Building a Large Softswitch

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Building a Large Softswitch

Some Journeys Taken

Steve McKinnonNew Opportunity Developmentemail:[email protected]:[email protected]

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It’s easy, right?

Perhaps just some Magic ?

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Observations from inside the Cauldron

• “Traditional” Softswitches– Street Cred: Nortel Networks CS2000

– Leveraging Uniformity

• Breaking tradition – “P2P”– Street Cred: Nortel Networks MCS 5100 and 5200

– Reveling in Chaos

• Marriage of Traditions– Street Cred: Carrier Networks

• Offspring – growing pains– Street Cred: Nortel Networks Media Application Server

• So what ?

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Succession – Leading Carrier Voice over Packet Solution

Packet Core

ATM or IP

Media Gateways

Access & Connectivity

Application Servers

UAS, MCS 5200

Network Management

SNMP, Corba

SS7 Signaling Gateway

USP, USP-Compact

Communication Servers

CS 2000,CS 2000 - Compact

Product Portfolio End to End Solutions

Communication, Application

Servers, & Signaling

CoreTransport Network

Metro & Wireless Networks

USPUAS

CS 2000-Compact CS 2000

MCS 5200

IP ATMOptical

PSTN Office

Trunk GW

Line GW

USP - Compact

Addressing critical drivers including:

new revenues, new growth, and network consolidation

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Local CarrierApplications

Cable MSO Applications

Wireless Applications

Long DistanceApplications

FIRST vendor to deploy full-featured, end-to-end VoIP solution to every segment of the Service Provider market

Broad Deployment in Carrier Networks

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Scaling in a Softswitch World: Factors

• Homogeneity and Predictability (a plus)• Centralization

– Smart to Dumb Protocol Model– All the eggs are in one basket, but…– The Basket is in control

• Managing Protocol Diversity– Separation of Functions– Lower component complexity– Better component and system scale

• Managing Territorial Concerns– Good PSTN structure removes most issues– Scaling inter-carrier IP interconnect an open question.

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The Complexity Conundrum

Softswitches manage complexity via

• uniform voice traffic, a • well understood network

structure, and • effective functional partitioning

Complexity Value

Reliability-

+ -

Partitioning

+

SystemComplexity

-

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The CS2000 Scaling Architecture

• 3 Distinct Functional Layers– Call Control– Protocol Management– Gateway

• Each layer scales differently– Session Controllers scale with Call

Traffic – Protocol Handlers scale with device /

protocol behaviors– Devices scale commercially

• User Level• Enterprise Level• Geographically Segregated• Regulatory Separation

Session

Protocol

Interface

MGPCNCS

MEGACOUNISTIM

Trunk GW,Line GW,

IAD,Phone,

Softclient, …

1,500,000 BHCA

dynamic

8000 lines

1-4 lines

40K DS0

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Softswitch Scaling Up – Success Factors

• Managing Complexity– Correct functional partitioning

– Understanding the inherent complexity of the domain• Often introduced by external forces such as Regulators or Network

Design Factors.

• Reliability – 99.9999% planned and unplanned– Design the Hardware

– Plan for Upgrades and Manual activities

– Manage the Software Design Process

– Focus on the RTOS

– Leave time for functional and Stress Testing. Lots of time. Lots of Stress.

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• So what ?

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The Multimedia Communication Server (MCS) Is…

• SIP at the heart of Nortel Networks vision for the revolution of personal communications

– Seamless integration of voice telephony with video, collaboration, and presence to deliver next-generation communication services

• A clear path to new revenues from new applications for service providers

– Wireless, wireline, and broadband– Any vendors switch/softswitch

• Unique service capabilities to reduce subscriber churn and grow share for service provider

– Common service offerings for wireline and wireless customers– Minimize customer churn with personalization and bundling

Seamless Integration of Voice Telephony, Video, Collaboration, and Presence Services to Deliver Next-generation Communication

Services Revenue!

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Or more tangibly…

The MCS is…

A Portfolio of:• Software Components

– SIP Foundation

– Session Management

– Multimedia Base and Services

• 3rd Party Hardware– Sun Servers for the Application

– Motorola cPCI and IBM for mediafunctions

– Soft and Hard Clients

– 3rd party gateways, clients, and IADs

SIP

MCS5x00

SIP Multimedia Client Set

SIP Multimedia Web Client

i2004 Internet Telephone

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Why SIP?

The last service of the voice world, or the first service of the interactive multimedia world? The last service of the voice world, or the first service of the interactive multimedia world?

SIP isn’t simply ‘voice’, it supports services that provide

‘integrated personal communications environments’ that include ‘voice’.

SIP isn’t simply ‘voice’, it supports services that provide

‘integrated personal communications environments’ that include ‘voice’.

