Peak performance for cable networks

Next-generation PacketCable networks use NCS (an MGCP-derived protocol) & SIP as signaling protocol standards. Acme Packet Net-Net delivers peak performance for cable networks providing broadband IP-based interactive communication services. With Acme Packet, cable network operators can satisfy critical address preservation, security, SLA assurance, revenue and profit assurance, and law enforcement requirements in three areas:

	1.		Aggregating cable access networks
	2.		SIP routing and load balancing for application servers and media gateways
	3.		Connecting other service provider IP networks for termination or transit

Net-Net benefits & features

Security & address preservation

	•		Access control - session-based pinhole firewall
	•		Network topology hiding via NAT for NCS & SIP (layers 3 & 5)
	•		Signaling message rate limiting
	•		Hosted NAT traversal for NCS & SIP

SLA assurance
	•		Session admission control for SIP services - based upon available bandwidth in shared HFC access network (working in conjunction with CMTS), available transit link bandwidth and/or observed real-time QoS in origination, transit or termination networks
	•		LL2 & L3 QoS marking - ToS, DiffServ, MPLS
	•		SIP CMS & application server load balancing
	•		Real-time QoS-based SIP routing - IP transit and PSTN termination networks
	•		QoS reporting - SLA reporting, problem alerting and isolation, admission control

Revenue & profit assurance
	•		Simultaneous NCS & SIP support
	•		Real-time cost-based SIP routing - PSTN termination and IP transit networks
	•		Bandwidth policing & QoS theft protection
	•		Accounting with session timers

Law enforcement
	•		Session replication and routing for lawful intercept (e.g. CALEA)

Aggregating cable access networks 

At headends where multiple HFC access networks are aggregated, Acme Packet Net-Net complements the CMTS by performing critical address preservation, security, SLA assurance, revenue and profit assurance and law enforcement functions:

Security & address preservation - To protect internal network resources such as CMS, Interior Border Proxy, Tandem Proxy, gateways, and application servers from DoS attacks, Acme Packet Net-Net explicitly authorizes incoming sessions and hides internal network topology information using Network Address Translation (NAT) in both signaling messages and media flows. NAT also enables the use of private IP addresses for CPE devices, preserving valuable public IP network addresses. To protect against infrastructure overloads, incoming signaling messages can be intelligently throttled. Net-Net's hosted NAT traversal feature enables signaled sessions to traverse existing CPE data firewalls without configuration changes.

SLA assurance - Acme Packet Net-Net complements PacketCable 1.2-compliant CMTS DQOS by performing session admission control for SIP services based upon the available bandwidth on the shared HFC access network connecting subscribers to the service provider's backbone network. If no bandwidth is available, the call will be rejected because acceptance would deteriorate the quality of all active calls. Net-Net further assures SLA performance and optimal traffic management within the service provider's backbone by explicitly assigning required QoS markings at both Layer 2 and 3 for NCS and SIP signaling messages and media flows. Reporting capabilities include per-session, end-to-end QoS measurements for SLA reporting, problem alerting and problem isolation. The source of poor quality can be isolated to the source network, backbone network, or destination network.

Revenue and profit assurance - Acme Packet Net-Net maximizes revenues by simultaneously supporting both NCS and SIP services. A bandwidth-policing feature protects revenue and profits by preventing a low bandwidth SIP voice call from turning into a high bandwidth video call without explicit authorization. Net-Net's QoS marking feature also protects against QoS theft by eliminating the requirement to trust any markings on packets coming from a subscriber's endpoint or another network. Comprehensive per session accounting records are produced for tracking or billing purposes.

Law enforcement- Acme Packet Net-Net satisfies law enforcement requirements for legal intercept regulations such as CALEA by supporting transparent session replication and routing of signaling messages and media flows to law enforcement agencies.

SIP routing and load balancing for call management servers and application servers

For SIP service backbones, Acme Packet Net-Net performs the roles of the Interior Border Proxy and Tandem Proxy by providing powerful SIP routing and load balancing capabilities. Net-Net supports inter-CMS and inter-domain policy-based routing based upon load, cost, time, source/destination preference and other parameters to minimize PSTN termination charges and protecting against CMS failure and overload. Within these backbones, SIP application servers are used to deliver unified messaging, presence and instant messaging, location-based information, conferencing, and other applications. Multiple servers are required to provide redundancy and capacity for each application. Acme Packet Net-Net assures SLA performance by distributing requests to the least-loaded available server, protecting against failure and overload.

Connecting other service provider IP networks for termination or transit

To extend the reach and value of their IP cable networks for interactive communications, such as presence-based instant calling and video conferencing between business or consumers, cable network operators will need to establish business and network relationships with other service providers for IP-based session transit and termination, and PSTN origination and termination. Acme Packet Net-Net performs the roles of the Exterior Border Proxy and Anonymizer by providing critical security, SLA assurance, and revenue and profit assurance functions required for connecting these IP networks.

Security - To protect internal network resources such as CMS, Interior Border Proxy, Tandem Proxy, gateways, and application servers from DoS attacks, Acme Packet Net-Net explicitly authorizes incoming sessions and hides internal network topology information in both signaling messages and media flows. To protect against infrastructure overloads, incoming signaling messages can be intelligently throttled.

SLA assurance - Acme Packet Net-Net supports session admission control based upon the available bandwidth on the transit link between service provider networks and if no bandwidth is available, the call will be gracefully rejected because acceptance would deteriorate the quality of all active calls. Net-Net also supports admission control into a transit or termination IP network based upon observed QoS. If observed QoS is unacceptable, calls requiring that network will be rejected. If there is more than one path to a destination, Net-Net can also perform optimal SIP routing based upon the session's QoS requirements. Net-Net further assures SLA performance and optimal traffic management within the service provider's backbone by explicitly assigning required QoS markings to incoming traffic at both Layer 2 and 3 for signaling messages and media flows. Reporting capabilities include per-session, end-to-end QoS measurements for SLA reporting, problem alerting, problem isolation and routing. The source of poor quality can be isolated to the source/destination transit or termination network(s) or the service provider's backbone.

Revenue and profit assurance - Acme Packet Net-Net enables policy-based SIP routing and admission control to other IP networks based upon cost, time, service provider preference, and source/destination URI/telephone number. The dynamic, automatic exchange of session routing information within and between networks using TRIP eliminates all configuration and synchronization burdens. With Net-Net's SIP-H.323 interworking a provider can build a single SIP backbone and leverage SIP or H.323 transit or termination networks to maximize network reach. A bandwidth-policing feature protects revenue and profits by preventing a low bandwidth voice call initiated within another network from turning into a high bandwidth video call without explicit authorization. Net-Net's QoS marking feature also protects against QoS theft by eliminating the requirement to trust any markings on packets coming from another network. Comprehensive per session accounting records are produced for tracking or billing purposes.