The Service Node lies at the heart of SpiderCloud’s Enterprise RAN (E-RAN) solution and ensures the E-RAN is easy to deploy, easy to manage and delivers the performance mobile operators expect.
It is typically deployed on-premises in medium-to-large enterprises and venues. Smaller enterprises can share a Services Node located in an operator’s data center, or on the premises of any one of the enterprises that are sharing a Services Node.
The Service Node offers a wide range of functionality, including:
- Plug-and-play provisioning of small cells on an Enterprise Ethernet LAN
- Self-configuration and self-optimization of UMTS and LTE radio parameters
- Small Cell aggregation and connection to the core network over IPSec, Iuh and S1
- Synchronization of small cells, without requiring every small cell to have a GPS
- Soft handovers between UMTS enterprise small cells
- Fast handovers between LTE enterprise small cells
- Managing handovers to and from the macro cellular network
- Interference management between small cells and with the macro cellular network
- Providing a single point of management
- Providing a single point of integration with the Enterprise intranet
- Providing an integrated platform for Mobile Edge Computing
- Backhaul routing capabilities, including 802.1p QoS and BGP
- Integrated IPSec security gateway
The Service Node is a powerful and security-hardened network processing appliance. It is access technology agnostic and supports UMTS, LTE and LTE-U/LAA, depending on the software running on it.
In UMTS deployments, the Service Node plays the role of a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and connects to the public UMTS Core Network either as an RNC or as a Home Node B.
In LTE deployments, the Service Node acts as a Cloud RAN controller, and connects to the public LTE Evolved Packet Core (EPC) as a multi-sector eNB.
In FirstNet deployments, the Service Node acts as a Cloud RAN controller and manages all pre-emption activities for attached First Responder devices and connects to both the public and FirstNet LTE Evolved Packet Core (EPC) as a multi-sector eNB
In CBRS deployments, the Services Node acts as a Cloud RAN controller and connects to a public and/or private LTE Evolved Packet Core (EPC) as a multi-sector eNB. It operates a proxy Citizens Broadband Service Device (CBSD) process that requests spectrum for all its attached radios from the cloud-based Spectrum Access System (SAS).
