Next Generation Networks: Technologies, Services and Migration Strategies Prof. Ahmed El Sherbini Dr. Omayma Abdel Mohsen National Telecommunication Institute

Next Generation Networks: Technologies, Services and Migration

Strategies

Prof. Ahmed El SherbiniDr. Omayma Abdel Mohsen

National Telecommunication Institute

Cairo-Egypt

NGN:Technology,Services and Migration Strategies

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Agenda

• Introduction• Existing Network Infrastructure and

convergence towards the NGN• NGN: Definition and Architecture• NGN and Protocols• NGN Services• NGN Migration Strategies• NGN Techno-economic Aspects• Conclusion


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Introduction

Today, telephony, the Internet, and the cellular mobile networks continue to be different domains, each has its own protocols and services.

NGN will be the foundation for the creation of a new range of multimedia applications that takes full advantage of the characteristics of the broadband network and the “always on” capability.


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Existing Network Infrastructure and convergence toward the next generation network

Today’s network is divided into: • The Public Switched Telephone Network,• The packet Switched Networks(e.g. the

Internet) and • The Mobile networks. Convergence is the process of interconnection of

traditional switched circuit networks (the PSTN and mobile networks) and packet-switched networks based on the Internet Protocol (IP) for routing.


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NGN Definition

The term "Next Generation Networks" is wide-ranging and is interpreted variously by the broad variety of players involved in the communication business.


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NGN ETSI’s Definition

“NGN is a concept for defining and deploying networks, which, due to their formal separation into different layers and planes and use of open interfaces, offers service providers and operators a platform which can evolve in a step by step manner to create, deploy and manage innovative services.”


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NGN Architecture

• A basic architecture was defined comprising Network Elements needed for the provision of traditional Telephony services.

• Each element has distinct roles within the network and is designed to integrate horizontally with other elements in the same layer, as well as vertically with the function-based elements of the other layers.

• The Next Generation Networks architecture is based on four layers: Access layer, Core layer, Control layer and Service layer.


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NGN layers

1-Access layer elements includes different Media Gateways that support connection to and from the access network with the core network.

2-Core layer is the network handling converged services based on IP.

3-Control layer is the call server that provides call control functions and also provides the control of the Media Gateway.

4-Service layer is an IT platform that plays the role of an IN-SCE (Intelligent Network Service Creation Environment) extending their functionality in order to cover the new network scenarios


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NGN Components

• The Media Gateway

• The Call Server • The application Server

• The Application Creation Environment • The Packet Network • The Access Networks


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NGN Architecture

Appl i ca ti on Crea ti on En vi ron men t

Appl i ca ti onServer

Ca l lServer

Ca l lServer

Med i aGa tewa y

Med i aGa tewa y

AccessNetwork

AccessNetwork

Pa cketNetwork


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NGN and Protocols

• Next Generation Networks require new protocols to support converged networks.

• RequirementsSupport for legacy PSTN interworking, Migration Plan from legacy to NGN, High availability, Lifeline services and Scalability

• With so many protocols, which one to choose? H.323,SIP(Session Initiation Protocol), MGCP(Media Gateway Control Protocol), SIGTRAN


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NGN and Protocols

H.323 SIP MGCP/H.248/MEGACO

Standards body ITU IETF MGCP/Megaco-IETFH.248

Architecture Distributed Distributed Centralized

Current version H.323v4 RFC2543-bis07 MGCP1.0,MEGACO,H.248

Call Control Gatekeeper Proxy/Redirect Server Call Agent/Media Gateway Controller

Endpoints Gateway, terminal User agent Media Gateway

Signaling transport

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) Or User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

TCP or UDP MGCP-UDPMegaco/H.248-both

Multimedia capable

Yes Yes Yes

DTMF-relay transport

H.245(signaling) or RFC 2833(media)

RFC 2833 (media) or INFO(signaling)

Signaling or RFC 2833(media)

Fax-relay transport

T.38 T.38 T.38

Supplemental services

Provided by endpoints or call control

Provided by endpoints or call control

Provided by call agent


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Why should traditional telecommunications carriers care about NGN services ?

