Scaling Diameter in LTE and IMS

Diameter signaling in IP networks Last decade the transformation of telecommunications began as voice and all communications started the migration from circuit-switched networks to an IP world. This IP evolution has largely affected fixed line networksalthough that transformation is still early and not completeand mobile is the next frontier. While 3G networks are now widely popular and bring the Internet to nearly 800 million subscribers1, mobile networks still use TDM for voice and messaging and much of the service-based signaling is based on legacy infrastructure. The combination of broadband IP access networks and a new IP services layer, largely IMS, is the network of the future. While 3G radio access networks such as EVDO and HSPA brought IP and explosive data usage to mobile networks, LTE is the major technological leap forward embracing the all-IP network, leaving no home for TDM technology. SS7, the intelligent signaling layer in TDM networks, is replaced in these LTE and IMS networks by two protocols: SIP and Diameter. SIP is the call control protocol used to establish voice, messaging and multimedia communication sessions. Diameter takes on the role of exchanging authentication, charging, QoS and mobility information between network elements for each subscriber data, voice, video or multimedia session. This information is also exchanged between visited and home networks to authenticate roaming subscribers. Diameter signaling is exchanged between many EPC and IMS elements, including MME to HSS, GGSN to PCRF, CSCF to OCS. There are many more interactions in a service providers network and between providers. Scores of Diameter interfaces have been defined by various industry and standards groups. The dominant ones shown in Exhibit 1 can be broadly grouped into the following categories: Registration, authorization and authentication QoS/bandwidth-based admission control Charging Location Summary

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As mobile broadband growth continues apace and LTE and IMS networks are deployed as replacements for legacy technologies, Diameter signaling is becoming more important and prevalent. Diameter signaling, used for authorization, authentication, mobility, charging and quality of service (QoS), is essential for service delivery and for networks to operate efficiently and profitably. The volume of Diameter traffic can be crippling as subscriber population expands and voice and data service usage intensifies. Service providers are looking for ways to cost effectively scale their Diameter signaling infrastructure. In order for the network to keep pace, Diameter Signaling Controllers are required to streamline operations and facilitate cost-effective scalability of LTE networks.

The Diameter protocol exchanges information in transactions, which consist of requests from a Diameter client and an answer from a Diameter server. The elements participating in the Diameter transaction include: Clients which generates Diameter messages requesting information (e.g., MME, SBC, PDN Gateway, CSCF) Servers which respond to the request for information from the clients (e.g, HSS, OCS, PCRF) Agents which route, process or redirect Diameter messages between the client and the server

_______________ 1 2011 subscribers from Infonetics Research 2G/3G/4G Infrastructure and Subscribers, November 2011

Exhibit 1: Diameter interfaces in LTE and IMS

Challenges to scalability Diameter signaling is extensive and can be quite demanding of the network. The main challenges that service providers face with scaling and managing Diameter in LTE and IMS networks include: Traffic volume the volume of messages and Diameter transactions for each voice or data session can be huge. Both Acme Packet and analyst firm Exact Ventures have performed independent analysis of the Diameter signaling traffic volume in LTE networks. By 2015, Acme Packet predicts 44,000 Diameter transactions per second (TPS) for every 1 million subscribers and Exact Ventures projects a higher figure 235,000 TPS per 1 million subscribers2. For a moderately sized LTE deployment of 5 million subscribers, a mobile service provider will require Diameter transaction processing in the range of 220,000 to over 1 million TPS. N2 squared mesh as a single Diameter server element (HSS, PCRF, OCS) cannot scale to meet the traffic volume requirements, service providers must deploy multiple discrete server nodes connected to many more Diameter client elements such as SBCs, PDN Gateways and MMEs. The resulting logical network is a fully connected mesh which is generally too costly and complex to manage for large scale networks. Overload and network failure the servers involved in processing various AAA, QoS or charging functions are not equipped to deal with spikes in volume; this can impact service quality or network availability due to element overload and failure. Network attack Diameter signaling infrastructure that is exposed to external networks in roaming scenarios can be attacked and, as in overload event scenarios, be taken out of service, affecting overall network availability. Information can also be intercepted on untrusted, public IP transport networks between service providers, further elevating security risk. Provisioning and routing given the number of elements, where they are located and how they must interconnect, the programming of route tables and the effective routing of messages in a network can be daunting to provision, maintain and change as the network grows. Multi-vendor interoperability while Diameter is a standard, there are numerous interpretations of that standard as IMS and LTE have evolved and as more vendors enter the market. In addition, there are differences in networks (such as transport protocol or IP version) that can cause incompatibility and transaction failures. Multi-vendor environments are long known for interoperability problems that add extra time or costs to an initial deployment and ongoing operations. Troubleshooting and management the ability to collect and correlate all messages with the number of elements and vendors and volume of transactions is formidable if not impossible; the information from these messages is critical for network planning, troubleshooting and daily operations. While focused on LTE networks, these challenges can exist in todays 3G environments for QoS and charging interfaces as well.

