Acme Packet’s Net-Net 9200, our flagship platform, offers the highest levels of performance, capacity and availability for service provider and enterprise deployments in a single 7 RU chassis-based system. This system platform operates Net-Net OS and supports Acme Packet Session Border Controller (SBC) and Session Routing Proxy (SRP) configurations, functions and features. The Net-Net 9200 also supports high capacity transcoding and transrating for a wide selection of wireline and wireless codecs. It provides the critical controls for delivering trusted, first class interactive communications—voice, video and multimedia sessions—across IP network borders. These controls span five areas - security, service/application reach maximization, SLA assurance, revenue and cost optimization, and regulatory compliance.

Solutions 

For service providers, the Net-Net 9200  plays a critical role in next-gen, converged fixed-mobile architectures including 3GPP IMS, 3GPP2 MMD, ATIS, ETSI TISPAN, GSMA, the Multi-Service Forum and PacketCable 2.0. It secures the subscriber access and interconnect/peering borders and enables interoperability of heterogeneous endpoints, service infrastructure elements and networks to maximize service reach. It controls admission, overload, IP network transport and session routing to assure SLAs, maximize revenues and minimize costs. Lastly, it enables regulatory compliance with emergency service (E911), national government priority service (GETS) and lawful intercept (CALEA) requirements.

For enterprises and contact centers, the Net-Net 9200 enables the secure delivery of a broad range of interactive communications services and applications ranging from basic VoIP to Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)-enabled unified communications. It secures the borders to the service provider IP network, the private VPN connecting major enterprise or contact center sites and the Internet for connecting remote offices, teleworkers and callers to the contact center.  It ensures interoperability of both legacy IP-PBX equipment and next-generation unified communications platforms and manages their traffic load and resource availability.

System capacity, performance and availability

Acme Packet Net-Net 9200 satisfies high-end session border control and core session routing requirements in terms of capacity, performance and availability:

*Net-Net 9200 performance and capacity vary by signaling protocol, call flow, codec, configuration and feature usage.

Session Border Controller (SBC) configurations

The Net-Net 9200 operates Net-Net OS to support integrated or decomposed SBC deployment models. As an integrated SBC, the Net-Net 9200 tightly integrates signaling and media control within the platform and provides comprehensive support for SIP, H.323 and SIP-H.323 interworking. Net-Net OS offers proven signaling interoperability with all major softswitches, IMS CSCF elements, SIP servers, H.323 gatekeepers, call agents, application servers, media servers, media gateways, IP PBXs and numerous IP-based voice and video endpoints. As a decomposed SBC, the Net-Net 9200 operates as a SIP signaling firewall, protecting itself, as well as the service provider or enterprise communications service and application delivery infrastructure, from malicious or non-malicious signaling overloads and attacks.

For high-capacity centralized transcoding applications, the Net-Net 9200 operates as a dedicated transcoding gateway to offload expensive, processor-intensive transcoding and transrating functions from other network elements such as media gateways or distributed SBCs. Acme Packet supports a wide variety of wireline and wireless codecs with highly-efficient DSP resource utilization that scales modularly for access or interconnect applications.  Highly flexible transcoding/transrating policies and codec management provide optimal media control within service provider and large enterprise and contact center environments. The Net-Net 9200 also supports distributed transcoding in the context of its integrated SBC configuration.

Specific SBC configuration options for the Net-Net 9200 include:

As an access SBC in next-generation network (NGN) architectures such as IMS, TISPAN, MSF and PacketCable 2.0, the Net-Net 9200 functions as a P-CSCF, E-CSCF, and IMS-AGW to complement other NGN access or core functions offered by 3rd parties or Acme Packet partners in their products.  At NGN interconnect borders, the Net-Net 9200 supports the IWF, I-BCF and TrGW functions.

Net-Net 9200 SBCs can also be configured to operate as members of a Net-Net SBC cluster when used in conjunction with Acme Packet’s Net-Net Session-aware Load Balancer (SLB).  Net-Net SBC clusters can be based on any Net-Net SBC configuration to support up to two million subscribers without requiring architectural forklifts or network disruptions.

Session Routing Proxy (SRP) configuration

The Net-Net 9200 Session Router (SR) is a high-performance session routing proxy (SRP) for efficient routing of SIP-based interactive communication sessions—voice, video, instant messaging and multimedia—within and between networks. The Net-Net SR plays a central role in Acme Packet’s Open Session Routing Architecture (OSR) which is designed to simplify and consolidate core and inter-network session routing and reduce capital and operational expenditures.

In Acme Packet’s Open Session Routing  architecture, the Net-Net SR consolidates routing control, reducing costs. The Net-Net SR works in conjunction with best-of breed routing database products and services from Acme Packet partners. These complementary product vendors and service providers offer centralized routing databases and database provisioning tools for dynamic route selection. Acme Packet’s Net-Net SR queries these  databases using industry-standard ENUM, SIP and DNS protocols. The Net-Net SR’s local route tables may be provisioned by Acme Packet's Net-Net Route Manager Central (RMC).

Using these databases, the Net-Net SR dynamically routes sessions between all types of  borders - access and interconnect, IP and TDM. More specifically, the Net-Net SR routes sessions between stateful service control elements such as Acme Packet SBCs, wireless Mobile Switching Centers (MSC), IMS subscriber call control elements, CLASS 5 softswitches, Cable Modem Termination Systems (CMTS) and softswitches controlling media gateways.  Since the source and destination SIP signaling elements are session-stateful, the Net-Net SR can operate in a stateless or transaction-stateful mode, maximizing its performance.

Common SBC, MSG & SRP functions 

Net-SAFE, Acme Packet’s security function, is supported via the tight integration of the Net-Net 9200 hardware and Net-Net OS software. Net-SAFE features powerful denial-of-service/distributed denial-of service protection at the L3, L4, IPsec and SIP signaling level; and intrusion detection/prevention capabilities. Other security features support dynamic access control, topology hiding, privacy and confidentiality, service infrastructure DoS/DDoS  protection, virus and SPIT protection, and fraud prevention.

Net-Net EMS, a GUI/browser-based client/server application supporting configuration, fault, performance and security management for multiple border elements in multiple networks, is one of many management tools available.   Net-Net EMS can efficiently integrate into existing and next-generation operational support systems through industry-standard SOAP/XML, SNMP v2c and syslog interfaces. Other management tools and interfaces include CLI, telnet, FTP, RADIUS and TACACS+.

Net-Net Route Manager Central (RMC) consolidates and automates route management and distribution for Acme Packet session border controllers or session routing proxies through an intuitive, easy-to-use, browser-based graphical user interface. An integral component of Acme Packet’s OSR architecture, Net-Net RMC automatically distributes routing information to all or specific subsets of SBCs and SRPs in the network. Net-Net RMC complements Acme Packet’s Net-Net EMS to reduce the overall costs associated with the management of large SIP session routing infrastructures.

Specifications