Remote - Winter 2013 - (Page 18)

Feature Article Tier 1 Operator Case Study: Intelligent Site Management Ben Stump, Chief Technology Officer Westell Telecommunications service providers, tower owners and operators are continually faced with the challenges of managing operating expenses while ensuring the network quality their customers expect and demand. Combining this with the continued expansion of LTE services creates interesting challenges, especially when more than one service provider (customer) is co-located at a site. A Tier 1 tower operator in a rapidly growing telecommunications market needed to grow their network intelligently to remotely monitor, manage, and control multiple applications at more than 2,000 cell sites. With their market expected to exceed 50 million mobile subscriber connections by 2015, understanding remote site activities is critical. This operator chose a comprehensive site management solution from Kentrox for its cell sites for power management, environmental management, and security management. The goal was to help meet their customers' stringent Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and avoid costly fines. Additionally, the intelligent site management solution is helping minimize operating costs by reducing site visits and enhancing site security - both for personnel and equipment. The Network The Optima Management System, Remote RMM-1400s and Remote RMB-1s from Kentrox were deployed at nearly all their remote sites in less than one year. The management system, which supports multiple languages, is installed at a data center and supports Graphical User Interface (GUI) connections in both English and Spanish for their network operations center users. Optima centralizes and monitors all measurement and alarm data from the remote devices installed at each site, trends the site data, and provides detailed reports on site performance. The Remote suite of products is monitoring and control site devices that enable site alarm monitoring, protocol conversion, and equipment connectivity, and acts as an intelligent extension of the operator's Operations Support System (OSS). The data obtained from the remote site devices are transferred to the centralized management system over a secure, private cellular network. Figure 1 The remote site devices are enclosed in a Kentrox cabinet that also contains all associated power meters and site-specific sensors (see Figure 1). This operator is monitoring the environmental conditions of both the shelter and the equipment cabinet including the indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, door status and smoke detection. If a measurement exceeds a predefined threshold, the operator is immediately notified. This helps provide the information required to ensure the proper operating conditions for the sites and notifies operations' staff to react to a situation before it turns into an SLA event, potentially resulting in financial penalties or a serviceaffecting event. 18 www.RemoteMagazine.com Power Management Multiple sources of power including commercial, batteries and generators exist at most of this operator's sites. The Kentrox power management solution that was implemented includes AC and DC power monitoring, battery monitoring, generator management including fuel monitoring, rectifier monitoring and multi-tenant power metering. The solution provides real-time views of the power sources, incoming power consumption, and total power distribution throughout the site (see Figure 2). Generators (legacy and/ or newer models with a smart controller) are deployed at most sites. Some are used for primary power, but most are used as the backup power source. The generator management application monitors their operating conditions Figure 2 and readiness. Fuel levels are monitored to schedule timely refills as needed instead of at designated times each month. Maintenance and control is also conducted by remotely starting the generator and automatically testing them for maintenance and regulatory compliance. The generators and fuel levels are monitored remotely. Batteries are often used as backup power in case a generator fails. Using the Kentrox battery monitoring application, the Tier 1 operator is provided critical insight into site power availability. For example, when the generator fails and power switches to batteries, the operator automatically receives an alarm of battery discharge. The operator then utilizes reports to understand how much time is remaining on battery power. If multiple site visits are required for maintenance, they can prioritize the visits based on time remaining. The application also helps with replacement planning: it identifies batteries nearing the end of their useful life and compares battery vendor performance, enabling informed capital expenditure decisions. The operator is utilizing the AC power monitoring application to detect when issues occur with commercial power. The application provides a real-time view of power consumption and the total distribution throughout the site. AC power problem conditions are detected that can lead to equipment damage, failure, or malfunctions. The application also identifies trends in the quality of the AC power delivered, which the operator uses to optimize power-related equipment and establish an equipment baseline for future deployments. Similarly, DC power monitoring is utilized to understand equipment conditions at remote sites. For example, the operator is remotely accessing real-time and historical data to look for improvements within the site. Because most site power disturbances are caused by site equipment, the application detects problem conditions that could lead to equipment damage. Data is analyzed to understand trends in power such as DC power quality and current load, power consumption per billing period, phase voltage/current, and frequency. Rectifier monitoring is also utilized to ensure proper DC power is supplied to site equipment and monitor capacity utilization. This Tier 1 operator has multiple service providers at many of its sites. Because power is provided from multiple sources, a tenant power metering application from Kentrox is used to understand how much power of what type (battery vs. commercial vs. generator) is being used by each tenant to ensure accurate billing. The application also provides diagnostic and corrective actions when tenant power-related problems occur such as load balancing and individual phase issues. Environmental Management Maintaining critical infrastructure at remote sites requires strict control over environmental site conditions. The operator is using the Kentrox environmental management solution focusing on environmental monitoring, http://www.RemoteMagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Remote - Winter 2013

Editor’s Choice
Message Oriented Middleware - The Future of SCADA
Enhanced SCADA Access and Big Data Lead to New Analytics & Optimization Capabilities
Approaches to Powering Telecom Sites
Satellite Communications for Water Metering and Other Water Applications
Remote Magazine Launches Internet of Things North America
Geospatially Integrated Surveillance Systems
Tier 1 Operator Case Study: Intelligent Site Management
SCADA - The Brain of the Smart Grid
SCADA
Networking
Security
Onsite Power
Industry News

Remote - Winter 2013