Sandvine States 155 Gbps NFV Performance (Beats Procera by 5 Gbps)

A post to Sandvine's blog by Don Bowman [pictured], the company's CTO, provides the results of a performance test to the vitrulaized version of its Policy Traffic Switch (see "Sandvine: 'leading edge CSPs around the world are currently working with Sandvine on virtualization pilot projects'"- here).

"Our Policy Traffic Switch (PTS) Virtual Series represents a particularly significant investment, as the PTS is the very visible, very physical hardware that many people picture when they think of Sandvine.

We are happy to report that our investments are paying off: in our latest performance testing, the PTS Virtual Series reached 155 Gbps (96.8% of a theoretical maximum of the 160 Gbps line rate). Importantly, this performance was achieved while the PTS Virtual Series dealt with real-world demands: using representative traffic mixes and requiring subscriber state awareness.

.. To test the PTS Virtual Series, we used a COTS server provided by Dell (Dell R730x, Dual Intel Xeon E5-2699 v3 (Haswell) processors, Cores 36/72 vCPUs, 128GB DDR3 ECC memory with 16x 10GbE and 4x 40GbE) and configured to achieve maximum performance based on readily available hardware components"

A month ago Procera announced that it has "..optimized PacketLogic/VTM virtualized software solution to demonstrate over 150Gbps running on Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v3 Family-based commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) platforms" (here)

See "The PTS Virtual Series: Virtualized Performance in the Real World" - here.

[ABI]: Citrix, Openwave and Ericsson Lead the $400M Optimization Space

ABI Research announced it has evaluated the "..leading vendors for Video, Audio, Web and Data Optimization the Gi-LAN space, and finds Citrix ByteMobile with the most compelling total value proposition, followed by Openwave Mobility and Ericsson. ABI Research finds web and video optimization performance as mainly determined by the x86 architecture, and the vendors differentiate along the lines of packaging and the depth of value adding features such as monetization, big data analytics and traffic management bundles.

The leaders in each category include:

• Overall: Citrix ByteMobile, Openwave Mobility, Ericsson:
   
• The Citrix ByteMobile ATM takes top honors with its long standing market reach and total value proposition of its web and video optimization, content caching, and added value in DPI, traffic policy enforcement
   
• Openwave Mobility takes second honors and keeps up the pressure with an innovation clean sweep in depth and breadth, analytics, subscriber and monetization innovation focus
   
• Ericsson takes a not-surprising third award with the rich value proposition of its Multi-Service Proxy and Service Enablement Platform
   
• Implementation: Citrix ByteMobile, Ericsson, Flash Networks
• Innovation: Openwave Mobiity, Citrix ByteMobile, Ericsson
  

Joe Hoffman [pictured], Practice Director, ABI Research said: “Nobody buys just video optimization, and now that the fundamental technologies are commoditized table stakes, we enrich the evaluation to consider the total value proposition including analytics and monetization, When an operator buys into one of these solutions, it is economically efficient to consider the big picture bundle.” 

"This research covers the leading vendors that offer video, audio, web and data optimizations solutions, including Allot, Avvasi, Flash Networks, Huawei, NEC, Nokia Networks, Opera Software, and Vantrix, and accounts for a large part of the US$400M in 2014 revenues in this market space".

See "ABI Research Ranks Citrix, Openwave Mobility, and Ericsson with Top Honors in the 2015 Mobile Web and Video Optimization Competitive Assessment" - here.

Avvasi - Oracle's PCRF Partnership Offers Monetized Video Services

Avvasi announced its "partnership with Oracle and its industry-leading Communications Policy Controller (PCRF). 

The Avvasi Oracle joint solution enables service providers to deliver monetized video services.

Avvasi’s real-time Xperium™ QoE management solution, Q-SRV, will be orchestrated by Oracle’s Communications Policy Controller. The integrated solution will help service providers monetize the explosion in data usage in order to deliver the highest quality customer experience".

See "Avvasi Partners with Oracle to Deliver Video Services" - here.

Allot: Two 10% Customers in 2014

Allot Communications filled its annual report to the SEC (here). The report states that "In 2014, we derived 44% of our total revenues from two Tier 1 mobile and fixed operators, and the revenues derived from each of these operators were higher than 10% of our total revenues".

[Potentially related post: "Allot Receives a $15M Expansion Order, W/Analytics and DDoS Protection" - here and "Allot's US Tier1 MNO $9M Order: "not a classical DPI"" - here. Note that these two announcements are about orders, not recognized revenues]

With total revenues of $117.2M for 2014, the revenues from the 2 operators amount to $51.6M.

