Improving Customer Satisfaction Through Advances in

Improving Customer Satisfaction Through Advances in

Remote Management Technology

Greg MichelProduct Manager

Quintum Technologies Inc.

Introduction

Challenges of providing speedy and efficient customer support in enterprise networks

Ways of addressing these challenges Drawbacks of current methods Introducing a new paradigm A new remote management technology Benefits of this new approach

Challenges

Most enterprises have strict security policies Various NAT traversal solutions exist for VoIP

access but not for device management Direct access to gateways behind firewalls for

management purposes is impossible Greatly complicates the customer support

process Requires customer involvement in support

issues Adds delays, and extends customer downtime May require expensive site visit or truck roll

Remote Configuration and Management Is Challenged By Firewalls

Remote management is critical for “Customer Service.” Service Providers, VARs, Integrators, Network Administrators.

Firewalls deny accessibility. Establishing management sessions to all endpoints is not scalable.

Enterprise

PBX

Tenor VoIP Gateway

IP Phones & Clients

Configuration and Network Management

PSTN

IP

??

Possible Solutions

Install VoIP gateways outside firewalls Usually unacceptable due to security issues

Install VoIP gateways in the DMZ Better, but still not very appealing

Access gateways via a local PC running a secure client such as PC Anywhere Requires involving customer personnel at the remote

site Use phone and e-mail communications with on-

site customer personnel Very slow and requires customer personnel

involvement

IP NetworkRouter

Firewall/NAT

“Public” LAN

“Private” LAN

“DMZ” LAN

“Private” Port

“DMZ” Port

Install VoIP gateway in the public domain

Install VoIP gateways outside firewalls Usually unacceptable due to security issues Open to denial of service attacks

IP NetworkRouter

Firewall/NAT

“Public” LAN

“Private” LAN

“DMZ” LAN

“Private” Port

“DMZ” Port

Install VoIP gateway in the DMZ

Install VoIP gateways in the DMZ Better, but still vulnerable Open to denial of service attacks

IP NetworkRouter

Firewall/NAT

“Public” LAN

“Private” LAN

“DMZ” LAN

“Private” Port

“DMZ” Port

Install VoIP gateway on the private LAN

Install VoIP gateways on the private network Ideal solution from the enterprise point of view Management access now becomes an issue

IP Network

Indirect access using phone and e-mail

Indirect support Extremely slow and inefficient Requires skilled local staff involvement

PSTN

Customer SupportSpecialist

Service ProviderNOC

CustomerStaff

IP NetworkRouter

Firewall/NAT

“Public” LAN

Secure Access ClientRunning on Local PC

“DMZ” LAN

“Private” Port

“DMZ” Port

Use secure remote access software

Access VoIP gateways via a Secure Access Client Adds cost at remote site, not scalable Requires local support to enable secure access

There’s got to be a better way !

Need transparent, secure, direct access to CPE at the customer site, even if it is deployed behind corporate firewalls

Should provide access to install, configure, upgrade, and trouble shoot remote CPE with little or no local involvement

Should provide customer support personnel with a “just like being there” experience

Introducing a New Paradigm –The Remote Management Session Server Provides completely transparent, secure remote

access to CPE behind corporate firewalls Complete access to carry out all management and

maintenance functions without local involvement Standards based secure connection (SSH, SOCKS) Encrypted connection supports HTTP, FTP, Telnet “It’s just like being there” experience Automatic notification of install via e-mail Automatic download of logs via e-mail

Enabling Remote CPE Management –The Remote Management Session Server

RMSS sits on the public, or service provider, network and acts as a bridge between the Tenor and the management tools.

Network Administrators/Customer Support can manage access gateways anywhere.

Enterprise

PBX

Tenor VoIP Gateway

IP Phones & Clients

Configuration and Network Management

PSTN

IP

Remote Management Session Server

Pre-configuring the CPE equipment

DHCP

Connecting to the RMSS

Select a unit from Registration List

It’s just like being there -

Benefits

Complete access for optimum customer support Automates remote site installation process No local customer involvement required No skilled staff required at remote site Much faster problem resolution Minimizes customer downtime Eliminates costly site visits or truck rolls Greatly improves customer satisfaction Leverages efficiency of customer support

personnel

Thank You !

Back-up Information

Firewall/NAT

IP WAN

Firewall/NAT

CustomerSupport

Personnel

Tenor

Remote Customer SiteNOC

Enabling Secure Management of Remote Tenors

Secure management of remote Tenors behind firewallsFull remote management capability via Tenor Configuration Manager or CLISupports configuration, trouble shooting, diagnostics, and software upgrade

Central Remote Management Session Server

Firewall/NAT

IP WAN

Firewall/NAT

CustomerSupport

Personnel

Tenor

Remote Customer SiteNOC

Enabling Secure Management of Remote Tenors

Separate encrypted sessions insure network securityCentral PC console establishes an encrypted session with the serverRemote Tenor establishes a separate encrypted session with the sever


Firewall/NAT

IP WAN

NOC

Managing a Network of Remote Tenors

Support multiple remote sites from one central support locationSupports 100 simultaneous individual management sessionsUp to 5,000 Tenors can register to one management server

Tenor

Remote Customer Site

Tenor


Tenor


Tenor


Tenor



Firewall/NAT

IP WAN

NOC

Dual Redundant Servers for Maximum Reliability

Multiple management servers provide redundancyRemote Tenors can register to primary and secondary management

serversCentral PC console can access Tenors via primary or secondary server

Secondary Management Server

Tenor


Tenor


Tenor


Tenor


Tenor


Primary Management Server

Firewall/NAT

IP WAN

NOC

Additional Network Management Functions

Automatic notification of network management eventsSends NOC an e-mail notification when a new Tenor registers to the serverMaintains logs of management sessions which can be e-mailed to NOC

Tenor


Tenor


Tenor


Tenor


Tenor



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Improving Customer Satisfaction Through Advances in