Introduction to Ericsson Mini-Link world with a well explained examples on traffic routing, LPF indicators, SW upgrade, Loops, and cards replacement

1. Ericsson Mini-Link Overview
Presented by: Ahmed Mohamed Nabeeh
Supervised by: Ahmed Shawkat Badie

2. Agenda
• Introduction
• TN Units
• Connecting to the Mini-link
• Traffic Routing
• Link performance measurements
• Configuration file and software upgrade
• Loops
• Replacing LTU, SMU2 and MMU cards
• Replacing NPU card

3. Introduction
• Ericsson Mini link IDUs can be categorized into two main
categories :
1)Compaq Node (CN)
2) Traffic Node (TN)

4. Compaq Node (CN)
• We use CN 210 at Mobinil

5. Compaq Node (CN)
• Pros
1)low cost
2)small size
• Cons
1)small capacity up to 8 E1s only
2) Not modular ,in case of HW failure the whole IDU
should be replaced
3)support 1+0 Configuration only
• Best suitable for end point sites.

6. Traffic Node (TN)
• TN can be categorized based on their Access module
magazine (AMM) to 20P and 6P where p refer to the number
of Units that can be fitted inside the AMM.
• Unlike the CN the TN operation is based on Units(Modules)
where every unit do a certain function and all of them are
connected through the backplane of the AMM .
• TN = AMM + Modules

7. Traffic Node (TN)
• We use TN 6P-C and TN 20P-B at Mobinil
20P 6P

8. Traffic Node (TN-6P)
• Pros
1)Average cost
2)Reasonable Size 3)Modular
4)SW Cross connection availability
• Cons
1)Support up to 5 sites only
• Best suitable for Medium Nodal sites.

9. Traffic Node (TN-20P)
• Pros
1)High Capacity up to 19 sites
2)Modular
3)Cross connection availability
• Cons
1)High Cost 2)Large Size
• Best suitable for Nodal sites & BSCs.

10. TN Units
• Access Module Magazine(AMM)
• Network Processing unit (NPU)
• Power Filtering Units (PFU)
• Fan Unit (FAU)
• Line Termination unit (LTU)
• Magazine Modem Unit (MMU)

11. TN Units
• TN units can be categorized based on their Size to
Full Width Module
Half Width Module

12. Access Module Magazine
• Connect all the units together through its Backplane.
• Backplane has six buses

13. Backplane Buses
• TDM bus: time division multiplexing for traffic routing
• PCI bus: peripheral component interconnect high speed bus
for control and supervision
• SPI bus: serial peripheral interface low speed bus for
management data
• Power bus: DC power from PFU to consumers
• 4 BPI bus: 4 board pair interconnect for communication
between 4 PIUs
• 2 BPI bus: 2 board pair interconnect for communication
between 2 PIUs
• High speed Ptb bus: for connecting HSU and NPU slots to
application PIU

14. Network Processing Unit(NPU)

15. Network Processing Unit(NPU)
• Holds the TN configuration and licenses on Non volatile
Memory.
• Control the TN operation through the PCI bus
• O&M interface for local Maintenance
• E1 & T1 Interfaces up to 4E1s for H.W unit and 8E1s for F.W
unit.
• DCN and management interfaces.
• External Alarms interfaces
• Mandatory Unit.

16. Power Filtering Unit (PFU)
PFU3B used in 6P AMM PFU1 used in 20P AMM

17. Power Filtering Unit (PFU)
• Supply power to the AMM .
• Can operate over +24 v or -48 v.
• SC protection and DC ripples Smoothing.
• Can be used with another one for redundancy (Protection).
• Mandatory Unit.
• Usually installed in Slot 00 or 01 .

18. Fan Unit (FAU)
FAU1 Used in 20p AMM
FAU2 Used in 6p AMM
Air In
Air out

19. Fan Unit (FAU)
• Direct the air flow throughout the AMM
• FAU1 is not inserted in the 20 p AMM ,it is installed above the
AMM hence it has a power socket and alarm socket to be
connected to the AMM PFU .
• Consists of 3 blowers for redundancy against equipment
failure.
• power can be supplied from two different sources for
redundancy against power failure.
• Mandatory Unit.