_______________ 2 Diameter Signaling Controller Market Forecast Report, 2011-2016, October 2011

Diameter signaling control for a scalable network To overcome these challenges, service providers are deploying Diameter signaling controllers (DSCs) to provide critical congestion control, mediation and routing functions for Diameter signaling. These functions reduce costs, streamline networks and ensure resiliency for LTE and IMS networks. The management and mediation of Diameter signaling enables the seamless communication and control of AAA, charging, QoS and mobility information between network elements within LTE or IMS networks and across LTE network borders. Like session border controllers (SBCs), they incorporate many of the same routing functions and security, interoperability and related signaling control, but targeted for the Diameter protocol instead of SIP. DSCs fulfill the role of the previously described Diameter agent as defined in the Diameter protocol (RFC 3588), serving as proxy or relay agents between clients and servers. DSCs are intermediaries in the Diameter transaction and exert the necessary control functions to facilitate successful completion.

Exhibit 2: Diameter agents

DSCs fulfill two major functional elements defined by 3GPP: the Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) and the Subscriber Location Function (SLF). These functions are proxies in the middle of specific Diameter transactions and assist in completing the exchange of critical subscriber information. The DRA is associated with load balancing clusters of PCRF servers and the SLF is charged with discovery of the appropriate HSS for a given subscriber. Both elements assume a large installation of PCRF and HSS elements. Diameter routers are a commonly used, but inadequate term, for the DSC product category. To provide a complete solution, routing is only the starting point. To address those challenges outlined earlier, the major features that DSCs provide are: Broad Diameter interface support Dynamic and intelligent routing Load balancing across Diameter servers Overload control and denial of service (DoS) attack prevention Encryption Diameter protocol mediation and normalization Transport protocol and IP address interworking Aggregation of messages and reporting of key performance metrics

Given the Diameter traffic volumes and the number of elements involved, the scalability of the Diameter signaling controller is instrumental. Not just on a per-node or appliance basis, but as an integrated solution that addresses the connections and TPS requirements of large service provider deployments. The solution must act as a whole and not add complexity, operational cost or impact key functionality. Key attributes of a scalable DSC solution include: Load balancing and distribution of Diameter traffic to all nodes in the solution Coordination of rate limiting of Diameter transactions across the entire solution to prevent network outages Simplified provisioning of IP addresses, SCTP connections and Diameter connections from the DSC to connected Diameter elements such as MMEs, HSSs, PCRFs, OCSs, PDN Gateways, GGSNs, CCFs and others Ability to dynamically add and remove capacity and performance to address scalability or maintenance needs OA&M simplicity in the form of management as a single logical entity Diameter signaling controllers are a new and rapidly emerging product category and the market is projected to grow rapidly as LTE is deployed globally.

Diameter signaling controller applications There are two types of Diameter signaling controller applications: core and interconnect. These applications share many fundamental features but there are also some important requirements unique to each application. Core Core DSCs perform high-performance Diameter routing with subscriber statefulness while ensuring the optimum utilization and service availability for Diameter elements within the service providers core network. Core Diameter routing simplifies the mesh of connections between a myriad of Diameter elements and ensures interoperability between different vendors and products within a service provider LTE or IMS network. They allow the network to scale cost effectively and provide a centralized point for management and reporting of Diameter messages and connections. In addition to a general aggregation and routing role, the core DSCs can provide specific proxy functions for HSS, PCRF and OCS servers addressing signaling for: Subscriber authentication and mobility Cx, Dh, Dx, S6a, S6b, Wm interfaces Online and offline charging Gy, Rf, Ro interfaces QoS and bandwidth reservation Gx, Rx interfaces

Exhibit 3: Core Diameter routing

Due to the volume of messages for these applications, core DSCs must provide very high signaling performance and a highly scalable and flexible routing scheme to deal with the volume and complexity of routing requirements for the myriad Diameter interfaces. Interconnect Interconnect DSCs perform a key security function at the border between two service provider networks. They require many of the same core signaling control features along with hardware-accelerated DoS protection and encryption that will not impact signaling performance. There are two interconnect applications where service providers interconnect with other mobile, wholesale/IPX and over-the-top service providers. LTE data and VoLTE roaming Diameter signaling controllers secure the Diameter signaling border between visited and home service providers so roaming subscribers can access data and voice services. DSCs also enable IPX carriers and roaming hubs to evolve their business and support multilateral LTE roaming services. This addresses control of Diameter signaling across IP borders including:

Exhibit 4: LTE data and VoLTE roaming

Authentication between visited MME and home HSS using the S6a interface QoS and charging information between visited and home PCRF policy servers using S9

Federated service delivery Diameter signaling controllers manage Diameter traffic between a broadband provider and a MVNO or over-the-top/cloud provider, enabling new revenue-sharing business models while ensuring an optimal user experience. This addresses exchange of authentication, charging and QoS information across network borders.