This is much higher customer concentration compares to previous years - "We derived 14% of our total revenues in 2012 from one global Tier 1 mobile operator group and 45% of our total revenues in 2013 from three Tier 1 mobile and fixed operators. The revenues derived from each of these three operators were higher than 10% of our total revenues".

Feel free to guess which geographic locations provided the two customers: 

Oracle and Intel Demo Carrier-grade Performance in a Virtualized Environment

Oracle Communications announced it has "delivered the industry’s first successful demonstration of carrier-grade network performance in a virtualized environment. The project, led by Oracle and using the Intel® Open Network Platform (ONP), demonstrates that CSPs can realize more of the promise of NFV. Specifically, the initiative proves that by intelligently directing network activity to the Intel® processor, CSPs will have more capabilities in software that were previously limited to hardware. In turn, this means that CSPs could maintain service quality levels and develop new offers for customers as soon as CSPs begin to migrate their network functions to the data center.

For this initiative, Oracle Communications optimized specific products for the Intel ONP using OpenStack open source infrastructure management software and its Enhanced Platform Awareness capabilities. The optimized products are part of Oracle’s orchestration framework, including Oracle Communications Network Service Orchestration Solution. [see "Oracle introduces Network Service Orchestration Solution" - here].
   
By directing the Intel platform to dynamically establish data center resource pools that mimic the specialized characteristics of a network appliance (such as large memory pages), the orchestration software can then route the work to the correct pool, based on each function’s unique needs. Moreover, this orchestration activity can work for any network equipment vendor’s interface, preserving the CSP community’s requirement to support multi-vendor environments. Oracle and Intel contribute to and support the widely accepted OpenStack initiative".

See "Oracle Communications Advances Network Function Virtualization by Delivering Carrier-Grade Data Center Performance" - here.

Qosmos CEO: "We own 70% of the market and Deployed in 6 out of 10 Tier1s"

Steve Saunders, LightReading, CEO and Founder, interviews Thibaut Bechetoille [pictured], CEO, Qosmos on DPI (which Qosmos calls now "Network Intelligence", a better name, as Steve comments).

Some quotes:

• Thibaut sees 3 use-cases for DPI - security, traffic management and analytics with its monetization potential. 

• Service chaining (here) is an important shift in the industry, where telcos will be able to do per-user, per application, service enablement,

• We have 6 out of 10 tier1 customers (through TEM OEM) .. we work closer to the telcos .. we have a team of 15 people (out of 100 employees) dedicated to direct touch with the telcos.

The competitors are Procera (based on the Vineyard Networks acquisition), ipoque .. We own 70% of the market.  we adjust our pricing proposal to the different  cases of our partners.

[According to Procera's 2014 annual reports [here], "NAVL revenue contributed $3.6 million in product revenue and $0.8 million in support revenue for the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to $1.7 million in product revenue and $0.9 million in support revenue for the year ended December 31, 2013"] 

Thibaut indicates 2 areas of new development:

• SDN/NFV/ Service chaining such as the Classifier (see "Qosmos Launches a Standards-based Service Classifier (2300+ Protocols and Metadata) - here)
   
• Going to adjacent markets to DPI, URL filtering  

See "Qosmos CEO: The Changing Face of DPI" - here.

CEM Deployments [349]: Etisalat [UAE] to Use Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent announced that it and Etisalat have "signed an agreement to deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s Motive Customer Experience Management (CEM) portfolio for Etisalat’s mobile and fixed-line customers in the UAE.

• Etisalat will use Motive CEM solutions to automatically detect, diagnose and resolve device issues to substantially reduce call resolution times
   
• Etisalat will be able to offer subscribers self-care channels to resolve technical issues at their convenience, reducing the number of calls to the care centers
   
• Alcatel-Lucent is providing elements of the Motive CEM portfolio, including device management, service management and orchestration, analytics and content management.

See "Alcatel-Lucent and Etisalat to give customers in UAE greater control over their service" - here.

ISPs Sue FCC Against New Net Neutrality

Brendan Sasso [pictured] reports to the NationalJournal that "Telecom companies filed a pair of lawsuits Monday in an attempt to reverse the Federal Communications Commission's new net neutrality rules. The suits are expected to be the opening shots in a long legal war against the controversial regulations .. The suits claim the rules are outside the FCC's authority, violate administrative law, and infringe on the companies' constitutional rights:

• USTelecom, which represents AT&T, Verizon, and other companies, filed its lawsuit [see below] in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
  See also: "USTelecom Files Protective Petition for Review" - here - "USTelecom strongly supports open Internet rules, but disagrees with the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to reclassify broadband Internet providers as common carriers in the order adopted March 12".
   
• Alamo Broadband, a small Texas-based wireless Internet provider, filed its suit in the U.S. appeals court based in New Orleans.

See "Internet Providers Sue to Kill Net Neutrality" - here.