20. Line Termination unit (LTU)
PDH LTU SDH LTU
LTU 155 e
LTU 155 e/0

21. Line Termination unit (LTU)
• Connect external traffic to the TN.
• Can be either FW or HW depending on the AMM i.e. FW is
usually used in the 20p AMM while the HW is usually used in
the 6p AMM.
• Optional Unit
• Usually installed in slot 13 or 17 in the 20p AMM ,Slot 6 in the
6p AMM.

22. Magazine Modem Unit (MMU)
• We Use MMU2D or MMU2H at Mobinil
MMU2D
MMU2H

23. Magazine Modem Unit (MMU)
• Modulate the signal from the Base band to IF Band and vice
versa.
• Supply DC power to the RAU (ODU)
• Determine the Link Modulation scheme and Bandwidth.
• Both MMU2H & 2D support modulation up to 128 QAM ,they
also support adaptive modulation(Lowering the modulation
scheme to became more robust against fading)
• Only MMU2H supports XPIC .
• Mandatory Unit.

24. Connecting to the Mini-Link
• We can connect to Ericsson MW IDU [6P & TNP] using either a USB
cable or an Ethernet cable.
• in case of CN-210 we can connect using Ethernet cable only .
• Each IDU has its own IP, so the IP used in the below example is just
for illustration purpose.
• You must assign the Laptop IP within the range of the network of
the IDU to be able to connect properly to it.
• Usually assign the laptop IP = the IP of the IDU + 1 or 2

25. Example on Configuring the laptop TCP/IP
If the IDU TCP/IP Configuration is as shown :
IP :10.159.106.121
Subnet : 255.255.255.248
Configure the NIC as shown
IP : 10.159.106.122
Subnet : 255.255.255.248
DGW: 10.159.106.121

26. Identifying the right port
• CN-210
O&M Ethernet Port

27. Identifying the right port
• TN-20P
• We connect through the NPU located in slot 11.
TR7/LAN Interface
O&M USB Interface

28. Identifying the right port
• TN-6P
• We connect through the NPU located in slot 7.
TR2/LAN Interface
O&M USB Interface

29. Starting the SW
• Open Ericsson Mini-Link SW and choose IP from show NE as .
• Username : control_user
• Password : ericsson
• NE : IP written on the Mini-Link.

30. Traffic Routing
• Hub sites have usually been built by connecting individual
microwave Radio Terminals with cables through Digital
Distribution Frames (DDF) and external cross connection to
equipment.
• MINI-LINK TN provides a traffic routing function that
facilitates the handling of traffic aggregation. This function
enables interconnection of all traffic connections going
through the NE. This means that an aggregation site can be
realized using one AMM housing several Radio Terminals with
all the cross-connections done in the backplane.

31. Traffic Routing
• Interface (LTU and NPU) E1s on Ericsson Mini-Link are
identified by a number then a letter.
• Letters are A,B,C & D.
• Numbers from 1 to 8 .
• If we combine them together we can have up to 32 E1.
1 2 3 4 5 6 …. 30 31 32
1A 1B 1C 1D 2A 2B ….. 8B 8C 8D

32. Traffic Routing
• In SW cross connection: all the plug in cards are defined
according to the Node /Slot/E1 port.
• Example the 3rd E1 on the NPU of TN-20P will be written as
1/11/1C another example of 6th E1 of the NPU at TN-6P will
be written as 1/7/2B.
Node
E1
Card Slot #

33. Traffic Routing
• Right click on the site name and choose
Configure -> Traffic Routing
• A window like the below shall appear

