--- title: "System design: Design and integration | Nexus Observatory" description: "System design, inside Design and integration: design packs, configuration management, transport requirements for 5G xhaul, hybrid microgrid planning and more." url: https://observatory.global/integration/system-design/ publisher: Nexus Observatory Inc. updated: 2026-11-07 --- [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/) / [Design and integration](https://observatory.global/integration/) / **System design** # Requirements to architecture, drawn against the standards. System design, inside Design and integration: design packs, configuration management, transport requirements for 5G xhaul, hybrid microgrid planning and more. Every item is traced to its specification, from IEC 61082-1 (documents in electrotechnology) to IEC 81346-1 (reference designation), and runs on the open Observatory Protocol. [Plan with us](https://observatory.global/contact/) Architecture [The protocol](https://observatory.global/protocol/specification/) **Technologies**: 5 **At the frontier**: 0 **Protocol functions**: 4 of 12 **Industries served**: 4 At a glance ## Design packs Drawings, single-line diagrams, layouts, BOMs and method statements issued for construction. In system design, part of Design and integration, the design packs and logistics layer holds design packs, drawn against IEC 61082-1 and IEC 81346-1 and used beside -48 V DC telecom power on the same sites. The problem ### Requirements to architecture, drawn against the standards Large observing programmes buy from many suppliers. Without one design and one interface contract, every boundary becomes a dispute and every site a one-off. Programmes slip at the interfaces, not in the components, and nobody can say where the delay comes from. Key facts **Specification**: IEC 61082-1 (documents in electrotechnology) · IEC 81346-1 (reference designation) **Specification**: ETSI EN 300 132-2 **Specification**: IEC TS 62898-1 (microgrid planning and specification) **Specification**: ISO 10007 **Specification**: IEEE 802.1CM (TSN for fronthaul) · ITU-T GSTR-TN5G (transport network support of IMT-2020/5G) Components - Rugged shock-isolated 7U transit rack case, lids off - Overhead line sensor on a distribution span - Automatic weather station (AWS) to WMO siting practice - Distribution pole transformer and meter cabinet - Private LTE mast on a solar skid - "AI tower in a box" - Data hall row pair with cold-aisle containment - Operations console with a video wall Interfaces **Radio**: Ethernet **Time and position**: PTP (IEEE 1588) Where it works - -48 V DC telecom power - Configuration management In the story below 1. The system, part by part 2. Assembly 3. Installation 4. Deployment 5. Connections 6. Operation 7. Failure and recovery 8. Scale and federation 9. What you get Scenes · 13 Next steps [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/integration/contact/deployment/) [Open the Field Deployment Studio](https://observatory.global/studio/) [See Design and integration](https://observatory.global/integration/) [Talk to sales](https://observatory.global/contact/sales-enquiry/) 1. Design and integration · System design Requirements to architecture, drawn against the standards Large observing programmes buy from many suppliers. Without one design and one interface contract, every boundary becomes a dispute and every site a one-off. Programmes slip at the interfaces, not in the components, and nobody can say where the delay comes from. 2. What it does Design packs Drawings, single-line diagrams, layouts, BOMs and method statements issued for construction. In system design, part of Design and integration, the design packs and logistics layer holds design packs, drawn against IEC 61082-1 and IEC 81346-1 and used beside -48 V DC telecom power on the same sites. SpecificationIEC 61082-1 (documents in electrotechnology) · IEC 81346-1 (reference designation) 3. Microgrids and distribution -48 V DC telecom power The standard DC interface for radio and network equipment, with rectifiers and battery strings. In system design, part of Design and integration, the microgrids and distribution layer holds -48 V DC telecom power, drawn against ETSI EN 300 132-2. We build it into every site for system design against that standard, and keep its version and its test results on the site’s record. SpecificationETSI EN 300 132-2 4. Microgrids and distribution Hybrid microgrid planning Combining PV, wind, storage and generators into an isolated or grid-tied site microgrid. In system design, part of Design and integration, the microgrids and distribution layer holds hybrid microgrid planning, drawn against IEC TS 62898-1. We build it into every site for system design against that standard, and keep its version and its test results on the site’s record. SpecificationIEC TS 62898-1 (microgrid planning and specification) 5. Design packs and logistics Configuration management Baselines and controlled changes for hardware, firmware and documents per site. In system design, part of Design and integration, the design packs and logistics layer holds configuration management, drawn against ISO 10007. We build it into every site for system design against that standard, and keep its version and its test results on the site’s record. SpecificationISO 10007 6. Time and place When and where, on every record Every record made for system design carries its time, from a clock disciplined by satellite time or a PTP grandmaster, with the position and siting record of the station that made it. When time or position degrades, the record for system design says so, and every user downstream sees the same warning. 