PCC Deployments [348]: Zipnet [Ghana] & West African CSPs Selected Alepo

Alepo announced a "new partnership with Zipnet – a leading internet service provider in Ghana – to evolve ICT services across the country with advanced policy and charging control solutions for IP-based services and 4G mobile broadband. 

Zipnet recently selected Alepo to provide its policy and charging control solutions as well as its BSS/OSS framework, Service Enabler 9, in order to support Zipnet’s multi-access network operations, spanning WiMAX, Wi-Fi, and a planned LTE network. 

In addition to the recent contract with Zipnet Ghana, Alepo has many deployments in West Africa, including Niger, Mali, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast and Nigeria".

See "Zipnet to Boost the ICT Sector in Ghana with Alepo Policy and Charging Control" - here.

PCC Deployments [347]: Afghan Wireless Deploys RedKnee

Redknee Solutions announced that it is "supporting Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC), the leading telecom operator in Afghanistan to differentiate its services and provide an advanced customer experience for its subscribers. 

Utilizing the Redknee Unified charging and policy solution, AWCC is leveraging convergent services, to monetize their next generation data strategy and support future growth.

With Redknee’s real-time solution, AWCC is able to provide a greater range of value-add and personalized services faster to the market. AWCC can deliver targeted incentives and rewards to subscribers to increase ARPU and customer loyalty. Redknee’s integrated charging and policy solution has enabled AWCC to optimize its network investments, reduce the load on its network and set differentiated quality of service for individual subscribers. In addition, Redknee’s integrated solution enables AWCC to generate revenue through new business models and partnerships with OTT providers".

See "Afghan Wireless Expands Growth Strategy with Redknee’s Charging and Policy Solution" - here.

Gartner's WAN Optimization Report

Gartner has updated its "Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization" (see chart below, courtesy of SilverPeak).

SilverPeak announced that "Gartner has named Silver Peak a Magic Quadrant Leader. Be among the first to see the latest report by completing the form on the right. According to Gartner, as WAN optimization appliances increasingly include WAN path control and local link load balancing capabilities, these products are morphing into SD-WAN solutions".

Gartner's report also indicates that "When WAN access bandwidth is adequate, WAN optimization can also be delivered as a network-based "WAN optimization as a service" (WOaaS), such as those from Aryaka [see "Arayka Launches Usage-based, Optimized WAN Connectivity Service" - here] and NTT Communications. WOaaS services are delivered from service delivery points embedded in carrier service infrastructure and enable enterprises to avoid the need to deploy on-premises physical appliances".

Related posts:

• Orange Business Services Offers Application-aware Business VPN Internet - here
• tw telecom Launches Dynamic Application Prioritization over VPN Service - here
• Frontier Adds Traffic Prioritization based on User-defined Applications - here
• BT Uses Riverbed for Global Applications-aware Networking Services - here
• KDDI and Ipanema Team to Offer Business-Aware Network Services - here
• Telstra's Application assured Networking Uses ALU - here
   

See "Gartner Names Silver Peak a Magic Quadrant Leader in the WAN" - here.

Telefónica UK Deploys Vasona - 700 Cell Sites in Central London

Vasona Networks announced a "pilot deployment with Telefónica UK. This follows trials during which the international mobile operator has achieved real-time visibility of network traffic, and active session management across individual cells when congestion occurs. 

The pilot covers O2’s customers in London with deployments of the Vasona SmartAIR™1000 [see "Vasona's Cell Traffic Management" - here] edge application controller and SmartVISION™ analysis suite [see "Vasona Adds Cell-Level Analytics" - here] .. The Telefónica UK pilot currently covers O2’s 3G service and spans 700 cell sites in central London"

Biren Sood [pictured, left, with Nery Strasman, CTO], CEO, Vasona Networks said: “Telefónica UK is implementing a mobile traffic management solution that also provides cell-level insight to enhance network planning and to speed resolution of issues. Our work with Telefónica is demonstration of how Vasona Networks collaborates with mobile network operators worldwide on assuring the best consumer experiences.”

See "Vasona Networks begins pilot deployment with Telefónica UK to improve mobile data experiences" - here.

NI Deployments [346]: Softbank Selected JDSU’s ariesoGEO

JDSU [see "JDSU Acquires Arieso for $85M to Increase Visibility to the RAN" - here] announced that "SoftBank Mobile (SBM) has chosen to implement JDSU’s ariesoGEO™ platform and GEOperformance application across its 3G and LTE networks in downtown Tokyo. 

SoftBank will use ariesoGEO to help improve customer satisfaction by using location intelligence data from its network. JDSU’s ariesoGEO platform was selected after a competitive trial due to the scalability and maturity of the solution, and its ability to support multiple vendors and technologies.