34. Choose the MMU
card in interface 1
then choose E1
1/11/6
Traffic Routing
• Example if a new site to be routed from the BSC and we need
to connect 1A on the LTU located in slot 12 to the 6th E1 of the
MMU located in slot 10.
Choose the LTU
card in interface 2
then choose E1
1/12/1A
Press the arrow
button to create
the cross
connection

35. Traffic Routing
• Naming the cross connection
Click on Traffic
routing overview

36. Traffic Routing
• Naming the cross connection
Left click on the
E1 name

37. Link Performance Measurements
• Every 15 minutes the Link records the values of the below
1)BB (Background block) : blocks of data RX by the link
2)BBE : # of blocks that contain errors and can not be corrected
3)BBER : # of BBE / interval(Day or 15 minutes)
4)ES( Error Seconds) : # of seconds of incorrect(corrupted) data
5)ESR(Error second rate) : # of ES / interval(Day or 15 minutes)
6)SES (Severe error seconds) : 10 seconds or more of incorrect data
7)SESR : # of SESR / interval(Day or 15 minutes)
8)Unavailable Seconds : more than 30 % of the data sent per this
second has error i.e. data discarded by the link

38. LPF OVER CN
• Right click on Radio and choose performance to check the LPF
for the near end over the current and previous 15 minutes
and current and last day.

39. LPF OVER CN
• Click on continuous to check the LPF for Near and Far ends
since the startup of the link

40. LPF OVER CN
• Click on RF to check the current RSL for the near end and over
the last 7 days and since startup.

41. LPF OVER CN
• Click on Adaptive modulation to check the modulation
scheme used by link over the current and previous 15 minutes
/day
• Note that In case of fading the modulation scheme will vary.

42. LPF OVER TN
Right click on
the RAUIF of
the desired
MMU and
choose
performance
to check on
the LPF and
adaptive
modulation
as previous

43. LPF OVER TN
Right click on
the RF of the
desired
MMU and
choose
Power to
check the
current RSL
for the near
end and over
the last 7
days and
since startup.

44. Uploading/Downloading config. file
• N.E configuration (PIU configuration, XCs, Basic IP
configuration, etc.. ) are stored on a file named configuration
file
• This file is stored at three memories
1. Non volatile memory on the NPU
2. RMM (Removable memory module)
3. Volatile memory on the backplane
• In case of inconsistency i.e. the configuration file existing on the NPU is
different from the one on the RMM, which occurs after a replacement
action for the RMM or NPU, the node will boot in initial setup mode when
you will be requested to choose the boot source

45. Uploading/Downloading config. file
• Start the FTP server

46. Uploading/Downloading config. file
• In the Navigation Tree, right click the NE and form tools menu,
click Load Configuration.
• On the Load Configuration page, under Configuration File,
select Upload to FTP server and configure the FTP server to be
local
• If the configuration file should be stored on the PC, select
Local server, specify User Name and Password.
• Specify File Name. The configuration will be stored in the
<drive:>tn_ftp_hometn_backup_configuration folder.

47. Uploading/Downloading config. file

48. Uploading/Downloading config. file

49. Uploading/Downloading config. file

50. Uploading/Downloading config. file

51. Uploading/Downloading config. file

52. Software upgrade
• Baseline SW: bundle of software files used to
upgrade node PIU and does not include RAU
software
• There are two types upgrade
1. Baseline upgrade where all PIU are
updated at once (New link installation)
2. Module upgrade where a PIU SW is
updated

53. Software upgrade
• In the Navigation Tree, right click the NE and form tools menu, click
Software upgrade
• Choose the type of upgrade Baseline or module
• At the FTP configuration, select Local server, specify User Name and
Password.
• The SW files should be stored at
C:tn_ftp_hometn_system_releaseml_tn_software in order to be
recognized by craft terminal FTP server
• Click apply then next
• In settings choose the FTP server configuration, activation and
confirmation .
• On the Start Upgrade page, verify the requested actions and click
Start Upgrade

54. Software upgrade
• Baseline upgrade

55. Software upgrade
• Modules upgrade

56. Software upgrade
• Settings

57. Software upgrade
• Start the upgrade

58. Software upgrade
• Baseline upgrade in progress

59. Software upgrade
• Module upgrade in progress

60. Software upgrade
• Activation in progress

61. Software upgrade
• Confirm New Software Configuration

62. Loops
• Loops can be used to verify that the transmission system is
working properly or they can be used to locate the faulty unit
or interface in case of failure.

