The ability to “virtualize” is critical for operators evolving toward ThinkingNetworks™.

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) implementations and virtualization of the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), as well as systems outside the EPC (e.g., billing), can significantly reduce network costs and help operators become more efficient in matching resources to network and service demands. NFV gives service providers the ability to elastically assign compute and storage resources through a software-only approach.

Assigning resources only where needed is important when it comes to Diameter network elements, especially the Diameter Signaling Router (DSR) and Policy Server (PCRF), which have to be “cloud ready” in order to successfully control LTE EPC functions.

Virtualization will essentially partition the resources of a hardware platform into unique “virtual machines.” These virtual machines replicate standalone functions currently supported on separate hardware. If more compute resources are needed to support a Diameter function, any available hardware can be chosen and a new instance of the virtual machine created by the hypervisor.

The same hardware could also be used to support instances of a policy function at the same time, if enough compute resources exist. It’s that ability to dynamically allocate additional compute and storage resources when needed – using a common pool of hardware – that makes virtualization so important.

The move to NFV implementations will mean operators expand virtual functions to support multiple regions, or extend functions to other partners as part of their cloud offerings. For example, MVNOs or multinational operators looking to put their packet core into the cloud can manage all services and countries through one implementation.

A Closer Look At NFV

At Tekelec, we have developed the Orchestrator, which determines through analytics and other inputs when additional resources are needed. The Orchestrator instructs the Virtualizer (the hypervisor) to create another instance of a function. The Virtualizer creates additional resources, and other instances of the DSR or PCRF per the Orchestrator’s instructions.

Since the Orchestrator is the function that determines what, when, and where additional compute and storage resources are needed, it goes into action when traffic levels in the Diameter network increase. It identifies the rise in traffic and determines if additional DSR or PCRF resources are needed to support the rise in traffic.

Once the Virtualizer implements the new instance of DSR or PCRF, the IP Flow Manager directs IP flows to the new instance of the function (since routing tables will not reflect newly configured hardware).

The communication and cooperation among these components gives networks the ability to expand and contract based on real-time traffic conditions. That capability will become invaluable to operators trying to balance the need for innovative services with the need to maintain network performance levels – both essential to the customer experience.

Mobile operators will continue to invest heavily in their relationships with customers, as they want to champion their brands as Apple, Samsung and Google have done. They also want to ensure their revenues and profits are not further eroded long term by third-party applications and over-the-top providers.

To create positive consumer perceptions about their brands and to deepen their customer relationships, operators know they have to differentiate according to more sharply defined customer wants and behaviors. This means offers and supporting network resources must evolve to dynamically adjust according to how people behave as individuals and in groups. This may include sharing data in real time with advertisers, or optimizing Quality of Service according the needs of an over-the-top application. In short, operators are are becoming “digital-lifestyle providers.”

The most critical element of this transition to digital lifestyle provider status is an adaptable, dynamic and flexible network, one that understands the customer in detail and responds to their actions with personalized, informed reactions. In short, operators require ThinkingNetworks™. This is not a ‘rip-and-replace’ proposition; rather, it is a phased evolutionary approach that adds and changes technological resources as the operator’s business changes according to market demand.

To evolve today’s mobile networks toward this more effective end state, we see four key overlapping phases, including:

• The New Diameter Network (NDN)
• Virtualize through the Cloud
• Monetize in mobile and social-networking environments
• Realize a policy-driven, software-defined ThinkingNetworks™ end state

In the first phase, operators tame the ‘signaling storm’ that could compromise their investments in Diameter-based environments through the New Diameter Network, which brings agility and speed to routing and signaling and provides crucial policy insight about subscribers and their devices, behaviors and apps. Policy becomes the ‘big brain’ of the network, keeping all relevant gateways, databases and operator systems informed. It also facilitates the real-time personalization that is essential to today’s demanding customers.

With that network humming, operators are ready to move into the second phase – a cloud environment that virtualizes network resources. This adds the benefits of on-demand resource allocation and optimal capacity utilization. It also exploits industry trends in software-defined networking (SDN) and standardized hardware improvements that are bringing down CapEx and OpEx unit costs.