See "SoftBank Mobile Chooses JDSU’s ariesoGEO Platform to Improve Customer Experience" - here.

Cisco Launches Application Engineered Routing

Cisco announced "three significant enhancements to the Cisco® Evolved Programmable Network (EPN) portfolio, an open, elastic, and application-centric network infrastructure framework that enables service providers to accelerate time to revenue while reducing the costs of deploying new services. The new technologies include:

Source: Cisco 

Application Engineered Routing (here)

• Cisco Application Engineered Routing - By enabling applications to communicate directly with the network, service providers can improve the quality of the customer experience and simplify network operations.
  
  With the introduction of Cisco Application Engineered Routing, Cisco is the first in the industry to build an agile service-creation environment, combining the capabilities of open, standards-based Segment Routing with software-defined-networking (SDN). This end-to-end solution drives new levels of programmability, allowing service providers to reduce operational costs and drive incremental revenue with on-demand latency, bandwidth and availability capabilities.
  
  John Leddy, VP of Network Strategy, Comcast said: “Comcast’s Converged Network is the strategic platform for delivering our Internet, Video, Voice, and Business products. As new advanced services are developed leveraging technologies like; Cloud and NFV, our network needs to simplify, scale and become extensible. We see IPv6 and Segment Routing as major elements in the evolution of the network. The ability of the network to support, not impede the innovation occurring in software and services, will be a major step forward.”
    
• Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Virtual Router
   
• High-density 100GE line cards for the Cisco ASR 9000 Series

See "Cisco Adds New Application-Centric Capabilities to Service Provider Networking Portfolio" - here.

Cyan Enables CenturyLink NFV Services to Enterprises

Cyan (See "Cyan Adds Service Management and UBB" - here) and CenturyLink announced that "CenturyLink will leverage Cyan’s Blue Planet NFV Orchestrator to deliver NFV-enhanced services to enterprise and small and midsized business (SMB) customers. Cyan will provide CenturyLink orchestration for their Programmable Services Backbone (PSB). 

..Specifically, CenturyLink will use Cyan’s Blue Planet NFV Orchestrator to bridge multiple technologies to instantiate virtual network functions (VNF) from multiple vendors. Blue Planet will add these virtual network functions to CenturyLink’s network for quickly providing software-enabled services and ubiquitous service coverage to CenturyLink’s broad set of customers.
      

Blue Planet supports multi-vendor NFV Orchestration capabilities. The software can instantiate and control virtual functions, coordinate with physical and virtual network resources, and interconnect virtual functions (i.e., vFirewall, vDPI, vEncryption, vRouter, vDNS, etc.) to achieve service chaining".

See "CenturyLink to Offer NFV-Enhanced Services to Enterprise and SMB Customers with Cyan’s Blue Planet" - here.

TEOCO CEM Combines Service Assurance, Geo-location, Analytics

TEOCO released recently "CEM, its latest version of the Customer Experience Management solution for end-to-end analytics of subscribers’ activity and improved Quality of Service (QoS) .. CEM uses multi-dimensional diagnoses, including data from network elements, probes, and performance metrics to power advanced insights onto the experience of subscribers.

The solution brings together TEOCO’s proven capabilities in service assurance, geo-location, and analytics. Using the Hadoop framework, CEM can retain xDRs, KPIs and KQIs for a limitless period of time to monitor and analyze subscriber’s network experience, and proactively troubleshoot service issues. CEM also integrates with TEOCO’s existing fault detection and performance monitoring solutions, and offers the same multi-vendor, multi-technology, multi-domain and multi-source capabilities".

See "TEOCO combines Service Assurance & Customer Analytics with big data CEM offering" - here.

GSA: 497M LTE Subscriptions Worldwide

GSA announced that "Referring to newly-released data provided by Ovum Ltd, GSA calculated that LTE subscription net additions outpaced 3G/WCDMA-HSPA by 21% during the last 6 months of 2014, with LTE leading in both Q3 and Q4 .. There were 497 million LTE subscriptions worldwide by 31 December 2014. A total of 290 million LTE subscriptions were gained in the year, equivalent to 140% annual growth.

Alan Hadden [pictured], Vice President of Research, GSA said: "LTE subscriptions grew by 115 million in Q4, over 36% higher than 3G/WCDMA-HSPA connections. GSM subscriptions fell by 78.5 million in the same period. We are confident that LTE growth will continue to lead all other mobile systems."

GSA forecasts there will be at least 450 commercially launched LTE networks globally by end 2015, up from 364 that had entered service by the end of last year [here], with deployment of LTE-Advanced technologies as a major industry trend [here] regions. Further details will be provided in the next Evolution to LTE report to be published by GSA this month.