7. Fronthaul, midhaul and backhaul Transport requirements for 5G xhaul Capacity, latency and sync requirements for each segment between radio and core. In system design, part of Design and integration, the fronthaul, midhaul and backhaul layer holds transport requirements for 5G xhaul, drawn against IEEE 802.1CM and ITU-T GSTR-TN5G. We build it into every site for system design against that standard, and keep its version and its test results on the site’s record. SpecificationIEEE 802.1CM (TSN for fronthaul) · ITU-T GSTR-TN5G (transport network support of IMT-2020/5G) 8. Trust Proved before it is trusted A node joins a network for system design only after its hardware root of trust answers an attestation challenge. Its keys stay in secure hardware, its software arrives signed and every record it makes for system design carries a signature, so anyone downstream can check where a value came from. 9. Evidence Traced to its specifications We trace each part of system design to its specification: IEC 61082-1, IEC 81346-1 and IEEE 802.1CM. We keep the versions, configurations and test results of system design as signed records, so a buyer or an auditor can check what was delivered against what was specified. StandardsIEC 61082-1 · IEC 81346-1 · IEEE 802.1CM · ITU-T GSTR-TN5G 10. Failure and recovery When a node fails, the fleet knows first When a node for system design goes silent or a sensor drifts, the node buffers its data and fails over to a second link where the site has one. The alert carries the evidence a responder needs, and the record for system design loses nothing and counts nothing twice. 11. How it scales One base unit, repeated A network for system design starts with one base node and the instruments it reads. A station adds power and radio, a site adds a relay and a fleet repeats the proven site, so capacity for system design grows by adding units, never by replacing what works. 12. What you get Programmes, integration and management The reference architecture and interface contracts are open. National observing network programmes, systems integration and programme management are contracted. Pricing follows the programme's scale and phases, with one point of accountability from design to acceptance; the documentation, models and records stay yours at the end. [Talk to sales](https://observatory.global/contact/sales-enquiry/) 13. Next step System design, planned with you Tell us the sites, the systems system design must work with and the outcome you need, with a map or a list of addresses if you have one. An engineer replies with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for system design, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/integration/contact/deployment/) [Open the Field Deployment Studio](https://observatory.global/studio/) [See Design and integration](https://observatory.global/integration/) More presentations ## See it from every side. Each opens as a full-screen presentation: deeper pages on the same subject, explainers, stories, guided tours of the places, network scenes and the observatories that came before. [All presentations](https://observatory.global/presentations/) ### In depth [ISIC section · ISIC O **Public administration and defence; compulsory social security**](https://observatory.global/industries/o-public-administration-and-defence-compulsory-social-security/) [ISIC section · ISIC Q **Human health and social work activities**](https://observatory.global/industries/q-human-health-and-social-work-activities/) [Use case **GBON gap-filler station**](https://observatory.global/use-cases/gbon-gap-filler/) [Use case **Utility grid-edge private LTE and wildfire weather**](https://observatory.global/use-cases/utility-grid-edge/) ### Explainers [Explainer · Government and public safety **Government and public safety** Wildfire cameras on real terrain, GBON station density, street-flood alert thresholds, CAP alerting with the authority in the loop and the radio horizon of a deployable cell.](https://observatory.global/industries/public-safety/explainer/) [Explainer · Cities **Cities** Hybrid air-quality calibration, street-flood and heat sensing, privacy-first traffic counts and the city-wide radio layer.](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/explainer/) [Platform **Design and