In Phase 3, operators turn the tables in the market and go from passive ‘pull’ status to active, relevant ‘push’ vehicles, capable of interacting with entire social networks based on user interests and group behaviors. And, just as the human brain takes in multiple data points simultaneously to influence one’s actions, “one-of” consumer transactions suddenly become a dynamic real-time web of interactions. The network can then push revenue-generating recommendations, offers and ads based not just on one-to-one behaviors, but across this pulsating network of group insights, preferences and decisions.

Finally, in phase 4, ThinkingNetworks™ continually listen, learn and optimize. Instead of periodic off-line reporting and inexact capacity planning exercises, the operator is now given the power to adapt resources according to that delicate balance among business plan goals, network conditions, and customer desires.

The end game is achieved by giving the operator the capabilities they have sought for so many years: the ability to serve the market more quickly, more dynamically and more cost-effectively, and this is what brings differentiation and puts the operator in the driver’s seat as digital lifestyle providers.

To learn more read the new whitepaper: The ThinkingNetworks™ Revolution: A Call to Action for Digital Lifestyle Providers

Everyone is busily preparing for GSMA’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, the theme for which is “The Mobile Horizon”. No doubt many operator discussions will focus on what’s next in LTE networks, and there most certainly will be an endless stream of “cloud” announcements.

These are exciting developments for the industry that hold great promise for better overall delivery (leading to improved customer satisfaction) at a reduced cost, but there is a cautionary tale in the background: you can’t scale your network through LTE upgrades or ‘cloud’ virtualization alone; your signaling environment has to be equally robust.

To understand this better, let’s unpack the market and network dynamics that got us to this point. As consumers rapidly adopt mobile devices and applications as part of their immersion into a digital lifestyle, the demand for bandwidth becomes outsized, leading to traffic chokepoints, even on important traffic. Soon everyone is unhappy.

In an effort to remedy this problem, operators have adopted strategies such as WiFi offload and creative offer packaging and pricing. These are good “holding actions,” but are not sufficient in the long term. Operators know this and are deploying LTE network capabilities in the hopes of being able to better serve these same demanding consumers with a more cost-effective (and eventually all-IP) network.

Finally, there is a great flurry of data center activity to put everything in a cloud environment for on-demand access to resources.

Likewise, software-defined networking (SDN) holds promise as a means to virtualize network resources in ways that will serve these varying levels of demand in the most dynamic, low-cost ways.

All of these are useful tactics, but they don’t really get the whole job done.

Recall that at the highest levels, SDN separates the control plane, i.e., the orchestration of resource allocation in the data center from the “data plane”. Inside the data plane, of course, resides the actual end-user payload. But a less-often discussed component – Diameter signaling –allows the great variety of servers, gateways and other network elements to set up sessions, authorize users and enable charging for the newest and potentially most profitable services.

Cloud virtualization certainly allows the two SDN planes to operate and scale in balanced, complementary ways so that one only spends what is needed to grow the network, but still serves user demand . At the same time, signaling must be even more robust.

According to the Tekelec LTE Diameter Signaling Index™, while data demand is growing at unprecedented rates, the signaling associated with this demand is growing three times faster!

Without an adequate signaling infrastructure based on a centralized, core Diameter signaling architecture, the network continues to be constrained by the communication path between elements such as gateways, charging systems and policy engines.

So while you’re noshing on tapas at the Fira Gran Via next week, consider not just your LTE network element and cloud needs, but the Diameter signaling requirements that actually ensure these investments deliver on their promise.

When natural disasters like tropical storm Sandy hit, IP networks bring about a different challenge than traditional networks. Where network operators traditionally could block or throttle traffic after a storm to ensure congestion would not bring down networks, the status quo now is to have many elements of the network under the control of a 3rd party, which means operators cannot directly control all parts of their networks in a crisis.

