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competitive brief

Feature and price comparison

This document provides both a succinct and detailed feature comparison between

the Acme Packet Net-Net 3820 E-SBC and the Cisco CUBE software running on a

Cisco 3945E router.

At a glance

The most obvious differences between the Net-Net 3820 E-SBC and the CUBE

software running on a Cisco 3945E router are:

Scalability

The Net-Net 3820 scales up to 8,000 sessions in a 1U form factor. The CUBE

3945E comes in a 3U form factor, and while Cisco advertises to it to reach

2,500 sessions, lab tests reveal that it only reaches 2,000 sessions reliably. In

addition, the Net-Net 3820 handles up to 84 calls per second (CPS) compared to

the CUBEs 8 CPS, a 10.5x difference.

High availability

The CUBE 3945Es high availability mode does not preserve state or CDR informa-

tion in case of system failure, resulting in loss of hold transfer, and conference call

functionality and setting the stage for a customer service nightmare. The Net-Net

3820 provides full media and signaling stateful failover and maintains CDR re-

cords, making system failures unnoticeable to business operations and callers.

InteroperabilityThe Net-Net 3820 delivers vendor agnostic interoperability, protecting

existing network investments and maximizing infrastructure and service provider

selection. The CUBE 3945E offers only limited infrastructure and service

provider interoperability.

Cost

For the same functionality, the Net-Net 3820 is 35% less expensive than the CUBE

3945E. Whats more, the Net-Net 3820 scales easily to higher capacities of up to

8,000 sessions with simple license upgrades, while the CUBE requires new hard-

ware platforms and additional servers to scale above 2,000 sessions.

Lab tests show that, compared to the

CUBE 3945E, the Net-Net 3820 is 4x

more scalable, manages 10.5x more

calls per second, and delivers hitless

high availability failover all at 35%

lower cost.

For a detailed comparison, please

examine the table on the other side ofthis document.

Acme Packet delivers 4x more concur-

rent session capacity and consumes

66% less rack space.

Net-Net 3820 provides complete hitless

fail-over, while the CUBE 3945E loses

ability to control and log existing calls.

Compared to the CUBE 3945E, theNet-Net 3820 maximizes enterprise

choice in real time IP communications

infrastructure and service providers.

The Net-Net 3820 provides an easy

software upgrade path to 8,000

sessions, while the CUBE 3945E

requires multiple hardware installations

to reach 8,000 sessions.

Net-Net 3820 vs. Cisco CUBE 3945E

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Detailed feature comparison

Cisco CUBE 3945E Acme Packet Net-Net 3820

Hardware architecture

Voice gateway withadd-on software

SBC appliance withhardware optimization

Scalability

Data sheet session count 25-2,500 150-8,000

Session capacity w/ simple call flows (13 SIP messages / call)* 2,000 8,000

Session capacity with complex flows (48 SIP messages / call) 850 8,000

Calls Per Second (call setup)* Approximately. 8 cps Approx. 84 cps

TLS / SRTP session capacity 360 (with DSP) 8,000 (with IPSec NIU)

Transcoding session capacity 768 (with DSP) 7,200 (with transcoding NIU)

Rack Space for typical HA deployment 6U-20U+ 2U

Interoperability

Extensive field deployments in multiple PBX vendor environments YES (Limited) YES

Session signaling manipulation language and tools YES (Limited) YES

Multiple service provider support YES (Limited) YES (No limit)

Delayed Offer to Early Offer conversion YES (With DSP) YES

High availability

Stateful system failover (media and signaling) NO YES

Call Detail Records (CDRs) preserved during failover NO YES

Load balancing YES (Limited) YES

Hardware modules

Application specific VPN support for mobile applications NO (Requires additional server) YES (ETC NIU)

QoS module for calculating MOS score and R-factor NO YES (QoS NIU)

Call routing

Complex routing support NO (Requires separate server) YES (1M routes)

Stateful trunk failover NO YES (Service provider proven)

Route calls based on QoS (R-factor) NO YES

Contact center enhancements

Session replication for call recording NO (Uses port mirroring) YES

ManagementCall detail records with embedded MOS score and R-factor NO YES

Service assurance

High call volume performance*Becomes processor bound anddrops or retransmits packets

No performance impact

SIP invite floods*Causes reboot. In an HA system,both systems reboot

No performance impact

TCP, UDP, ICMP floods*Causes reboot. In an HA system,backup tries to become master,then both reboot after attack

No performance impact

Retail pricing

2,000 sessions with high availability (2 units) Approximately $215K $138K**

Software upgrade past 2,000 sessions NO YES

4,000 sessions with high availability (2 units) Approx. $480K (requires ASR 1004) $181K**

2011 Acme Packet, Inc. All rights reserved. Acme Packet, Session-Aware Networking, Net-Net and related marks are trademarks of AcmePacket. All other brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

The content in this document is for informational purposes only and is subject to change by Acme Packet without notice. While reasonableefforts have been made in the preparation of this publication to assure its accuracy, Acme Packet assumes no liability resulting from technicalor editorial errors or omissions, or for any damages resulting from the use of this information. Unless specically included in a written agreementwith Acme Packet, Acme Packet has no obligation to develop or deliver any future release or upgrade or any feature, enhancement or function. 11/15/11

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*Source: Acme Packet lab test

**North America list price for HA SBC pair and base functionality.For more information ask your local Acme Packet contact.