ALCATEL-LUCENT 9471

WIRELESS MOBILITY MANAGER

OVERVIEW
The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 Wireless Mobility Manager (WMM) is a next-generation
mobile packet core control-plane platform which can be deployed in any of the
following roles:
Standalone LTE Mobility Management Entity (MME)
Standalone 2G/3G/3G+ Serving GRPS Support Node (SGSN)
Combined MME/SGSN on a single converged platform

The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM combines a high-performance,

standards-based computing platform together with field-proven 3GPP
mobility and session-management software in a single element. It
provides exceptional processing performance and scalability to meet the
increasing network signaling loads due to the exponential rise of mobile
users, connected devices and network applications and to reduce the
total cost of ownership (TCO) of a mobile service providers network
through operational simplification and core convergence.

The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM is designoptimized to deliver a high-capacity control

plane and subscriber scalability to address the
exponential increase in the number of users,
devices and applications with their associated
signaling and lower latency demands. It is a
converged 4G/LTE and 2G/3G+ mobile core
control plane platform with field-proven mobility
management software and configuration
flexibility.
The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM is a key element
of the Alcatel-Lucent Wireless Packet Core
solution, which has been deployed in more
than 80 wireless networks in over 40 countries
around the world. It is also part of the High
Leverage Network a fully converged, scalable,
next-generation, all-IP multiservice infrastructure
that enables operators to deliver traffic more
reliably, efficiently and at the lowest cost, with
the ability to uniquely leverage network intelligence to generate revenues from sophisticated
managed services and applications.

With its feature-rich mobility and sessionmanagement software capabilities and field
experience derived from large scale 2G/3G CDMA
and W-CDMA deployments, the Alcatel-Lucent
9471 WMM provides a robust and advanced
4G/LTE MME and SGSN that supports the network
signaling demands of the next generation of
mobile broadband services.
When deployed together with the Alcatel-Lucent
lightRadio portfolio, the 9471 WMM delivers a
highly scalable control plane that supports any
macro, metro or small cell network architecture.

A KEY CONTROL PLANE

ELEMENT FOR MOBILE
BROADBAND
The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 Wireless Mobility
Manager is a key control plane element of the
Alcatel-Lucent Wireless Packet Core, providing
the 4G/LTE and 2G/3G+ mobility and sessionmanagement signaling capacity required in a
next-generation packet core network.

MANAGEMENT
The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM is managed by
the Alcatel-Lucent 5620 Service Aware Manager
(SAM), which provides both element management
and network management across the AlcatelLucent Wireless Packet Core. The Alcatel-Lucent
5620 SAM expands its LTE/4G network management capabilities to the E-UTRAN and across the
underlying IP/MPLS mobile backhaul and core
networks, providing an end-to-end view of the
wireless IP network. The 5620 SAM also supports
network management integration of third-party
components delivering single-screen visibility and
sign-on to operations and maintenance.

CONVERGED CONTROL PLANE

FOR 2G/3G AND LTE/4G
The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 Wireless Mobility
Manager combines Mobility Management Entity
(MME) and Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN)
functions into a single system, resulting in a
converged signaling control plane for 2G, 3G
and 4G/LTE.
This control plane convergence simplifies network
architecture and operations, facilitates rapid
deployment of 3G+ and LTE broadband services,
and reduces the cost of the core and network
signaling due to inter-RAT handovers.

Figure 1. Alcatel-Lucent wireless packet core

9471 WMM
(MME/SGSN)
9900 WNG
Wireless
Packet Core

lightRadio

With the ability to support millions of users and

connected devices and tens of thousands of
eNodeBs, the Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM provides
the control plane scale and performance needed
for massive delivery of high-quality mobile broadband. At the same time, the 9471 WMM reduces
the overall network signaling load through
sophisticated paging and tracking area management techniques that can improve the quality
of the end-user experience and lessen device
battery drain.

9471 Wireless Mobility Manager

Alcatel-lucent Solution sheet

2G/3G/4G LTE RAN

Wi-Fi Access

IMS
5780 DSC
(PCRF/
ANDSF)

CDN

Mobile
Backhaul
7750 SR
(WLAN GW)

Internet

7750 SR
(SGW/PGW/GGSN)

Network Management
5620 SAM

ADVANCED LTE NETWORK

ANALYTICS AND
DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS
With the evolution to LTE and an all-IP wireless
network, new network analytic and diagnostic
tools are required.
The 9900 Wireless Network Guardian (WNG) is a
unique network tool that monitors and analyzes
both the load and performance of the control and
data plane across the entire wireless network
(RAN, backhaul and core). It also correlates this
data with associated subscriber, application,
device traffic and real-time user experience.
Per-call Measurement Data Record (PCMD) is a
unique capability built into the Alcatel-Lucent
9471 WMM and the lightRadio eNodeB that
provides real-time call records for all devices
connected between them. This per-device call
detail at the procedure level goes beyond typical
service measurements and RF analysis provided
with other tools. It assists in trouble call resolution, cell RF optimization and planning. PCMD
significantly reduces network drive testing.

ARCHITECTURE
The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM is built on an
Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA)
platform that delivers high computing performance
in a field-proven, standards-based (NEBS, ETSI),
high-density form factor optimized for highvolume control plane function. Alcatel-Lucent
uses this same ATCA platform in many other
wireless products in its portfolio, which provides
lower costs through higher aggregate volumes.