Because IP invites many new methods for communicating, it also has to invite many new methods for managing the network. And as we see it, the network must be controlled at two different points: the packet network where the data flows, and the control plane where the signaling controls the sessions.

We also see two distinct forms of signaling, with signaling in the RAN and signaling at the core with Diameter. These forms of signaling serve different purposes. The signaling at the RAN typically establishes data session (or voice session if applicable), and signaling in the core uses Diameter to authorize and authenticate subscribers. Though the latter is not invoked as frequently as RAN signaling, it is just as critical to the operations of the network.

As proven during Sandy and other natural disasters, congestion of the core signaling network is a key concern operators have to address when friends and families flood lines in search of loved ones. When the core fails, nothing works, therefore making the core becomes a critical component in the network. This was also true within the SS7 domain, where operators also blocked traffic at the core level.

But, in using a point-to-point architecture, where the Diameter end-points are actually embedded within a network element, blocking of traffic could become difficult, if not impossible. That is attributable to the fact that congestion control can be applied only at the point at which the function resides. It’s well accepted, therefore, that a centralized approach to end-to-end core network congestion control is most effective.

The Importance of a Diameter Signaling Router in Crisis Situations

Geographic redundancy and traffic control is paramount to a robust signaling network that can survive any crisis. There exist countless examples of how the SS7 network survived calamities such as floods, earthquakes, fires, and even terrorist attacks. It was usually geographic redundancy and optimal routing managed through the core rather than the end points that made this possible.

In a Diameter world, the Diameter protocol itself does not inherently support automatic re-routing and disaster recover functions like SS7 did, but the same can be accomplished through a centralized routing function in the network core. That’s why a Diameter routing agent like our Diameter Signaling Router (DSR) is becoming so important to preventing core signaling outages during a crisis. The DSR ensures messages reach their destination through alternative routes known to the DSR. That means the messages so important to subscriber databases like the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) , policy servers (PCRF), charging systems and gateways will get through in times of disaster.

And most importantly, it means operators can continue to generate revenue from services requiring Diameter signaling, even in times of disaster.

4X4SJXBU78FH

In February 2012, Infonetics Research published its inaugural Diameter Signaling Control worldwide and regional market size and forecasts report, in which we reported worldwide sales totaled $8.6M in CY11. The Diameter signaling controller market is in its infancy; as we predicted, a growing number of new products have launched in the past three months, and we expect more through 2012. As with all new markets, Diameter signaling controllers will expand functionality to meet operator requirements and use cases. We forecast revenue to grow at a 106.2% CAGR through CY16, resulting in $321.3M in revenue that year.

As mobile operators migrate to all-IP networks (access to core), signaling standards are migrating from SS7 to Diameter. At its core, Diameter enables the exchange of policy information within and between network operators. Diameter has also been developed as the foundation for authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) functions in IP-based networks.

Diameter signaling controllers provides centralized routing, traffic management, and load balancing among Diameter and non-Diameter elements within IMS and mobile broadband networks. It also supports protocol mediation and interworking functions between carrier networks. A fully loaded Diameter signaling controller will encompass the Diameter agents, DRA, DEA, and load balancing.

The move to all-IP mobile networks is being driven by LTE, and Infonetics forecasts that the number of LTE subscribers worldwide will grow from 9.2M in CY11 to 130.2M in CY15. The escalation of subscriber growth and the amount of signaling traffic these subscribers will generate is at the heart of our Diameter signaling controller forecast model.

As LTE networks are deployed and begin to grow, a key challenge is scaling the signaling and control plane due to the increasing amount of Diameter messages passing among network elements. Several global operators have experienced significant signaling storms in their LTE networks that in some cases have resulted in network outages. The storms have been caused by growing usage of the networks, but also by architectures that allow Diameter signaling to be dealt with on a peer-to-peer basis.