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• Call Screening• Find Me / Follow Me• Simultaneous Ringing• Sequential Ringing• One Mailbox

Personal Agent

Video• Desktop Video Calling

Multimedia Services

Collaboration Tools

• Instant Messaging and Presence

• Buddies List w/ Presence• White Boarding• Instant File Transfer• Web Push• Co-Browsing

• Click to Call• MS Outlook Integration• Voice Mail Indicator• Personal and Group Directories • Dynamic Call Handling• Picture ID• Dynamic Presence PC• Dynamic Presence Phone• Incoming Call Logs• Outgoing Call Logs• Voice Conferencing

Call Management

• Calling Line ID(w/ Name, Number & Subject)

• Call Waiting• Call Forward• Call Transfer• Call Hold• Call Mute• etc.

Session Mgt

Unpredictable Usage

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Scaling in a “P2P” world

• Component Complexity Rising

• Transaction Complexity Rising

Smart ClientsFlat network

NetworkAddressing

NegotiatedCapabilities

Mediated P2PCommercial Demarcation

NetworkBehaviors(Find me)

Multiple(Diverse)Clients

Network Resources(Presence, Directory)

Client Services

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Leveraging the Chaos – Smart Endpoints

• Smart Endpoints only matter when they do smart things.• Endpoint intelligence can cause simple results

Or…• Endpoint intelligence can cause complex services

• Growth in service complexity is real• Is an un-mediated Lowest Common Denominator acceptable?• Often LCD does not meet commercial concerns

– Codec negotiation for video conferencing– IM and Presence intermediation

Domain Complexity Impacts Scale

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Leveraging the Chaos – the Fractal World

• Solutions Exist– Impact the Enterprise– Add ALGs (more boxes to

scale)

• Simplifications Exist– Include ALG in Session

Control

• Commercial Demarc.Impacts Scalefactors

NATNAT NATNAT

NATNATNATNAT

Enterprise a Enterprise b

Carrier p

Carrier qALG

ALG

voice

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• Call Screening• Find Me / Follow Me• Simultaneous Ringing• Sequential Ringing• One Mailbox

Personal Agent

Video• Desktop Video Calling

Leveraging the Chaos – Services Complexity Breeds

Collaboration Tools

• Instant Messaging and Presence

• Buddies List w/ Presence• White Boarding• Instant File Transfer• Web Push• Co-Browsing

• Click to Call• MS Outlook Integration• Voice Mail Indicator• Personal and Group Directories • Dynamic Call Handling• Picture ID• Dynamic Presence PC• Dynamic Presence Phone• Incoming Call Logs• Outgoing Call Logs• Voice Conferencing

Call Management

• Calling Line ID(w/ Name, Number & Subject)

• Call Waiting• Call Forward• Call Transfer• Call Hold• Call Mute• etc.

Session Mgt

Not Predictable

MultipleForks / Call

SUBSCRIBE/NOTIFY

Multiple events on Sign-in

Redirection

HTTP GET

Transactional Costs are high

Cheap unlessMediation or

NAT Traversal

Linear overhead and

client complexity

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The Chaos of User Desires

• New Services add transactional complexityto the scaling equation

• Presence is a fun one:– 30 “Friends” 30 subscriptions – If everybody has 30 friends...

then every local event causes 30 notifications– Each subscription results in Notification at some average frequency

• State changes every 10 mins?

– If multiple devices need to be updated, then that becomes a multiplier.

– 30 SUBSCRIBEs + 3 Devices*30 NOTIFIES*6 per hour– (and that is just one endpoint)

• And that is just for Presence State information that we see.

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• So what ?

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Building a Network – the best of both worlds

Services Chaos with a Linear Scale Voice

p2p

“proxy”

SIP Multimedia Client Set

SIP Multimedia Web Client

i2004 Internet Telephone

A HugeGatewayor IAD

A CallServer

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• So what ?

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More fun with Scale – a next-gen “client”.

• The Nortel Networks Media Application Server• Media Management in Software• Scales with the Application Demands

Storage

Med

iaP

roce

ssin

g

Event

ProcessingChat

MM UM

VideoStreaming

Conferencing

MediaStorage

MediaProcessing

ServiceLogic

SIP

Med

ia A

pplic

atio

n S

erve

r

Eac

h La

yer

Sca

les

Diff

eren

tly

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Conclusions: So What?

• Scale is situational• Quality is Key in Large Systems• Complexity (and Functionality (and value)) is the

real name of the game.• Services in P2P will be chaotic from a scale

perspective– User Behavior is still evolving

– Different modes of communication carry different weights

– Meta Information about communication is critical and expensive

• Well Partitioned, Modeled, and Validated Solutions are key

• Not a completely solved problem yet.

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Thank You

*Nortel, Nortel Networks, the Nortel Networks corporate logo, and Succession are trademarks ofNortel Networks. All other trademarks are the property of their owners.Copyright © 2003 Nortel Networks. All rights reserved. Information in this document is subject to changewithout notice. Nortel Networks assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document.

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Residential/SoHo

Wireless

Multimedia Communication PortfolioMultimedia Communication Portfolio

Service Provider (Wireline/Wireless)

Hosted

Enterprise

Enterprise

Managed/CPE

Multimedia CommunicationServer 5100/5200

Building a Large Softswitch

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