If the public network carriers want to prosper in the new millenium, they must find ways to add value to their transport services:

1-NGNs will allow carriers’ networks to cost effectively support new suite of sophisticated services.

2-Help reduce costs by eliminating the inefficiencies of current service -specific, proprietary, and non reusable solutions.


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Why should traditional telecommunications carriers care about NGN services ?

3-Reduce the time to market and life-cycle costs of offering new services.

4-NGNs will enable carriers to deploy advanced services, allowing them to remain competitive as well as expand their capabilities to enter new markets.


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NGN Services

Several services that will be important drivers in the NGN environment are:

1-Voice Telephony: e.g.Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, 3-Way Calling

2-Voice Portal: provide callers with anywhere, anytime access to information like news, weather, stock quotes, and account balances using simple voice commands and any telephone,..

3-Data services: bandwidth-on-demand, connection reliability/resilient ,…


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NGN Services (cont.)

4-Multimedia services: This allows customers to converse

with each other while displaying visual information. 5-Virtual Private Networks: allow large, geographically

dispersed organizations to combine their existing private networks with portions of the PSTN, thus providing subscribers with uniform dialing capabilities.

6-Public Network Computing: Provides public network-based computing services for businesses and consumers (e.g, to host a web page, store/maintain/backup data files, or run a computing application).


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7-Unified Messaging: Supports the delivery of voice mail, email, fax mail, and pages through common interfaces .

8-Information Brokering: Involves advertising, finding, and providing information to match consumers with providers.

9-E-Commerce: Allows consumers to purchase goods and services electronically over the network.

10-Call Center Services: A subscriber could place a call to a call center agent by clicking on a Web page.

11-Interactive gaming: Offers consumers a way to meet online and establish interactive gaming sessions.


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12-Distributed Virtual Reality: Refers to technologically generated reperesentations of real-word events, people, places,experiences, etc., in which the participants in and providers of the virtual experience are physically distributed.

13-Home Manager: These services could monitor and control home security systems, energy systems, home entertainment systems, and other home appliances.


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NGN Migration Strategies

There are a number of different views as where to start first as there are no hard and fast guidelines as to what each step should be. Two different views are presented:

• Breaking the problem up into smaller pieces may indeed be one of the commercial solutions as each part can proceed under its own economic constraints and timeframe.

• Modernizing the control of existing voice switches and their signaling networks in a step-by-step approach to moving towards a NGN model.


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NGN Migration Strategies

Key considerations in the evolutionIt is important that these key benefits be delivered:• Investment protection• Operational and capital costs savings• Carrier grade reliability• Scalability• Improved product selection/choices

Speed of innovation and introduction of services


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Migration Strategies

• EUROSCOM

• SIEMENS

• ALCATEL

• LUCENT

• ZTE


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EUROSCOM Migration Scenario

One of the migration scenarios which breaks the problem into smaller part.

The following network diagrams represent how the architectural model may be instantiated for some scenarios of interest to a network operator. Each figure displays the functions and interfaces required of each network scenario. For each interface, suggestions are provided as examples of typical inter-working protocols.


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PSTN to IP network interface scenario


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GSM PLMN (Mobile) to IP network


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Alcatel Migration Scenario

Alcatel presents a step-by-step migration scenario from a TDM-based public switched telephone network to a packet based next generation network. Six steps consolidation and expansion scenario is elaborated :

• PSTN for Voice and Internet Access.• PSTN Consolidation.• Voice over Packet Trunking (IP orATM).• Voice over Packet Access (ADSL, LMDS or cable)• Introduction of Multimedia • Migration to Full NGN


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Alcatel Full NGN


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Siemens Migration Scenario

Siemens proposed a Next Generation Network migration Strategy based on class 4 and 5 softswitch replacement.