The increased use of mobile broadband networks is driving the growth of Diameter signaling within and between operators. This signaling traffic in turn has hastened the need for centralized controllers that can help manage the traffic in a more efficient and scalable manner. There are a number of key drivers to consider when evaluating the future growth of Diameter signaling traffic that will require signaling controllers:

• The continued rise in smartphone adoption as prices continue to drop due to strong competition and broad availability from high-end to low-end devices
• The availability of advanced 3G and LTE services such as tiered pricing and shared data plans, which require more frequent exchanges of policy and charging information
• The increase in the number of 3G and LTE network elements, particularly related to policy and control (e.g., PCRF, HSS, OCS), that must communicate with each other
• Roaming in LTE networks and between LTE and 3G networks, as well as subscribers moving between 3GPP (LTE/HSPA) and non-3GPP networks such as WiFi

A number of vendors are clamoring to play a role in this emerging market. We expect to see Diameter signaling controllers from at least 15 vendors by the end of 2012. Not all vendors will be successful, as the market cannot support that many, but we expect the competition to spur further innovation.

Today Tekelec is the front-runner in Diameter signaling control, with a strong revenue lead in 2011, helped by key wins in North America, including Verizon Wireless for its 3G and LTE networks and MetroPCS. With its heritage in SS7 and SIGTRAN, Tekelec has been an early mover in the Diameter signaling controller space and is well positioned for the future. In our February report, we asserted that Tekelec’s ability to draw upon its installed base of legacy customers will make it a formidable competitor. Since then, Tekelec has continued to increase its customer base for its Diameter Signaling Router (DSR), announcing 15 new customers across all regions, which confirms our statement. This brings their customer base to 19 for the DSR, totaling 1.8 million messages per second across a variety of use cases including interconnection for roaming, scaling policy deployments, core routing for LTE and IMS networks, and providing subscriber locator function in an LTE architecture.

Diane Myers

Principal Analyst, VoIP and IMS

diane@infonetics.com

Today, Tekelec announced:

A tier one U.S. operator has selected Tekelec, the mobile broadband solutions company, to provide core Diameter routing, intelligent policy traffic routing and security for its LTE network.

Tekelec’s Diameter Signaling Router (DSR) will help the operator scale the LTE network and reduce costs, generate revenues from LTE roaming services and manage Diameter signaling and data traffic.

This is the fourth U.S. LTE operator to choose a new Diameter network from Tekelec. Earlier this month, industry analysis firm Infonetics Research named Tekelec as the “front runner” of the Diameter signaling control market.

Read the full announcement here.

This article originally appeared in Telecom Engine.

While their predictions may vary, virtually every industry analyst foresees staggering growth in mobile data in the next five to ten years. ABI Research expects a 39% compound annual growth rate from 2011 to 2016 in mobile data traffic. Looking out to the year 2020, Jeffries forecasts a 100x ramp in mobile data, and, the firm admits, that’s likely a conservative estimate. Faced with this looming data deluge, operators are turning to all-IP networks like IMS and LTE, which rely heavily on Diameter protocol, to move and monetize their data traffic.

Diameter’s Network Role

Diameter handles critical functions within the control and service planes of 3G and 4G IP networks. It provides the AAA framework to give subscribers permission to access services and enable operators to bill customers based on filters like usage and time of day. It’s essential for mobility management, enabling subscribers to roam freely in partner networks. And, it’s the language network elements like PCRFs, GGSNs, charging systems, subscriber databases, and application servers use to communicate with each other.

Diameter Drawbacks

But, there’s a hitch many operators haven’t considered as they deploy their all-IP IMS and LTE networks. As the data traffic swells, so will Diameter signaling activity. With most current networks solutions, each Diameter-based element communicates with every other component through direct signaling links, creating a spider web of connections. Each Diameter node must handle all session-related tasks such as routing, traffic management, redundancy, and service implementation. In the near term, deploying an IMS or LTE network without a signaling core may be adequate. However, as traffic levels swell, the lack of a capable signaling infrastructure creates problems related to scalability, congestion control, network interconnect, subscriber to HSS mapping, and PCRF binding. The situation is very similar to what operators encountered with early SS7 deployments and ultimately resolved by creating centralized, hierarchical routing network.

