A Guide for Successful Speed Dating – The Loud Date, or The Wireless Backhaul Challenge

By Dudy Cohen 5 min read

Last week, we used some social analogies to better understand the challenge of multiple access communication. In particular, we used the cocktail party analogy to describe and understand the challenge and its technological solutions.

Let’s discuss now a different network domain and try to create a new model to describe both the challenge and its solution. The area we would like to focus on is mobile backhaul, specifically wireless backhaul. And let’s use another interesting social scene – the speed dating environment.

Much like the cocktail party, we are discussing a venue in which multiple conversations are conducted at the same time. This time, however, we have a slightly different challenge.

The speed date is limited in time, during which we need to convey the maximum amount of information between the two participants in the date. We are doing this in a noisy environment (as many other dates are taking place around us). And we are trying to do this in a manner that is appealing to our date – namely so that he understands, processes and likes what we are trying to “sell.”This is very similar to wireless point-to-point architecture. We are trying to convey as much information as possible over a given resource (spectrum, channel) in a manner (protocol) that will be understandable and processed by the other side.

Let’s review the three “musts” for a successful speed date:

  1. You must ensure that your partner can hear you.
  2. You need your partner to understand you – speak the same language, have the same interests, etc.
  3. Your partner should have the capacity (mental, intellectual) to process what you are trying to convey (in the short time allocated for the date).


It is easy to see the correlation between these conditions and the three main elements of a wireless backhaul system:

  1. Getting our partner to hear us is a task for the radio element.
  2. Making sure our partner understands us is the sole responsibility of the networking software.
  3. And, lastly, ensuring that our partner has the capacity to process the messages we convey in a short time frame is a function of the networking hardware.

At the end of the day, we are looking for mister (or miss) perfect!

We are looking for a wireless backhaul solution that will have the best radio technology, so we can make sure our partner hears us in any condition. Such a radio will use the minimum amount of resources (spectrum, power, tower load etc.) and will convey the maximum amount of information, or capacity.

At the same time, we are looking for a wireless backhaul system that will be able, with its networking software, to speak multiple languages and match any partner (or network scenario). Namely, the system should “speak” layer-3 protocols (e.g. IP/MPLS and segment routing) where needed, and switch to a different layer-2 “language” (e.g. Carrier Ethernet). It should even be silent, at times, as it blends into an all-outdoor or pipe configuration.

That “mister perfect” wireless backhaul solution will also have the processing power, backplane and interfaces, as part of his networking hardware, to accommodate any amount of traffic we pour into it. As in real life, this kind of a perfect date is very hard to find in wireless backhaul. This is so because monolithic wireless backhaul systems, like people, have both strengths and weaknesses.

This is exactly where disaggregated wireless backhaul makes all the difference.Imagine a “Matrix”-like world, in which we can change full parts of the person, according to what we need in a specific (network) scenario. Sharper speech, new language or some physical skill? No problem!

This is exactly the case when it comes to disaggregated wireless backhaul.

Need the best radio? You got it!

Need to add some routing protocol? Simply load the right software!Need higher networking capacity or an additional high-speed interface? Switch to a higher-end hardware box, without changing any other element!

And, most importantly, unlike the Matrix, this is real and already available for use.

 Watch our webinar to learn more about Disaggregated Wireless Backhaul

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