integration** Many suppliers, nobody accountable](https://observatory.global/integration/) [Platform **Field services** Sites fail between contractors](https://observatory.global/field-services/) ### Stories [Story · Federation across agencies **Many agencies, one picture** No single agency observes everything it needs. Federation lets each keep its own systems and still share: common interfaces, common catalogues and common…](https://observatory.global/stories/federation/) [Story · Resilient operations **When the links fail** Observing systems matter most on the days infrastructure fails. Designing for that day means local autonomy, stored power, store-and-forward delivery and…](https://observatory.global/stories/resilient-ops/) [Story · End to end **An observation grid, end to end** An observation is not a reading. It is a reading with a place, a time, a calibration and a path that anyone can follow back. An observing grid is the…](https://observatory.global/stories/observation-grid/) ### Places and networks [Guided tour · Guided 3D tour **Mountain valley site** A private 5G tower, an automatic weather station, a compact radar and a seismic vault on real alpine terrain, joined to an edge data centre that admits, times and publishes every…](https://observatory.global/environments/mountain-valley/) [Guided tour · Guided 3D tour **River basin** Water-level gauges along a river valley floor, a weather station and an edge node: the red isoline is the ground that lies within a few metres of the lowest point of the reach.](https://observatory.global/environments/river-basin/) [Guided tour · Guided 3D tour **Ground station** An 11 m class antenna and its companions on a fenced pad, with edge compute that turns each pass into catalogued products before the next one.](https://observatory.global/environments/ground-station/) [Network scene · Backhaul · Fresnel zone **Microwave backhaul across a river valley** An 18 GHz hop from the church tower to a mast on the far side of the flood plain: its first Fresnel zone, clearance over the town and trees, and what a new building in the path…](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/backhaul-fresnel/) [Network scene · Private 5G · Mining **Private 5G in an open-pit mine** A private network for haul trucks, drills and slope radar: a mast on the rim, a cell in the pit, the core at the plant, and coverage computed over the benches themselves.](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/private5g-mine/) ### Heritage observatories [Heritage observatory · Global network of about 150 stations; USGS and EarthScope (formerly IRIS) partnership · 1984 **Global Seismographic Network** About 150 digital broadband seismic stations in some 80 countries, sending data to open archives within minutes.](https://observatory.global/observatories/iris-gsn/) [Heritage observatory · United States · 1921 **Caltech Seismological Laboratory** A laboratory in Pasadena that gave earthquakes a number. The Richter magnitude scale of 1935 depended on one instrument type in many places, a lesson as relevant to networks today…](https://observatory.global/observatories/caltech-seismo-lab/) ### Interactive tools [Interactive tool · Configure a station **Station Builder** Configure a station part by part in 3D, check the rules as you go and request a quote for the assembly.](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) **01** What it is ## Design packs and logistics. Everything that happens on the ground across a site's life: survey, permits, design packs, logistics, installation, acceptance, training, operations, maintenance, upgrades, decommission and recycling, done safely and recorded as evidence. The networks behind the radio: the 5G core and its functions, slicing and edge breakout, IMS voice and emergency calling, fronthaul, midhaul and backhaul over microwave, E-band, fibre, free-space optics and satellite, IP/MPLS and segment routing, IPv6, automation and intent, and the security that holds it together. How a remote site is powered, stored, distributed, cooled, sealed, tested, grounded, held up and kept safe, from a solar-powered sensor to a hybrid microgrid on a guyed mast. Each technology below carries what it is, what we do with it, and the standard it is drawn against. Field operations and lifecycle ### Design packs Drawings, single-line diagrams, layouts, BOMs and method statements issued for construction. We design. IEC 61082-1 (documents in electrotechnology) · IEC 81346-1 (reference designation) Field operations and lifecycle ### Configuration management Baselines and controlled changes for hardware, firmware and documents per site. We design, operate and maintain. ISO 10007 Core and transport networks ### Transport requirements for 5G xhaul Capacity, latency and sync requirements for each segment between radio and core. We design. IEEE 802.1CM (TSN for fronthaul) · ITU-T GSTR-TN5G (transport network support of IMT-2020/5G) Power, energy and ruggedisation ### Hybrid microgrid planning Combining PV, wind, storage and generators into an isolated or grid-tied site microgrid. We design and deploy. IEC TS 62898-1 (microgrid planning and specification) Power, energy and ruggedisation ### -48 V DC telecom power The standard DC interface for radio and network equipment, with rectifiers and battery strings. We design, deploy and maintain. ETSI EN 300 132-2 **02** Architecture ## Where it sits, and what it speaks. System design draws on the spectrum below; the highlighted layers carry this area, and the protocol functions it speaks are marked. 