9471 Wireless Mobility Manager

Alcatel-lucent Solution sheet

The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM utilizes a common

set of hardware to support combined MME/SGSN
functions, including a single service blade for
combined mobility and session management and
a separate interface blade for application-level
protocols, paging, load balancing and link management. This functional separation ensures that
the maximum CPU capacity is dedicated to call
processing and subscriber scalability.

DISTRIBUTED HIGHPERFORMANCE PROCESSING

The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM distributes processing using dual-quad core CPUs in its design
to deliver the high-performance messaging rates
and scalability needed to meet signaling capacity
requirements for todays 3G+ and 4G/LTE mobile
broadband networks.

FIELD-PROVEN SOFTWARE
Alcatel-Lucent and its world-class Bell Labs development organization are recognized as industry
leaders in wireless networks and technology.
Alcatel-Lucent equipment is deployed in many of
the worlds largest 2G/3G wireless networks with
field-proven, feature-rich software. These assets
and expertise are used in the design and development of the Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM software.

ENHANCED PAGING AND

TRACKING AREA MANAGEMENT
Network signalling is increasing at a tremendous
rate due to the popularity of smartphones and
applications that alternate frequently between
connected and idle states. In LTE, the MME must
send paging messaging to the device to locate it
before a data session can be established.

Alcatel-Lucent 9471 Wireless Mobility Manager features at-a-glance

NEXT-GENERATION MME/SGSN FEATURE

9471 WMM

Industry-standard computing platform design optimized for 4G/LTE Control Plane

Dedicated high-speed processors for data plane processing

Multi-core, distributed CPUs for massive control plane processing

Carrier-class reliability, network resiliency and failover

Flexible configuration options as standalone MME or SGSN or combined MME/SGSN

Common hardware for 2G/3G and 4G/LTE mobility and session management

Scalability to support millions of subscribers on a single chassis

Call processing performance to support the delivery of 3G+ and LTE mobile broadband

Field-proven, feature-rich software with large-scale LTE network expertise

Sophisticated paging and tracking area management algorithms to reduce signaling load

Power and footprint efficiency

Built-in network analytic tools for LTE (PCMD)

Common network management for wireless packet core, E-UTRAN and mobile backhaul

The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM has enhanced

paging software that understands the underlying
service request types and can define paging
policies that reduce the overall signaling due to
paging. The 9471 WMM can also detect patterns
in device mobility and use sophisticated tracking
area algorithms to reduce the messaging associated with tracking area updates.

Alcatel-Lucent
9471 WMM DELIVERS:
Purpose built platform for 4G/LTE control
plane scaling
Dedicated, multi-core processors for highperformance call processing
Carrier-class design with full hardware and
software redundancy
Flexible configuration options as a standalone
MME, SGSN or combined MME/SGSN, with
no hardware swaps, providing investment
protection
Field-proven, reliable mobility management
software, based on experience in large-scale
2G/3G networks
Scalability to support millions of subscribers
Advanced paging and tracking area manage
ment that reduces the overall network
signaling load
Unique network monitoring and analysis
tools to aid in trouble call resolution, network
optimization and planning.

THE ALCATEL-LUCENT
ADVANTAGE
Reliable
The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM leverages a
carrier-class ATCA platform built around fully
redundant components, fault monitoring and
recovery, hot swappable cards, in-service software upgrades and overload protection. Coupled
with geo-redundancy, intra- and inter-system
load balancing and network pooling capabilities,
the Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM enables reliability
and availability levels not easily achievable in
all-IP environments (>99.999%).

Scalable
The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM is a high-capacity
platform scaling at multiple levels. The system
can easily grow at both the board and chassis
level with a single rack, dual-chassis configuration
to support large-scale subscriber and eNodeB
deployments. The 9471 WMM can extend coverage
with both MME and SGSN pooling, providing load
balancing across the network. It can be deployed
in both distributed and centralized architectures.

Power efficiency and reduced footprint

As energy and real estate costs rise, new network
elements must be designed for lower power
consumption and in more compact footprints.
The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM power design is
maximized for power efficiency, supporting a
330W-per-slot capacity which ensures system
support for future upgrades of next-generation

processor blades for higher scalability and

performance. The ATCA chassis itself is only
11U which delivers industry-leading scalability
and performance per rack.

LEARN MORE
The Alcatel-Lucent 9471 WMM is the signaling
control plane of the Alcatel-Lucent Wireless
Packet Core a service-intelligent solution
which provides mobile operators with a complete,
standards-compliant 2G/3G and LTE/4G converged
wireless packet core.
The Alcatel-Lucent Wireless Packet Core is an
all-IP packet core designed and built for the
further evolution of mobile broadband.
The Alcatel-Lucent Wireless Packet Core has
been design optimized to deliver the performance, scalability and reliability needed for
a new LTE/4G packet core Evolved Packet
Core (EPC), with support for 2G/3G/3G+ packet
core functionality (SGSN/GGSN). It is based on
purpose-built platforms which mirror the 3GPP
architectural split of data plane (mobile gateways),
control plane (mobility management) and service
plane (policy management) in LTE/4G and beyond.
To learn more about the Alcatel-Lucent
Wireless Packet Core, visit:
www.alcatel-lucent.com/wireless-packet-core

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Copyright 2012 Alcatel-Lucent. All rights reserved. M2012053242 (May)