See "LTE reached 497 million subs by December 2014; growth outpaced 3G in 2H says GSA" - here.

NI Deployments [345]: Orange [Slovakia] to Use Astellia to Ensure E2E QoE

Astellia confirmed the "..signature of a 4G network contract with Orange Slovensko, the largest mobile operator in Slovakia .. Astellia’s Nova solution provides Orange Slovensko with the ability to proactively monitor, analyze and manage in real-time the subscriber experience of every user, hereby ensuring true end-to-end QoE. The solution allows for instance the identification of subscribers receiving a poor data experience and ensuring speedy detection of root contributors to the experience degradation".

At the end of 2014, Orange Slovakia had 2,85 mobile customers,

See "Astellia boosting 4G performance for Orange Slovensko" - here.

FCC's Net Neutrality: No Price Regulation; Won’t Reduce Investments

The FCC has released the full text of the new Net Neutrality order, a 400 pages document (here) - and a press release that is "Separating Fact from Fiction".

"The Order uses every tool in the Commission’s toolbox to make sure the Internet stays fair, fast and open for all Americans, while ensuring investment and innovation can flourish. We encourage the public to read the Order, which reflects the input of millions of Americans and allows everyone to separate myths from fact, such as: [Partial list]

• Myth: The FCC plans to set broadband rates and regulate retail prices in response to consumer complaints.
• Fact: The Order doesn’t regulate retail broadband rates.
   
• Myth: This will increase consumers’ broadband bills and/or raise taxes. 
• Fact: The Order doesn’t impose new taxes or fees or otherwise increase prices.
   
• Myth: This is a plan to regulate the Internet and let the government take over the Internet.
• Fact: The Order doesn’t regulate Internet content, applications or services or how the Internet operates, its routing or its addressing.
   
• Myth: This proposal means the FCC will get to decide which service plan you can choose.
• Fact: The Order doesn’t limit consumers’ choices or ban broadband data plans.
   
• Myth: This will stifle innovation in new areas of Internet connectivity like connected cars or tele-health.
• Fact: The Order doesn’t regulate the class of IP-based services that do not connect to the public Internet.
   
• Myth: This will lead to slower broadband speeds and reduced investment in broadband deployment.
• Fact: The Order doesn’t reduce broadband investment or slow broadband speeds.
   
• Myth: The new transparency rules add up to a new form of regulation.
• Fact: Clear disclosure requirements benefit both consumers and industry".
   

See "FCC Open Internet Order - Separating Fact From Fiction" - here.

[MarketsandMarkets]: Network Analytics Market Growth CAGR - 25.6%

A recent report finds that "The network analytics market is expected to grow from $589.6 million in 2014 to $1,842.2 million by 2019, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25.6%. 

Although the mature markets (such as the U.S. and the U.K.) hold larger shares in the network analytics market, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 32% during the forecast period. Growing network traffic, upgradation of technologies, Quality of Experience (QoE), maintenance and targeted marketing are expected to remain the major drivers behind increased adoption of network analytics solutions. 

Through network analytics solutions, organizations can avail benefits such as monitoring and analysis of real-time and historical data, getting network summary via dashboards, traffic management, network capacity planning, routing efficiency assurance, and congestion analysis. Moreover, emerging economies such as India, Brazil, Singapore, and China are creating growth opportunities for the network analytics market in these regions. "

Major players in the market are IBM, Cisco, SAS, Tableau Software, Sandvine, Procera Networks, Accenture, Calix Inc., and JDSU. These players along with the others present in the market are expected to make a big impact in this rapidly growing marketplace in the next five years". 

See "Global Network Analytics Market 2015-2019 - Mobile, VOIP and Fixed Line, Unified Communications Analysis of the $1.8 Billion Market" - here.

Huawei Launches a Congestion-Aware, High Throughput Router

Huawei announced recently the "release of the industry's first high throughput router (HTR) aimed at providing users with an unprecedented ultra-HD video experience. The HTR could sense congestion status in real-time, intelligently predict available bandwidth, automatically adjust network throughput, and provide differentiated service acceleration. HTR significantly improves effective E2E transmission bandwidth and minimizes the negative impact of packet loss and delay on video service quality, providing operators with a competitive solution for MBB 2K and FBB 4K video service development. Demonstrating Huawei's leading role and innovation capabilities in the IP field, the HTR is a major breakthrough for ultra-HD video service backhaul.

Huawei’s HTR provides 400G capacity and will support smooth evolution to 1T/2T in the future, making it an effective solution for MBB 2K and FBB 4K service backhaul. It includes a unique Smart Service Acceleration Engine (SSAE) that incorporates three key technologies: network status sensing, packet loss identification and packet recovery, and delay compensation. With these technologies, the HTR overcomes the three major problems that affect the 2K/4K service experience including slow start, image defects, and lag, to ensure a stable throughput and guarantee an optimal 2K/4K video service experience.

