mobile backhaul and private network communication, microwave transmission has always held an important position due to its rapid deployment and low-cost advantages. The 9500 Microwave Packet Radio (MPR) series launched by Alcatel Lucent (now Nokia) supports TDM, IP, and hybrid services on a single platform, providing a smooth path for operators and enterprises to evolve to an all IP infrastructure. Its core hardware includes microwave service switches (MSS series), indoor packet transmission units (MPT-HL/HC), and multifunctional outdoor units (ODU), with a switching capacity of up to 48Gb/s and a wireless throughput of over 4Gb/s, which can meet diverse needs from access to backbone. This article combines the official data manual to systematically review the hardware composition, RF parameters, key functions, and typical application scenarios of the system from the perspective of engineering selection.

Product positioning and hardware family

The 9500 MPR is designed for all microwave application scenarios, whether it is pure TDM, pure IP, or hybrid services, and can be carried by the same hardware. Its core value lies in reducing total cost of ownership (TCO) - by reducing external devices, supporting hybrid mode operation, providing backward compatibility, and protecting existing investments of operators.

The hardware platform includes four core units:

Microwave Service Switch (MSS): Indoor intelligent node IDU, providing multi service aggregation and switching. It is divided into three models: MSS-8 (2RU), MSS-4 (1RU), and MSS-1c (1/2RU wide, 1RU high), supporting up to 12 RF transceivers (mixed or grouped mode), with a switching capacity greater than 16Gb/s, and can reach 48Gb/s with EAS card.

Microwave Packet Transmission Unit (MPT-HL/HC): Indoor RF modem responsible for baseband processing. MPT-HL has a height of 2.5RU and supports higher capacity; MPT-HC is compact and suitable for space constrained scenarios.

Outdoor Unit (ODU): Multi functional outdoor RF transceiver, with an average weight of about 5kg, covering multiple frequency bands of 6-38GHz, supporting static and adaptive modulation.

Accessories and Antennas: Supports multiple aperture antennas and polarization methods.

RF performance and modulation method

2.1 Frequency band coverage

9500 MPR supports a wide range of licensed frequency bands:

MPT-HL: 5.8GHz (unlicensed), 6GHz (upper and lower segments), 7/8GHz, 10/11GHz;

MPT-HC: Same as above, and add 15GHz, 18GHz, 23GHz, and 38GHz;

ODU 300: covers 6GHz, 7/8GHz, 11GHz, 15GHz, 18GHz, 23GHz, and 38GHz.

The standard T/R separation varies among different frequency bands, such as 252.4MHz or 160/340MHz for 6GHz, 150/175/300/360MHz for 7/8GHz, 490/500MHz for 11GHz, 475/640MHz for 15GHz, 1560MHz for 18GHz, 1200MHz for 23GHz, and 700MHz for 38GHz.

2.2 Modulation and Capacity

The system supports multiple modulation methods from QPSK to 256QAM, and can choose between static modulation or adaptive modulation (ACM). Adaptive modulation can dynamically adjust the modulation level based on link quality, maximizing throughput while ensuring availability.

Typical Capacity Example (Taking MPT-HL 30MHz Channel as an Example):

QPSK: Approximately 44.9 Mb/s (Layer 2);

16QAM: approximately 90.9 Mb/s;

64QAM: approximately 136.9 Mb/s;

128QAM: approximately 159.9 Mb/s;

256QAM: approximately 182.9 Mb/s.

For MPT-HC, the capacity is similar under the same channel bandwidth, but the receiving sensitivity is slightly lower (due to design differences). In higher frequency bands (such as 38GHz), due to high propagation losses, the transmission power is usually lower (such as 18dBm), but the reception sensitivity can still reach -87dBm (QPSK), and the system gain is about 105dB.

2.3 Transmission power and reception sensitivity

The data manual provides the difference between Typical and Guaranteed values - the Guaranteed value is a reduction of 2dB in transmission power and 2dB in reception sensitivity (i.e. a reduction of 4dB in system gain) based on the Typical value. For example, the typical transmission power of 6GHz MPT-HL 30MHz 128QAM is 31dBm, the threshold is -71dBm, and the system gain is 102dB; the guaranteed values are 29dBm and -69dBm, and the gain is 98dB.

In XPIC (Cross Polarization Interference Cancellation) mode, the system can simultaneously transmit two polarized signals at the same frequency, doubling its capacity. For example, in the 11GHz 30MHz 128QAM XPIC mode, the capacity is about 162.88Mb/s, the transmission power is 21dBm, the threshold is -70.5dBm, and the system gain is 91.5dB.

Indoor Unit (IDU) and Interface Capability

3.1 MSS series

MSS-8 (2RU) and MSS-4 (1RU) provide full front outlet interfaces for easy maintenance. The user interface includes:

DS1 access card: 32 channels of DS1 (T1) per card;

DS3 access card: 2 DS3 channels per card;

Control and switching module: 4 x 10/100/1000 Base-T, 2 x SFP;

Ethernet access card: 4 x 10/100/1000 Base-T, 4 x SFP, 2 x DS1 SFP.

MSS supports a fully redundant design with no single point of failure, including Ethernet matrix switching to ensure high availability. Service driven adaptive modulation that supports lossless switching can smoothly downgrade the modulation method without interrupting the service when the signal deteriorates.