Creating a Signaling Layer in IP Networks

The Diameter protocol defines a new network node – the Diameter agent – which operators can leverage to create a Diameter signaling layer in IP networks. The DA performs essential network tasks like relay, proxy, redirect, and translation. Centralizing these functions in the network core eliminates the Diameter mesh, a consequence of having point-to-point signaling connections. Endpoints like MMEs, HSSs and CSCFs are relieved of routing, traffic management and load balancing tasks, which improves signaling performance and network scalability. From its vantage point in the network core, the DA provides a centralized location for Diameter mediation as well as a gateway to other networks to support roaming, security and topology hiding. And, the benefits don’t stop there. The DA can be employed to address a variety of use cases specific to IMS and LTE networks.

Centralized Routing

As the demands on LTE networks grow, operators often deploy additional MMEs and HSS front ends to support increasing loads. But, if there’s no separate Diameter signaling core, adding new elements creates its own challenge. Since Diameter uses SCTP or TCP for transport, each network resource in the EPC must have a direct SCTP or TCP connection to every element with which it communicates. The end result is a logical mesh network.  As a result, the addition of a new node requires network, configuration and routing updates at each and every network element, a costly and time consuming process.

Acting as a Diameter relay, the DA reduces the number of SCTP or TCP associations in the network. When new elements are added, they are connected to a mated pair of DAs – not to every other resource in the network. The task of maintaining routing tables and status updates is simplified, since changes are required only at the DA rather than at every endpoint. The centralized DA proxies information for decentralized elements like MMEs and HSSs. Then end result: a less complex, more scalable network with lower OPEX.

PCRF Binding

When multiple PCRFs are deployed in a network, there has to be a mechanism to balance the assignment of user sessions across them and make sure that all messages associated with a particular user’s session are handled by the same PCRF. That’s no simple task since messages can arrive on different interfaces like the Gx and Rx and may be identified by different elements such as an IMSI or IP address.

A Diameter agent deployed at the network core can provide static binding or dynamic load sharing across PCRFs when a user’s session is first established. The DA ensures that subsequent messages for that subscriber over the Gx, S9, Gxx, or Rx reference points are sent to the same PCRF. That functionality can be extended across multiple DAs in the network, which communicate with each other to act like a single, logical DRA.

HSS Address Resolution

With multiple HSSs in an LTE network, subscribers can be homed on different platforms.  Operators, therefore, need a way to maintain the association of subscribers to HSSs. The DA centralizes routing data and provides the mapping between a subscriber identity such as an IMS public ID or IMSI and an HSS. With that flexibility, operators can map individual subscriber numbers to a particular HSS, easily move subscribers from one HSS to another, or even split subscriber number ranges across different HSSs. Since routing data is centralized, HSS provisioning is much easier, and updates can be performed dynamically as new HSSs are placed in service

Conclusion

Operators are turning to all-IP networks like IMS and LTE to provide the bandwidth to support swelling data loads. However, if those networks are deployed without a separate Diameter signaling core, a host of challenges related to scalability, security, mobility management, and routing will arise as traffic loads escalate. Providers can overcome these challenges by leveraging the Diameter agent’s proxy, redirect, relay, and translation capabilities. Consolidating these functions at a DA in the network core creates a Diameter signaling layer that relieves endpoints of routing, traffic management and load balancing responsibilities. The resulting architecture provides the flexibility and scalability to support even the most data-intensive devices and applications.

Tekelec recently released a reference guide that describes policy management solutions to enable cost effective deployment of broadband service, which guarantee Quality of Service (QoS) and generate revenue. Use cases include:
• Fair Use Management
• IMS VoLTE Call Control
• Location/Roaming

Download the reference guide here.

Billions of connections? Demand for high data volume? Unpredictable traffic?

Tekelec understands the needs and challenges associated with M2M and can help you optimize your network with its synergies between Subscriber Data Management, Messaging Services, Policy Charging Rules Function and Monitoring and Supervision. Check out our new video for more information.