First: migrate the transit level


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Then introduce IP-based services


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Finally – replace local switches


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Lucent Migration Scenarios

First Scenario: Focus on Voice over BroadBand and minimize risk

Step 1:

Start with VoBB solutions based on voice gateway

Reuse existing TDM network and OAM infrastructure

• QoS is manageable, avoid risks of softswitch technology

• Get experience with various customer premises equipment(CPE)

Get experience with commercial packaging and market acceptance

Step2:

Migrate to full NGN solution

Get cost advantages of end-to-end VoIP solution

Introduce more advanced NGN applications (SIP, application severs).


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Lucent Migration Scenario

Second scenario: Focus on traffic offload and cost-effective gateways

Step1: • Start with LSS-based ICD application for internet

offload• Reuse dial-in gateways also for VoIP• Introduce VoIP backbone network• Step2:• Add VoIP endpoint support for Voice over Broadband• Introduce more advanced NGN applications (SIP,

apllication servers)


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ZTE Migration Scenario

ZTE produced two strategies for PSTN evolution based on softswitch network solutions.

Strategy 1: Softswitch device together with Trunking Gateway carries out the functions of legacy tandem and toll exchanges whilst the Class 5 terminal exchange remains the same .

Strategy 2: Softswitch devices together with Access Gateway carries out the functions of legacy terminal exchange while twisted pair user interface remains the same.


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ZTE Evolution Strategy 1 of existing PSTN/ISDN


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ZTE Evolution Strategy 2 of Existing PSTN/ISDN


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NGN Techno-economic Aspects

There are at least six key techno-economic drivers for NGNs:

• Investment Protection• Costs (capital and operational)• Carrier grade reliability• Scalability• Improved product selection• Speed of innovation and introduction of

services


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Investment Protection:• Incorporating NGN components based upon

standard, open protocols is the first step to protecting a carrier’s investment.

• Interoperability with existing Operational Support Systems (OSS) is required before the NGN can actually be placed into service.


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Costs (Capital and Operational):• Given the distributed nature of NGNs, and the

incremental growth characteristic, capital budget management and growth planning are both simpler.

• Since NGN solutions are premised upon open standards and are closely linked to Internet technologies, significant cost savings will occur over the life of the network.


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Carrier Grade Reliability :• To achieve high level of reliability, equipment

manufacturers and their carrier customers have developed products, architectures, and processes whose mission is focused on maximizing network uptime.

• System reliability is also addressed by implementing “mated pairs”, i.e. redundant systems often operating in synchronization


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Scalability:The NGN scales in a straightforward fashion,

either by incrementally adding capacity to existing media gateways, or by adding media gateways. Enhanced Services can be introduced or expanded using existing Network Elements (NEs), such as SCPs(Signaling Control Points), or in the future by adding Feature/Application Servers, and Media Servers.


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Improved Product Selection :Products that are standard-based will interoperate and

offer carriers the best choices in technology, scalability, and price .

Speed of innovation and introduction of services:• The most unproven reason for migration to NGN

implementation is the ability of these new networks to support rapid introduction of new and different services.

• If Internet technologies (ex. NG HTML, DNS, LDAP, etc.) are effectively used, rapid, innovative services may prove to be the most compelling reason for NGNs.


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Conclusion

• The ultimate requirement of the next generation network is to handle packetized voice and data in a converged manner.

• Next generation networks are not just a PSTN replacement but at a minimum they must provide the equivalent voice quality and reliability of today’s PSTN.

• The NGN will be the foundation for the creation of a new range of multimedia applications that take full advantage of the characteristics of the broadband network and the “always on” capability


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Conclusion

The users that are most ready to embrace the new opportunity will be the first to be migrated to the NGN model, this will then be a commercial migration with the emphasis being placed on new revenue opportunities.

The creation of the NGN is no overnight transformation, but it is an evolution that is already underway and gathering pace.


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Thank You

Documents

Next Generation Networks: Technologies, Services and Migration Strategies Prof. Ahmed El Sherbini Dr. Omayma Abdel Mohsen National Telecommunication Institute