In addition, Huawei’s HTR provides differentiated service acceleration capabilities for different OTTs and users, helps operators to effectively integrate services and network resources, creates new business value for the Internet industry chain, and achieves a win-win-win situation for users, OTTs, and operators".

See "Huawei Releases Industry’s First High Throughput Router (HTR) for an Optimized Ultra-HD Video Experience" - here.

Samsung Partners with IBM and Guavus for QoE-Based OSS

Samsung announced recently "key partnerships with IBM and Guavus to provide comprehensive Operational Support Systems (OSS) offerings to mobile network operators. Samsung’s newly launched portfolio of operational support systems, CognitiV OSS [see "Samsung Electronics Targets High Quality Data Services with CognitiV Analytics" - here]  will help mobile service providers to manage and optimize their networks in a proactive and intelligent way. 

Based on information collected from network elements and user traffic, CognitiV OSS analyzes users’ service quality of experience (QoE) in real-time, which provides automated network optimization and root-cause analysis of service quality degradation.

• Through the strategic alliance, Samsung and IBM will collaborate on overall OSS technology and develop new business opportunities. Samsung’s leadership in the LTE market and IBM’s long experience with OSS will create important synergies for the development of an advanced OSS platform.

• Samsung is also working closely with Guavus on developing analytics technologies to bolster its innovative OSS offering. As networks grow increasingly dense and sophisticated, the importance of big data analytics is becoming more and more apparent. Samsung will work with Guavus’ analytics expertise to develop real-time analysis capabilities that are optimized for radio networks.

See "Samsung Electronics Partners with IBM and Guavus for Next Generation OSS Offerings" - here.

[Resource]: PCRF-Policy Charging System-Functional Analysis

A presentation by Biju M R, Sr Manager Presales & Solutions at Wipro (here)

MYCOM OSI Launches Network Analytics Solution

MYCOM OSI announced the "launch of its ProInsight™ Network Analytics solution.With ProInsight™, MYCOM OSI delivers an innovative approach to telecom analytics by leveraging its established telecom-specific expertise in management of large-scale heterogeneous multi-vendor and multi-domain network data, and dynamically linking it to business and customer Big Data via a dynamic bridging technology. This approach transforms CSPs network planning and operations processes by seamlessly integrating business Big Data into network processes to deliver high value uses case such as value-based capacity planning, as well as provide a rapid return on investment for Big Data platforms investments".

According to a TM Forum report, sponsored by MYCOM OSI [here], entitled ‘Network analytics: Creating better customer experience and new revenues’ - "Big Data and network analytics hold the key to operators’ efforts to enhance the user experience, optimize capital investments and even drive share price movement"  (see chartr below)

Related posts:

• Telenor[Sweden] Selected MyCOM OSI for Performance Management - here
• BASE [Belgium] Selected MyCOM OSI for Performance Management - here

"Key ProInsight™ highlights include:

• Powerful insights through versatile statistical analysis of technical and commercial metrics, correlation of key variables, detailed network profiling, and predictive/forecasting options
   
• High-performance platform for the unified consideration of technical and commercial (including BSS) data, with the ability to discover and incorporate data from (Hadoop) big data stores via its Analytics Data Bridge
   
• Customized definition of insights and decision-making workflows, based on best practices and existing CSP Operations/Engineering/other processes, which can also make use of pre-packaged workflow templates
   
• Advanced, telecom-driven and business-relevant reporting with comprehensive options such as tables, diagrams, maps, and one-stop dashboards depending on the use case
   
• Carrier-grade telecom foundation of multi-technology, multi-vendor and multi-domain capabilities proven at Tier-1 CSP networks worldwide, with off-the-shelf options that include pre-packaged knowledge (‘Smart Packs’) and vendor equipment adaptors/interfaces

See "MYCOM OSI Launches Next Generation Network Analytics Solution" - here.

NI Deployments [344]: Zain [Saudi Arabia] to Use Astellia for Subscriber Intelligence

Astellia announced that "Zain KSA announced [here] the signing of a three years agreement with Astellia .. As part of the agreement, Astellia will support Zain launch a network based customer experience analysis program, aiming to strengthen customers’ satisfaction. The agreement comes as a new step in the transformation plan Zain KSA is undergoing since early 2014.

It’s worth mentioning that Zain KSA signed a network expansion and upgrade agreement worth 4.5 billion SAR (US $1.2 billion) with five leading global technology companies, as part of its transformation plan implemented by the executive management since early last year".

See "Zain KSA partners with Astellia to boost network performance" - here.