5G core functions 10 Network slicing, edge UPF and local breakout 8 IMS, voice and mission-critical services 6 Fronthaul, midhaul and backhaul 8 Fibre and optical transport 8 IP/MPLS, segment routing, SD-WAN and IPv6 8 Network automation and intent 7 Core security and resilience 5 Generation 9 Storage 9 Microgrids and distribution 9 Energy management and monitoring 7 Thermal design and ingress 8 Environmental and EMC testing 7 Lightning, grounding and structures 8 Safety and transport 7 01**Join** Identity, attestation quote, signed policy. 02**Admit** Admitted for a stated scope, nothing wider. 03**Describe** What, where, how and by whom, with calibration. 04**Time** One clock across the grid, with its error bound. 05**Observe** Every value with quality and provenance. 06**Qualify** Tested against the specification, state on record. 07**Federate** Signed exchange across grids and trust domains. 08**Orchestrate** Software and configuration by signed plan. 09**Correct** A correction marks what depends on it and publishes a new version. 10**Exchange** Products reach people and applications through versioned interfaces. 11**Prove** Signed proof receipts that an independent verifier can check. 12**Exit and decommission** An open exit path, and a record that closes. **03** On the grid ## Every site joins one observing grid. The open networks on the grid today, over real relief and the geodesic cells we count them into. A site built here enrols into the same grid. ## The observing grid 1. Open instruments on the observing grid. **04** In the field ## Where this runs, sector by sector. Deployment scenarios from the sector research that rely on system design. [Government and public safety National GBON surface and upper-air network WMO-grade stations reporting through WIS 2.0, funded through the systematic-observations financing pathway.](https://observatory.global/sectors/public-safety/) [Government and public safety Alerting integration with the Common Alerting Protocol and cell broadcast Software-heavy: sensor triggers feed an alert origination tool; the alert authority keeps every decision.](https://observatory.global/sectors/public-safety/) [Communities and rural Interim public-safety broadband where no national network exists Private LTE or 5G for fire and medical services in territories without a national public-safety network.](https://observatory.global/sectors/communities/) [Scientific Stream gauges A low-cost tier beside national gauge networks.](https://observatory.global/sectors/scientific/) [Scientific Ocean and coastal low-cost buoy arrays Satellite-backhauled wave buoys accepted in a national programme trial.](https://observatory.global/sectors/scientific/) [Defence-adjacent (civil dual-use) Civil observatories supporting northern infrastructure Weather and ionospheric observatories, communications and power at remote sites that surveillance programmes may share.](https://observatory.global/sectors/defence-adjacent/) **05** Open and enterprise ## Open by default. Enterprise by contract. The open counterpart lives on the main site for anyone to read and run. The enterprise service is designed, deployed and operated with you, under contract. Open, on the main site - Reference architecture - Interface contracts Enterprise, on this site - National observing network programmes - Systems integration - Programme management **06** The rest of the line ## Design and integration, area by area. [Design and integration Engineering Design packs, bills of materials and drawings.](https://observatory.global/integration/engineering/) [Design and integration Multi-vendor integration Many suppliers, one interface contract.](https://observatory.global/integration/multi-vendor-integration/) [Design and integration Programme delivery Many sites, one plan and one schedule.](https://observatory.global/integration/programme-delivery/) [Design and integration Acceptance Tested against the plan, signed off on evidence.](https://observatory.global/integration/acceptance/) ## Bring us the site. Survey, design, deployment and operation for system design. The form names who receives your details. [Talk to us](https://observatory.global/contact/) [Ask for a quote](https://observatory.global/contact/sales-enquiry/) [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/) **Design and integration** . One accountable integrator, site to grid. 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