Exhibit 5: Federated service delivery

Who needs a Diameter signaling controller? Any service provider embracing all-IP networks will require Diameter signaling controllers to varying degrees. Since Diameter is tightly integrated into IMS and LTE, DSCs will be required to successfully scale these networks. The growth of LTE will drive the DSC market. Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has reported commitment by 248 service providers to invest in LTE and expects over 100 network launches by end of 2012.3 Analyst firms are projecting robust growth for LTE adoption. Infonetics Research projects 323 million LTE subscribers in 2015.4 According to Exact Ventures, the emerging DSC market is forecast to more than double each year through 2016 due to very strong growth in network signaling traffic driven primarily by LTE-based smartphones and predicts that investments in DSCs will total over $300 million by 2016.5 The greatest need is for a core Diameter routing role within an individual service provider (see Exhibit 3). This relates to managing the authentication, QoS and charging requests and responses in a network. The DSC could be centralized or deployed in front of the key Diameter server elements, including HSS, PCRF and OCS systems. This applies to all LTE service providers as well as some 3G and fixed line IMS networks. For LTE data and VoLTE roaming, all players in the ecosystemmobile service providers, IPX carriers and roaming hubswill require DSCs to control AAA and QoS information exchange at their external interconnect borders. DSCs replace the SS7 STPs that enable 3G roaming today. Another application, service federation, can also drive the need for DSCs for fixed and mobile broadband and over-the-top providers. Service federation uses a revenue-share or partnership model and is predicated on the exchange of QoS and authentication information between the two provider types.

_______________ 3 GSA press release, October 13, 2011 4 Infonetics Research, 2G/3G/4G Infrastructure and Subscribers, November 2011 5 Exact Ventures press release, October 25, 2011 and DSC Market Forecast Report, October 2011

A Diameter signaling controller is a new network element that aggregates, routes, mediates and secures Diameter signaling, enabling the seamless communication and control of authentication, charging, QoS and mobility information between network elements within LTE or IMS networks and across LTE network borders. The need for this element is rising as all-IP networks proliferate, creating a mesh of Diameter connections that negatively impacts network performance, capacity and management. DSCs alleviate those challenges and provide a path to profitability in the broadband era. Why Acme Packet? Acme Packet was founded in 2000 with the mission to offer service providers the controls they needed to effectively deliver trusted, first-class interactive communications as they migrate their networks from TDM to IP. The Acme Packet Net-Net SBCs were designed to provide the security, interoperability, service assurance and regulatory capabilities needed at the IP borders of service providers nascent VoIP services. There are strong synergies and parallels between the SBC capabilities and the Diameter signaling demands in LTE and IMS networks. Just as with SIP signaling, a new set of controls are needed to supply security, service assurance, interoperability and network scalability. With the Net-Net Diameter Director, the proven signaling control and software capabilities in Acme Packets Net-Net OS software are now applied to Diameter. And like the VoIP market, Acme Packet has a deep conviction that an all-IP solution offers a higher performance, more secure, and more cost-effective approach than one evolved from a TDM legacy. Acme Packet is providing an IP solution for an IP challenge that complements other core Acme Packet strengths such as VoLTE, RCS and broadband VoIP, core SIP session routing and VoLTE interconnect. The company experience is as important as the product capabilities. Service providers will benefit from Acme Packets hundreds of man-years of collective experience in deploying solutions in all-IP signaling networks at the worlds largest service providers. Diameter, as an IP signaling protocol, shares many of the same challenges as SIPoverload, interoperability, scalability and complexityand Acme Packet has addressed those issues in Net-Net OS with features designed and refined for the next-generation network. While building standards-compliant products and serving as an active contributor to the relevant standards bodies, Acme Packet is focused on delivering pragmatic solutions to solve the wide range of real-world requirements. Acme Packet has a 10-year track record solving service delivery challenges and is a recognized IMS and session border controller solution leader. The company is leveraging its experience, signaling expertise and core product capabilities to deliver the industrys most comprehensive Diameter signaling controller.

Terms and abbreviations 3GPP AAA CSCF DRA EVDO IMS IP HSPA HSS LTE MME OCS PCRF PDN Gateway OA&M QoS SBC SLF SS7 TDM Third Generation Partnership Project Authentication, Authorization and Accounting Call Session Control Function Diameter Routing Agent Evolution-Data Optimized IP Multimedia Subsystem Internet Protocol High Speed Packet Access Home Subscriber Server Long Term Evolution Mobility Management Entity Online Charging System Policy and Charging Rules Function Packet Data Network Gateway Operations, administration and management Quality of Service Session Border Controller Subscriber Location Function Signaling System 7 Time Division Multiplexing

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