DSC Deployments [343]: Telekom Austria/Vip Uses Diametriq NFV Solution

Yet another component of vEPC pioneer, Vip Mobile [Serbia], NFV-based deployment (see "Telekom Austria Implements Connetem NFV-Based EPC w/Procera's DPI" - here). This time it's the Diameter routing technology.

Diametriq announced that its "Diameter Solution Suite™ is being used to power Connectem’s virtual EPC now being deployed by Telekom Austria Group to deliver a complete set of virtualized LTE network functions for its Vip mobile subsidiary in Serbia.

Connectem [see "Brocade Acquires Connectem" -here], one of the early adopters of Diametriq’s NFV enabled virtualized Diameter routing product, takes a service oriented view of Evolved Packet Core (EPC) functionalities. In its Virtual Core for Mobile (VCM) solution, Connectem maps the packet core functions into a computational problem, enabling network capacity (signaling, bearer or throughput) to be translated to a common computing resource requirement (CPU, memory, I/O and storage). Diametriq’s virtualized signaling router is tightly integrated with Connectem’s vEPC to seamlessly address on-demand network signaling and capacity expansions.

Instead of mobile traffic running on dedicated proprietary hardware and software, Vip mobile data is terminated in a general purpose IT data center running Intel x86 hardware and virtualization services. Additional solutions providers participating in the Serbian demonstration include Intel, VMware, Red Hat, Metaswitch, and Open Cloud".

See "Diametriq’s Diameter Solution Suite™ Powers Connectem vEPC for Telekom Austria Group’s New Vip mobile Deployment" - here.

How does DigiCel Use Sandvine?

Sandvine announced that "Digicel Group .. a long time Sandvine customer that is using Sandvine’s Network Policy Control solutions to offer their subscribers innovative service plans. 

Last year, Digicel expanded their deployment [see "Sandvine Receives $5M Expansion Order (CALA)" - here] of Sandvine’s Network Analytics, Usage Management, and OutReach products to over 30 mobile networks in the Caribbean and Pacific: 

• Usage Management’s Record Generator provides Digicel with the ability to report on the leading applications on its network so that they can gain deeper insight into the ever changing usage patterns of their subscribers. Record Generator’s support for multiple types of records in a single deployment allows Digicel to custom tailor the level of data aggregation they desire for each use case, one of which is seamless usage reconciliation with their online charging system (OCS).

• Digicel also leverages the capabilities of Sandvine OutReach, which provides operators with a powerful set of subscriber-friendly, device-agnostic tools to communicate with their subscribers. Digicel uses OutReach to inform subscribers of new promotions and more importantly, their usage in real-time, so subscribers never have to worry about experiencing bill shock.

• In additional to the deployment of Sandvine equipment in their production network, Digicel will also be using the Sandvine Virtual Series so that they can develop and test their virtualization strategy. The Sandvine Virtual Series enables CSPs to enjoy all the features of the traditional Sandvine platform while benefiting from the elasticity and efficiency of running virtual machines on commercial off-the-shelf hardware (COTS).

See "Sandvine Powers Service Innovation for Digicel Group" - here.

Saguna Adds 3rd Party App Support (Based on Intel's DPDK)

Saguna Networks announced a "new release of the Saguna Open-RAN creating an open platform running 3rd party applications into the mobile Radio Access Network (RAN). This release extends the company’s award-winning CDN-Extend solution, which enables CDNs to operate inside the mobile base station .. Operating from the Radio Edge, in close proximity to mobile users, the Saguna Open-RAN enables applications to reduce click-to-play time by up to 50%, stream video smoothly and minimize page download times. The Open-RAN platform also provides real-time network condition status to promote network-aware content optimization".

Related post - "Nokia's Optimization: Video Speed Increases by 50%; Akamai Detects Congestion" - here.

"The Saguna Open-RAN platform creates a cloud-computing environment within the radio access radio using off-the-shelf Intel® Xeon® processor-based servers and Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) optimized packet processing. The innovative mobile edge computing platform preserves user mobility and core functionalities such as lawful interception, policy control and charging". 

See "Saguna Expands Open-RAN Platform Bringing CDNs, Content Caching and OTTs Together in the Mobile Radio Edge" - here.

iiNet [Australia] Offers Zero Rated Netflix

While Net Neutrality is reborn in the US, and Zero-rated service plans gain traction in developing countries, iiNet has news to his customers in Australia: "Get Netflix quota-free on an iiNet Fixed Line Broadband or NBN Fibre plan" (here).

