Integrated

An integrated deployment puts the whole gNB inside the access point. The AP performs the Central Unit, Distributed Unit and Radio Unit functions itself, and connects to Onyx Edge over ordinary backhaul. Onyx Edge provides the 5G Core.

This is the simplest Onyx architecture. There is no fronthaul, no Fronthaul Multiplexer, and no timing distribution to design.

What it looks like

The AP is the whole gNB. Onyx Edge provides the Core, and each AP is its own cell.

Each AP is a complete base station and its own cell. A device moving between two APs performs a normal inter-cell handover.

Access points

Every model in the 5g-gnb hardware family is an integrated base station. Their specification sheets describe them as integrated base station (gNB), and their network port is labeled Backhaul, not Fronthaul, which is the quickest way to tell the two families apart.

Model	Placement	MIMO	Power per port	Bands
G227	Indoor	2T2R	250 mW	n48, n78
G430	Indoor	4T4R	250 mW	n48, n78
G228	Outdoor	2T2R	250 mW	n48, n77, n78
G238-n78H-DC	Outdoor	2T2R	3 W	n78 (3600–3800 MHz)
G243-n48	Outdoor	2T2R	5 W	n48
G243-n78H-AC	Outdoor	2T2R	10 W	n78 (3600–3800 MHz)
G244-n48	Outdoor	2T2R	5 W	n48
G443	Outdoor	4T4R	5 W	n48, n78

For full specifications see Onyx Hardware.

NOTE: Select outdoor models also act as Mesh APs, serving as gateway nodes for Mesh Node wireless backhaul. This is currently supported on the G228 and the G244.

These are a per-cell choice, not a per-site one. An integrated AP can sit on the same network as RU-based cells. It brings its own CU and DU and attaches to the Core on Onyx Edge, so a site can run an integrated AP in one area and a Distributed or Super Cell deployment in another.

LTE works this way too, and only this way. The models above are the 5G gNB family. Every Onyx LTE access point is also a complete base station with the RAN stack onboard: the G100 and G101, the G229 and G249, and the G501. Because GXC builds no LTE Radio Unit and no LTE fronthaul, Integrated is the only shape an LTE cell takes.

Choose this when

• The site needs a small number of APs, and each one can cover its area on its own.
• Cell boundaries fall somewhere devices do not routinely cross while holding a session, so handover is acceptable.
• Cabling is constrained. Backhaul is ordinary IP transport, so it is far more forgiving than fronthaul on distance, media and timing.
• You want the shortest path to a working network, or a pilot that will grow later.

Choose something else when

• Devices move continuously across the coverage area and cannot tolerate a handover gap. AGVs, live video contribution and full-duplex intercom all fail here. Use Super Cell instead.
• Many radios must serve one large space as a single cell.
• You need the RF flexibility of separating the radio from the baseband, for example feeding a DAS head end.

What it costs

Hardware	Integrated gNB APs · Onyx Edge (Core)
Not required	FHM, fronthaul fiber, PTP/SyncE timing distribution
Transport	Standard IP backhaul to each AP, over CAT6, fiber or a wireless mesh hop

Because there is no FHM and no fronthaul, this is the lowest-cost and lowest-complexity option per site, and the easiest to extend one AP at a time.

Design considerations

Plan for handover at the boundaries. Each AP is its own cell. Work out where cell edges land relative to how people and machines actually move, and confirm any latency-sensitive workload can absorb the interruption.

Capacity is per AP. There is no pooling across APs. Size each one against the devices in its own coverage area.

Backhaul is not fronthaul. The AP needs enough backhaul for its user traffic, but none of the latency and timing discipline that eCPRI fronthaul demands.

---

Related

• Distributed: separating the radio from the baseband
• Super Cell: many radios behaving as one cell
• 5G Onyx Architecture Solution Brief