63. Loops
• E1 Loops
1. Line loop: Loops an incoming line signal back to its
origin.
2.Local loop: Loops a line signal received from the
backplane back to its origin.
• 3.Connection loop: Loops an E1 interface connected to
the backplane back to its origin. The
loop is done in the backplane.

64. Loops
• E1 Loops

65. Loops
• E1 Loops
Navigate to the desired card then right click tools and
choose E1 loops

66. Loops
• Radio Loops
1. IF loop: In the MMU the traffic signal to be transmitted
is, after being modulated, mixed with the
frequency of a local oscillator, looped back
for demodulation (on the receiving side).
2.RF loop: In the RAU a fraction of the RF signal
transmitted is shifted in frequency and looped
back to the receiving side.
• 3.RX loop: group of E1s in the traffic connection is looped
back to its origin. The Rx Loop can be used to
verify the communication over the radio path.

67. Loops
• Radio Loops

68. Loops
• Radio Loops
Navigate to the desired radio link then right click tools
and choose radio loops

69. Replacing LTU, SMU2 and MMU card
• Undo the two screws (using T8 star screw driver) on the
latches.
• Disconnect all cables from the plug-in unit.
• Press the BR (Board Removal) button gently for a few seconds
and release it. This is a request to take the plug-in unit Out of
Service and all traffic related alarms will be disabled.

70. Replacing LTU, MMU and PFU
• Wait until the BR (yellow) LED is ON and then remove the plug-in
unit
• within 60 seconds. If the LED is not ON within 60 seconds, press and
• release the BR button again. Wait another 60 seconds and if the
LED is still not ON, remove the unit anyway.
• Insert the new plug-in unit within 15 minutes of removal. The plug-
in unit will automatically be taken into service.
• If the plug-in unit is not inserted within 15 minutes of removal, it
has to be re-configured
• Tighten the two screws on the latches.
• Connect the station radio cable.
• Depending on the software release installed on the card you may
need to perform an upgrade or not

71. Replacing NPU card
• The NPU which holds the NE configuration data, can be
replaced without disturbing all traffic not directly connected
to the unit. The procedure is performed while the NE is
running in NPU Installation mode.
• You need a backup configuration file on the FTP server on
your PC. The configuration file must have the following path:
C:tn_ftp_hometn_backup_configuration<hostname.cfg>.

72. Replacing NPU card
• Undo the two screws (using T8 star screw driver) on the
latches.
• Disconnect all cables from the plug-in unit.
• Press the BR (Board Removal) button gently for a few seconds
and release it. This is a request to take the plug-in unit Out of
Service and all traffic related alarms will be disabled.

73. Replacing NPU card
• Wait until the BR (yellow) LED is ON and then remove the
plug-in unit
• within 60 seconds. If the LED is not ON within 60 seconds,
press and
• release the BR button again. Wait another 60 seconds and if
the LED is still not ON, remove the unit anyway.
• Remove the RMM from the old card and insert it in the new
card
• Insert the new card and Press and release the BR button while
the Fault (red), Power (green) and BR (yellow) LEDs are ON
(NPU power up). The BR (yellow) LED will start flashing,
indicating that the NE is in NPU Installation mode.

74. Replacing NPU card
• You can either choose to boot the node from the RMM which
holds the old configuration or start a connection to the FTP
server (Laptop) and download the configuration file you
backed up earlier afterwards the Node will auto reset and
boot into normal mode
• You can remove the NPU and the node will be down since
there is a backup configuration stored on the backplane
memory
• Depending on the software release installed on the card you
may need to perform an upgrade or not

75. THANK YOU