"Following confirmation from Netflix that it will launch locally on 24 March, iiNet’s broadband, Naked DSL, NBN and iiNet TV with Fetch customers (excludes all Satellite, NBN Wireless, Mobile Voice, Mobile Broadband and all Business customers) will have access to as much Netflix content as they like, without it counting against their monthly quota".
iiNet offers 100 GB to 1 TB DSL service plans for their "own netwrok" customers; "Both uploads and downloads count towards your monthly included data. There are no automatic excess usage charges on ADSL2+. Instead, traffic beyond the included data will be slowed to 256kbps/256kbps. You may purchase a Data Pack at an additional cost for a data top-up, if required". 

See "iiNet to flick on quota-free Netflix" - here.

Openwave Mobility: Federated SDM; Encrypted Traffic Optimization

    

Openwave Mobility recent announcements: 

• "launched the industry’s first carrier grade subscriber data federation solution. Smart Data Federator (SDF) is a flexible interface between data silos that reads and writes data to existing systems, allowing for a consolidated view of all subscriber data. SDF uses proven technology installed in the largest deployment of a UDR in the world, with over 130 million subs and over 5 nines availability. 
  Operators can use SDF to make the connection between the data and the repository, regardless of structure and storage type. SDF is placed centrally to other data repositories, giving operators the flexibility they need to build applications across silos. SDF also creates a secure link between the applications and the data. This means that operators can secure and manage all their data repositories through SDF. By deploying SDF the applications that need data federation get the benefits of federation, while other applications can continue to use their data repositories directly as required".
  
  See "Openwave Mobility Unveils Subscriber Data Federation Solution" - here. 

• "a new solution, Secure Traffic Manager, leveraging its NFV-enabled Integra, that optimizes encrypted mobile video and audio streaming traffic. Network operators will now benefit from a comprehensive solution that optimizes not just the TCP/IP transport layer, but also the video and audio application layer for encrypted traffic to maximize network utilization. Operators can now achieve 50% data savings on encrypted HD video, delivering an improved user experience for congested networks without compromising subscriber privacy.
   
  Matt Halligan [pictured], CTO, Openwave Mobility said: “Secure Traffic Manager uses patent pending heuristics to detect and manage streaming content. We enable smarter policy-aware traffic management for the carrier while retaining the highest levels of security protocols for robust encryption”.
  
  See "Openwave Mobility First to Optimize Encrypted Video Streaming" - here.

Alepo Launches a Packaged Solution for MNOs

Alepo announced its "new Mobile Broadband Accelerator – a packaged solution that enables wireless network operators to readily introduce more advanced and differentiated mobile data offerings .. from bandwidth on demand to data rollover plans to prepaid data models and well beyond. The solution also provides tools to enhance the customer experience, to gain business insights and analytics, and to explore new revenue models and untapped markets for mobile broadband services – all key factors in growing revenues and market share"

Alepo MBBA solution modular building blocks 

Alepo’s Mobile Broadband Accelerator solution brings together best-of-breeds IT and core network software from Alepo and Alepo partners and professional services on a single, pre-integrated platform, oriented towards the operator’s mobile broadband business needs and priorities. An open, flexible solution, it is highly adaptable to any type of network environment. The solution can be deployed as an “overlay” platform that extends the functionality and feature-richness of an operator’s existing mobile broadband network while avoiding unnecessary replacement, complexity, and disruptions to existing services. Conversely, the packaged solution can serve as a complete core network and CRM for Greenfield or startup operators. In any case, operators benefit from Alepo’s constantly evolving collection of out-of-the-box capabilities and business use cases as well as over a decade of industry expertise in “all things data.”

See "Alepo Reveals New Solution to Accelerate Growth in Revenue and Market Share on Mobile Broadband Networks" - here.

ManageEngine Enhances NetFlow Analyzer w/Traffic Shaping

ManageEngine announced the "latest versions of NetFlow Analyzer, its real-time bandwidth and security analysis software, and Network Configuration Manager, its network change and configuration management (NCCM) solution. Available immediately, NetFlow Analyzer pricing starts at $3,750 USD for 50 interfaces. Network Configuration Manager version 11 starts at $1,195 USD for 25 devices":

• NetFlow Analyzer gains traffic shaping to ensure critical apps are served on priority, device discovery and one-click flow export to add devices from the web GUI itself, and email and SMS notifications for DoS attacks .. it shapes network traffic by reconfiguring the bandwidth allocated to various apps via CBQoS and access control list (ACL). Now, admins can not only monitor the traffic trends but also configure a guaranteed percentage of bandwidth to critical apps and serve them on a priority basis

• DeviceExpert has been renamed as Network Configuration Manager and adds reports that help service providers who deal with customer card data comply with PCI DSS 3.0 requirements. It also includes a configuration review feature.

See "ManageEngine Adds Traffic Shaping, PCI DSS 3.0 Compliance to Network Management Solutions" - here.