Telecom Site Automation Applications Overview Guide
Overview
Asentria SiteBoss products are Linux-based hardware appliances designed to manage and automate remote telecom communication sites to improve the resilience and efficiency of the network. The SiteBoss products are a category of products that we refer to as telecom site automation that have evolved from doing simple alarming, to monitoring, controlling, or getting remote or out-of-band access to underlying devices or sensors at the telecom site.
The basic sub-systems that a SiteBoss appliance might be interfaced to at a telecom site can be categorized into five major types:
- Power (eg. Rectifiers, AC meters, or generators)
- Security (eg. Door access control, cameras)
- Environment (eg. HVAC or temp sensors),
- Active Service Providing Equipment (Reboot of RAN or microwave, or out of-band access)
- Legacy Alarms (eg. Existing Krone, 66, or 110 punch down blocks).
The SiteBoss units might also fulfill some specialized function or need such as providing additional Ethernet ports within a telecom site to preserve physical Ethernet ports on a router or effectively increasing the number of IP addresses on an operator network. In cases where IP cameras or Ethernet based controllers for HVAC, rectifier, or diesel generators are present at a site, the SiteBoss may be used to keep those “smart controller” devices off the primary network via our ability to add Ethernet ports to the SiteBoss. This enables equipment that is considered to be a possible security risk off the primary network.
Southbound vs Northbound
It is helpful to first describe the difference between what we would refer to as “southbound” vs. “northbound” issues. Southbound functions are related to the interface from our SiteBoss units to other hardware or sensors located at a telecom site. Northbound relates to what data or communications is sent to or from the SiteBoss to what we will generically refer to as a Network Operations Center (NOC) located elsewhere than at a specific remote telecom site.
Telecom Site Normalization
One way to view the SiteBoss’ application is for “normalization” or “flattening” of all data coming from the southbound devices, regardless of the make or model of that device. An example would be two telecom sites with different HVAC systems, one with an Ethernet based “smart” controller and one using a simple thermostat. From the HVAC smart controller the SiteBoss can get data on many functions of the units as well as control set points and run the HVAC systems by sending commands to the HVAC smart controller. If the SiteBoss was used to replace a basic thermostat, then the SiteBoss itself would behave as an HVAC smart controller also controlling the running of the HVAC, switching of lead/lag units, switching to free cooling, and being able to derive many variables like run time.
Power Applications
Site power is one of the most critical variables at any telecom site. SiteBoss units enable automation related to power to increase site life and reduce costs. In the downloadable guide, you’ll find a representative list of variables that the SiteBoss can easily monitor, enabling various applications and automation to be created.
Conclusion
This downloadable document gives a broad overview of possible applications. Users of the products are able to combine these abilities in many different ways to improve network reliability or efficiency. Specific examples of applications are available in other materials on our website.
Summary
This is a summary, and a complete version with additional details can be downloaded in a PDF document here:
