GSX9000 Server Guide

NEXT-GENERATION VOICE

SWITCHES REPRESENT THE

PRIMARY HARDWARE IN A

PACKET VOICE ARCHITECTURE,

SETTING THE FOUNDATION FOR

VOICE QUALITY, RELIABILITY,

SCALABILITY, INTERCONNECTIVITY

AND PERFORMANCE. AS A MEDIA

GATEWAY, NEXT-GENERATION

SWITCHES PROVIDE VOICE OVER IP

(VOIP) CAPABILITIES AND SERVE AS

THE KEY TRANSITIONAL ELEMENT

BETWEEN LEGACY CIRCUIT-

SWITCHED AND PACKET NETWORKS.

LOOKING BEYOND BASIC VOICE

TRANSPORT CAPABILITIES, SERVICE

PROVIDERS ARE INCREASINGLY

INTERCONNECTING THEIR

NETWORKS WITH OTHER CARRIERS,

AS WELL AS ENTERPRISES,

DIRECTLY VIA IP. THEY REQUIRE

A NEXT-GENERATION SWITCH

THAT DELIVERS SOPHISTICATED

VOIP/MULTIMEDIA SERVICES

AND ADDRESSES THE SPECIAL

REQUIREMENTS OF THE IP-TO-IP

BORDER BETWEEN THEIR OWN

NETWORK AND THAT OF THEIR

PEERS AND CUSTOMERS.

Filling this role and more in

Sonus Networks’ IP Multimedia

Subsystem (IMS) Architecture, the

GSX9000 Open Services Switch is a

revolutionary, voice and multimedia

transport component so advanced

that it has been a consistent market

leader for years. This feature-rich,

highly scalable and reliable switch

plays three key roles:

• As an intelligent voice switch,

the GSX9000 includes the

GSX-GC Gateway Controller

module for call control and

signaling. This distributed

approach streamlines pro-

cessing and data flows within

GSX9000™

Open Services SwitchA Sonus Networks IMS Architecture Component

GSX9000 Open Services Switch

FIGURE 1: The GSX9000 Open Services Switch is a market-leading,

next-generation voice/multimedia switch—proven in the world's largest

telecommunications service provider networks.

the network to maximize perfor-

mance and scalability, meeting

the needs of even the largest

global carriers.

• As a high-capacity media

gateway, the GSX9000 resides

at the border of carrier networks

to switch among media (e.g.,

packet- to-TDM, TDM-to-TDM, and

packet-to-packet) and signaling

types (e.g., SS7, ISDN, CAS, SIP,

H.323, etc.). The GSX9000 is

highly scalable, provides carrier-

class service and supports a full

set of worldwide PSTN protocols.

• As a network border switch, the

GSX9000 is configured as a dedi-

cated network security element

for IP network border control or

as a hybrid network border switch

and packet-to-TDM media gateway.

The GSX9000 sets the standard

for carrier-class voice transport

and services in packet networks.

With robust switching capabilities

and services integration, the

GSX9000 is the most advanced

next-generation voice switch on

the market today.

HIGH-DENSITY HARDWARE

The GSX9000 chassis provides 16

slots, two of which are reserved for

redundant management network

servers. The 14 remaining slots can

be populated with any combination

of packet network server or circuit

network server interface modules.

Traffic is switched among any of

these interface types.

When compared to circuit switches

in a TDM environment, the GSX9000

provides an impressive 20:1 reduction

in space requirements, lowering

operational costs for cooling, power

and facilities. As a result of the

GSX9000’s breakthrough hardware

implementation, large central

office configurations of hundreds

of thousands of ports can easily be

created. The GSX9000 supports high-

density circuit interfaces including

DS1, DS3, E1 and OC3/STM-1.

The GSX9000’s packet interfaces

can be used in a variety of ways.

Within a single location, the packet

interfaces can be used as a fast

virtual backplane to create very

large multi-GSX9000 configurations.

Used for Network Border Switching

applications, the GSX9000 may

interconnect directly with untrusted

peer or customer networks to

exchange packet-based traffic.

GSX9000 Open Services SwitchSonus Networks

FIGURE 2: The GSX9000 provides IP-to-circuit and IP-to-IP network connectivity as part of Sonus’ complete VoIP/multime-

dia solution based on the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) industry standard architecture.


POWERFUL PERFORMANCE AND

SCALABILITY

For maximum cost effectiveness,

the GSX9000 scales incrementally,

allowing service providers to

keep capacity precisely in line

with subscriber demands. Like

all components in Sonus' IMS

Architecture, the GSX9000 can

be centralized in one location

or distributed geographically,

allocating capacity based on regional

requirements. One chassis can start

with a single interface module and

grow to support numerous chassis

integrated via Fast Ethernet or

Gigabit Ethernet. This enables the

GSX9000 to support the largest

network configurations without

stressing any single point

in the network.

Each module in the GSX9000 is a

self-contained unit that includes

all the functionality required in

order to add capacity. This includes

numerous capabilities such as voice

packetization, echo cancellation,

circuit/packet interfaces, voice

compression, tone detection/gener-

ation and announcements. This

powerful design distributes pro-

cessing across each high-density

card, preventing bottlenecks and

the need for specialized CPU cards.

This improves capacity utilization,

streamlines data flows for minimal

latency and enables linear scalability

by automatically increasing power

with the addition of each new

card. The ultimate result is an

extremely high performing

voice transport solution.

TOLL-QUALITY VOICE

The GSX9000 is field-proven to

provide the quality of service required

for IP and ATM networks. For IP, the

GSX9000 supports Type of Service

(TOS) bits that allow carriers to

provision priorities on a call-by-call

basis, with additional support for

the Multi-Protocol Label Switching

(MPLS) standard. In ATM networks,

the GSX9000 can use Constant Bit

Rate (CBR) service to assure proper

treatment by the ATM network.

The GSX9000 delivers toll-quality

voice using a variety of codecs.

While G.711 is often used to provide

full-rate 64kbps voice encoding,

other compression codecs such as

G.729A, G.723.1 and G.726 are also

offered. In cases where bandwidth is

GSX9000 Open Services SwitchSonus Networks

FIGURE 3: The GSX9000 seamlessly scales within a single chassis and as a multichassis virtual switch to provide

1 million-plus ports – enabling network operators to cost-effectively and efficiently meet growing customer demand for

VoIP and IP multimedia services.

Sonus Networks GSX9000™ Open Services Switch

especially expensive, G.729B and G.711

with silence suppression can also be

used. To further assure high-quality

voice, the GSX9000 uses world-class

G.168 echo cancellation algorithms.

The use of these industry-leading

codecs, combined with the extremely

low delay inherent in the GSX9000,

provides voice quality that is equal to

or better than the PSTN.

CARRIER-CLASS RELIABILITY

The NEBS-compliant GSX9000

provides fully redundant

configurations that are designed for

99.999% availability. All interface

modules are fully redundant, including

N+1 for circuit and packet interfaces

and 1+1 for management cards,

for maintaining active calls upon

switchover. Optical interface modules

also support Automatic Protection

Switching for the fastest switchover

to redundant optical facilities. To

complete the redundancy scheme,

the GSX9000 supports live software

upgrades, allowing the network

to remain up and running while

implementing new functionality.

ROBUST SIGNALING SUPPORT

The GSX9000 originates and

terminates all key signaling types

for smooth network integration on

both circuit and packet networks. To

blend with legacy infrastructure, the

GSX9000 supports widely deployed

circuit protocols, including ISDN

PRI, Channel Associated Signaling

(CAS) and worldwide variants of

SS7/C7. Sonus has also pioneered

the commercialization of standard

packet signaling protocols such as

H.323, SIP, SIP-T and MGCP, all of

which are supported by the GSX9000.

The GSX9000 goes beyond simply

supporting signaling variants to

provide full interworking between

them, including interworking of ISUP

variants through the SIP-T protocol.

CONTROL AND SECURITY

The GSX9000 can be configured as a

Network Border Switch (NBS). It is the

only carrier-class solution that provides

IP-to-IP border control and PSTN media

gateway capabilities — integrating

security, session control and media

control. When deployed as a Network

Border Switch, the GSX9000 enables

secure and scalable interconnection

between carriers and to end-users. With

its extensive signaling and multimedia

manipulation capabilities, the NBS

acts as a multimedia firewall. The NBS

also delivers full Network Address

Translation (NAT) and topology hiding,

simplifying the interaction between the

service provider and external networks,

and securing the private network

from would-be intruders. Commercial

relationships governing the amount of

traffic to be exchanged between service

providers or customers are fulfilled by

the NBS, which monitors and polices

the amount of traffic flowing between a

carrier’s network and an external entity.

(See Sonus Network Border Switch

brochure.)

ACCELERATE ENHANCED SERVICE

DEPLOYMENTS

The GSX9000 supports enhanced

services and third-party devices by

leveraging industry-standard packet

protocols, such as SIP and H.323.

With a partner program dedicated

to industry-standards-based

interoperability with best-of-breed,

third party products, Sonus ensures

the latest technologies are available

to meet service providers' immediate

and long-term business plans.

EASY-TO-USE NETWORK

MANAGEMENT

Like other components in the

Sonus IMS Architecture, the Sonus

InsightTM Management System

easily manages the GSX9000,

providing comprehensive tools

and programmability that expedite

service provisioning. Sonus Insight

includes two applications, the

Element Management System (EMS)

and the DataStream Integrator

(DSI) that seamlessly integrate

with existing back-office systems.

Together, these components support

comprehensive management

functions, including provisioning,

configuration, fault management,

accounting, performance and

security. Sonus Insight is Web-

based, using lightweight protocols

that facilitate system management

from any location worldwide. By

actively participating in the OSMINE

process, Sonus has ensured that

its architecture’s components can

seamlessly integrate into many of the

largest global networks.

GSX9000 and the Sonus

IMS Architecture

Since their inception in 1997,

Sonus products have been based

on the same distributed intelligence

principles and protocols that underlie



GSX9000™ Open Services Switch Sonus Networks

the new industry standard for service

provider networks: the IP Multimedia

Subsystem (IMS).

The GSX9000 resides at the

architecture’s Border and Media

Control layer, which defines the

components that manage the border

of the IMS (e.g., VoIP) network and

other networks, such as DSL, cable,

Ethernet, 2.5/3G wireless and circuit

networks. This includes the PSTN

gateway function as well as IP-to-IP

network border switching functions.

In this IMS Architecture layer, the

GSX9000 integrates two closely

linked IMS functional entities, Media

Gateway Control Function (MGCF) and

Media Gateway (MGW), into a single

integrated product that maximizes

network scalability and ease of

management. When configured

as the Network Border Switch, the

GSX9000 also provides secure IP-to-

IP internetworking by delivering IMS

Proxy/Interrogating- Call Session/

Control Function (P/I-CSCF) and

Topology Hiding Internetworking

Gateway (THIG) functions. (See

Sonus IP Multimedia Solution

brochure for a full description of

the Sonus IMS Architecture.)

FIGURE 4: The GSX9000 is the IP-to-TDM gateway in the industry standard IMS Architecture for network operators.

When configured as a Network Border Switch for secure IP-to-IP internetworking, the GSX delivers IMS Proxy – Call

Session/Interrogating Control Function (P/I-CSCF) and Topology Hiding Internetworking Gateway (THIG) functions.



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GSX9000 Server Guide