Continuous Computing stretches LTE end-to-end

In a move designed to enable a rapid ramp up of LTE, Continuous Computing unveiled a comprehensive set of products that address the 3rd Generation Partnership Project's (3GPP) LTE wireless standard. The company's end-to-end offering spans Home eNodeB to the Evolved Packet Core (EPC).

LTE, according to the company, holds the promise of 100 Mbps downlink and 50Mpbs uplink mobile broadband data rates, simultaneous voice and data, and low round-trip latency for such real-time applications including gaming and mobile TV. The technology paves the way for higher quality, greater performance and enhanced security.

The range of products unveiled includes architected systems comprised of telecom platforms and Trillium software and includes signaling software, for eNodeB, LTE femtocells, and network elements within the LTE Evolved Packet Core (EPC). Also offered are LTE application-ready system products with the underlying hardware platform, which is Telco-grade and NEBS compliant central office equipment--high availability pre-integrated middleware--and protocol signaling software pre-integrated so that the customer essentially focuses on their application (See Figure 1).

Figure 1. Bringing LTE to market. Source: Continuous Computing

In the platform level, system level solutions, packet inspection functions are embedded inside the platform to enable mobile operators to effectively manage the traffic within their networks as well as secure their networks.

Continuous Computing claims that it is the first systems vendor to offer an end-to-end product suite for the LTE standard in support of the upcoming deployment of LTE networks.

Figure 2. Protocol Products. Source: Continuous Computing

Included are eNodeB application protocols, Mobility Management Entity (MMEs), and Serving Gateway (SGW) for LTE networks.

Figure 3. FlexTCA systems include underlying hardware, high-availability middleware, essential service, and protocol software, all pre-integrated. Source: Continuous Computing

The Continuous Computing platform is made up of the PP50 Dual RMI 10G Packet Processor provides DPI and data plane eGTP functions, onboard TCAM and FPGA, and high performance; the FM40 10G Switch Fabric with 8 x 10G external links, low latency switching (200ns), and advanced load balancing; and the XE50 Dual Quad-Core x86 CPU has control plane signaling (S1-AP) and storage, dual L5408 (Harpertown) w/24MB L2 cache, and up to 48G DDR2-667 memory.

According to Manish Singh, vice president, product line management at Continuous Computing, "Femtocell technology is a game changer that enables operators to put a $100-$200 box that provides feeds and speeds where it's needed most. At the same time, 3G networks, EDGE and 2G networks can be leveraged to provide nationwide coverage. This is an interesting paradigm shift as far as rollouts are concerned."

LTE is projected to elicit high end-user demand--35 million in the first three years according to ABI Research. For additional information see: LTE.