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The Rise of DiameTeR DSignaling
The Rise of DiameTeR DSignaling
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Tekelec Global Headquarters +1.919.460.5500 888.628.5527 sales@tekelec.com EMEA +44.1784.437000 APAC +65.6796.2288 CALA +1.919.460.5500 Tekelec has more than 25 office worldwide serving customers in more than 100 countries. Addresses, phone and fax numbers are listed on the Tekelec website at www.tekelec.com/offices. This document is for informational purposes only, and Tekelec reserves the right to change any aspect of the products, features or functionality described in this document without notice. Please contact Tekelec for additional information and updates. Solutions and examples are provided for illustration only. Actual implementation of these solutions may vary based on individual needs and circumstances. 2011 Tekelec. All rights reserved. The EAGLE and Tekelec logos are registered trademarks of Tekelec. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................4 SIP as the Succesor to SS7............................................................................................5 Diameter Routing Challanges.......................................................................................5 Comparing SS7 with Diameter......................................................................................6 Diameter Signaling Router Overview.............................................................................7 Signaling Architecture for Diameter-based Networks.........................................................7 Diameter Mediation and Protocol Interworking.............................................................8 Additional Value of a Centralized Diameter Router........................................................9 In Summary...................................................................................................................9 Some Relevant Acronyms.............................................................................................10
Introduction
Mobile data traffic is skyrocketing, fueled by the introduction of smartphones, laptop dongles, flat-rate plans, social networking and compelling applications like mobile video. And, there is no slowdown in sight. ABI Research (9 August 2009) predicts that by 2014 the mobile data traffic registered per month will equal the total data traffic logged during all of 2008. Operators have realized that their 3G networks are not equipped to sustain this high level of traffic growth. They are looking to all-Internet protocol (IP) networks such as long term evolution (LTE) and IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) to provide the bandwidth required to support data-hungry devices and applications and to cost effectively address the growing gap between traffic and revenue growth. The Diameter protocol, using stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) for transport, is used widely in the all-IP, service-oriented IMS and LTE architectures. Within the IMS control and service planes, Diameter plays a central role in policy, charging, authentication and mobility management. For years operators have employed signaling system 7 (SS7) as the international, standardized protocol to communicate globally between operator networks. ISDN user part (ISUP) is used for voice-oriented communication, CAMEL Application Part (CAP) is used for service control and mobile application part (MAP) for non-call-related signaling, including mobility management. The digital era is on the horizon, yet the majority of operators around the globe still connect their networks through the exchange of well-defined SS7 messages. All of that is about to change. This paper focuses on the signaling role that Diameter is going to play in end-to-end IP networks like LTE. Diameters part in service-related functions such as charging is not addressed in detail. However, Tekelec expects common protocol functions such as routing, screening and Diameter-normalization to be implemented in common but centralized Diameter-specific network elements.
79%
11% 10%
considerable amount of operator time and resources, with costs increasing in proportion to the number of tests that must be performed. Support for both SCTP- and transmission control protocol (TCP)-based implementations: SCTP-based elements cannot communicate with TCP-based elements unless they are upgraded or all of the elements support both protocol stacks. Subscriber to HSS mapping: When there are multiple HSSs in the network, subscribers may be homed on different HSSs. Therefore, there must be some function in the network that maps subscriber identities to HSSs. With no separate Diameter signaling infrastructure, that task must be handled by a standalone subscription locator function (SLF), or by the HSS itself. Either approach wastes MME (or call session control function [CSCF]) processing and can add unnecessary delays. The HSS approach wastes HSS resources and may even result in the need for more HSSs than would otherwise be necessary. Policy and charging rules function (PCRF) binding: When multiple PCRFs are required in the network, there must be a way to ensure that all messages associated with a users particular IP connectivity access network (IP-CAN) session are processed by the same PCRF.
Characteristic
Routing
SS7
Each message independently routed
Diameter
Answer message does not contain routing info and follows same path as associated request Hop-by-hop
Network-wide Signaling network management (SNM) and Congestion control Dedicated SNM messages Routed around failed paths Congestion levels and traffic priorities defined
No dedicated SNM messages Failures discovered with each new request Relies on reliable transport No defined traffic priorities Specialized, app-specific proxies required
DRA for PCRF HSS address resolution for EPC and IMS
Robustness
signaling is less efficient. A central Diameter routing functionality could provide some improvements. Tekelec believes that as with SS7, a centralized node to manage signaling routing and related functionalities will continue to play an important role in future signaling networks. The introduction of Diameter-based signaling does not change this. Industry organizations have recognized this need, including the 3GPP. In fact, the Diameter standard defines Diameter agents to support the efficient and correct handling of Diameter signaling. These agents include: Diameter relay, Diameter redirect, Diameter proxy and Diameter translation.
Enables HSS routing flexibility with integrated HSS address resolution function; Creates a centralized monitoring and network intelligence data collection point to isolate problems and track key performance indicators (KPIs); and Provides network-wide PCRF binding to ensure that all messages associated with a users particular IP-CAN session are processed by the same PCRF.
vMME
vPCRF
SS7
Diameter Agent
SLF
vSGSN
Diameter Agent
vS4-SGSN
EIR
DSR
IP-SM-GW
Figure 3. Typical Network Architecture Using the DSR as a Central Diameter Routing Engine
Tekelecs view is that a centralized protocol mediation function is a more effective approach. It allows operators to maintain legacy nodes without investing in temporary, new functionality and capacity for interworking purposes. The centralized protocol mediation function can provide immediate value even without solving complex routing tasks by enabling: Diameter-to-Diameter interworking for two different Diameter implementations; Diameter-to-legacy protocol interworking where each operator has different needs based on the particular legacy protocols that need to be supported; and, IPv4-IPv6 and SCTP-TCP interworking.
In Summary
Step by step, SS7 signaling is being replaced by Diameter and SIP-based equivalents. While LTE defines Diameter-based rather than SS7 interfaces, the majority of the functionalities performed by SS7 will have to be carried into the Diameter realm. As Diameter networks become larger, the number of interfaces and complexity will increase, creating the need to optimize networks for Diameter-related tasks. 9
The Diameter Signaling Router creates a Diameter signaling core that relieves LTE and IMS endpoints of routing, traffic management and load balancing tasks and provides a single interconnect point to other networks. The resulting architecture enables IP networks to grow incrementally and systematically to support increasing service and traffic demands. A centralized Diameter router is the ideal place to add other advanced network functionalities like address resolution, Diameter interworking and traffic steering.
ENUM Electronic Number Mapping EPC Evolved Packet Core GRX GPRS Roaming eXchange
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HSS Home Subscriber Server INAP Intelligent network Application Part IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem IOT Interoperability Test IP Internet Protocol IP-CAN IP Connectivity Access Network IPX IP Packet eXchange ISUP ISDN User Part IWF Interworking Function KPI Key Performance Indicator
LTE Long Term Evolution MAP Mobile Application Part MME Mobility Management Entity MVNO Mobile Virtual Network Operator PCRF PDN Policy and Charging Rules Function Packet Data Network
SB Service Broker SCCP Signaling Connection Control Part SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol SIP Session Initiation Protocol SMS Short Message Service SS7 Signaling System 7 STP Signal Transfer Point TCP Transmission Control Protocol
SS7 Signaling System 7 STP Signal Transfer Point TCP Transmission Control Protocol
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