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S O L U T I O N B R I E F

Palladion for Service Providers

The Palladion Software Suite is a real-time, end-to-end service monitoring, troubleshooting and analytics solution that provides unprecedented insight into VoIP and Unified Communications networks. Palladion allows service providers to quickly and securely migrate to IP networks, reduce operational costs, increase subscriber and employee satisfaction, prevent voice fraud and minimize churn. Palladion also helps service providers with real-time troubleshooting of call quality issues with deep drill-down capabilities into both media and signaling—a true differentiator in the market. It is a proven, carrier-grade solution for fixed and mobile service providers, with over 100 deployments globally—including many first-tier service providers.

The Palladion Platform is comprised of network probes linked to a client dashboard through an unrivaled correlation engine. Network probes are available in multiple form factors, including as software running on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware as well as a software component integrated into Acme Packet Net-Net session border controllers (SBCs). The Palladion Platform is capable of monitoring any VoIP network—agnostic to the equipment vendor—while reducing complexity by leveraging the monitoring capabilities of deployed Acme Packet SBCs. Together, these elements provide the underlying system that powers the Palladion service monitoring solution, which includes the following advanced applications:

•PalladionCommunicationsOperationsMonitor•PalladionFraudDetection&Prevention•PalladionControlPlaneMonitor

These Palladion products can be operated independently or can be combined to work hand-in-hand to help service providers master a variety of challenges when running IP voice and video networks. Palladion comes with full support forarangeofstandardprotocols,includingSIP,RTP,MCGP,H.248/MEGACO,ENUM,DiameterandSIGTRAN.Itisvendoragnosticandoffersseamlessintegration of third-party OSS products.

Overview Key Features

• End-to-endcallcorrelationand analyticsinreal-time• Segmentationofthenetwork pathforfastandaccurate problemlocalization• On-demandtroubleshooting downtotheindividual subscriber,customeror employeelevel• Mediaqualityanalysis,including R-FactorandMOSscores• Unparalleledinsightandanalysis ofsignalingmessages• Real-timescoringandalertingto VoIPfraudissues• Palladionsoftwareembedded onAcmePacketsessiondelivery platformseliminatestheneed toplaceadditionalmonitoring equipmentinthenetwork• Intuitiveandsimplegraphical userinterface(GUI)


Palladion helps service providers to improve their productivity and efficiency by providing a high-level overview of what is actually happening in the network in real-time with drill-down capability for rapid troubleshooting. Palladion is a passive service assurance suite that enables proactive monitoring, rapid troubleshooting and an array of reporting options by:

•CapturingtrafficfromIMS,LTEand VoIP networks

•Collectingrawmessagesfromvarious probes and correlating these messages into end-to-end call message flows

•Calculating200out-of-the-box,and a vast range of custom, key performance indicators (KPIs)

•Renderingthegathereddata to a web interface or making it available to external applicationsviatheRESTAPI

•Offeringintuitivedrill-downcapabilities to a per-message view for fast root cause analysis

Proactive MonitoringPalladion is a proactive network monitoring solution that analyzes the received traffic and triggers alerts when thresholds are exceeded, and it detects abuse of the network, fraud, spam over Internet telephony (SPIT)

andDoSattacksandgeneratesalerts. Palladion is a framework to which multiple applications can be connected, and it also allows for integration with existing applications. It offers a web interface that is easy to use even by non-technical staff, and the web interface offers several ways to emphasize the faults and trends leading to potential service quality degradations in a VoIP platform. Forexample,thestatusofthevoicequality can be easily determined by the color of the charts based onthevaluesofMOS,R-Factor,Ieeff, packet loss, burst loss and jitter, where red means “bad” voice quality and green means “good” voice quality.


The Palladion Solution

Customizableweb-baseddashboardsenableproactivemonitoringofnetwork-wideinformation



Troubleshooting and VisibilityPalladion identifies in real-time different call legs of the same call. This feature is essential for troubleshooting and for providing deep device visibility and accurate statistics. The merging might be difficult to achieve if a device is

changing most of the fields from the incoming leg for purposes of topology hiding, decoupling or interoperability. Palladion gives the operator the power to adjust the correlation by personalizing its own call-merging algorithm. Palladion is unique in that the current calls are

updated in real-time, including the following information:

•KPIs•Callstatus•Callduration•Codecused•Callaudioquality

Palladionallowsnetworkoperationsstafftoanalyzevoicecallsonanetwork-widebasistomeasurecallcharacteristics, isolateproblemareasandconsistentlyimprovevoicequalitycharacteristics

Real-time monitoring via dashboards streamlines proactive monitoring, and the web interface is specialized for use by customer support personnel to localize the root cause and identify the next actions to support reactive monitoring. If a subscriber complains about not being able to place a call or about experiencing poor voice quality, the support team can review the problem call statistics by just entering the number of the subscriber without asking the client to reproduce the problem. The entire procedure takes no more than a few seconds and dramatically shortens the duration of customer support calls. The Palladion web interface offers flexible options for restricting views of Palladion data, especially when the same Palladion instance is shared between providers, and it allows service providers to:

•Preventthecustomersupportteamfromaccessingtheconfigurationsection•Limittheaccessofotherserviceproviderstousers,callsandregistrationswhendifferentserviceproviders

share the same instance of Palladion



Palladion can save a history of calls, registrations and other events, which allows service providers to investigate historical problems without having to reproduce them.

Integration and ReportingPalladion offers an array of tools and services that simplify integration and interoperabilitywithdifferentnetworkmanagementsystem(NMS),businessintelligence(BI)andcustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)applications.A scripting API allows local access to all of the data gathered by Palladion usingPython,andaRESTAPIallowsexternalapplicationstoaccessPalladiondata.Forexample,anexternalapplicationcangathercustomdata such as a list of users registered from a phone with special firmware, the successful call rate or the number of users with more than two contacts, and the resulting information can be used to build valuable statistics.

ExternalNMSorBIsystemscanthereforemakeuseoftheseAPIstocollect the information from Palladion’s database and display it in their web interface for centralizing data. The scripting functionality can also be used to extend the current functionality of Palladion. If a new problem arises becauseofanewservicethatwasdeployedintheIMSnetwork,thenthescripting API can meet any new requirement, if the product out of the box doesnotalreadysupportit.PalladionalsosupportsSNMPforgeneratingalerts to third-party applications. This integration flexibility makes Palladion future proof for growing networks.

The Palladion software is installed on physical platforms, and the following is a brief description of the individual system components: Probes—Palladion probes collect and analyze data feeds from the network. The probes are software based and deployed on COTS hardware platforms. Probes are deployed across the infrastructure to obtain network-wide views of performance and to analyze trends. The probes serve two primary functions:

1. Collect and forward packet captures (PCAPs) of signaling messages (SIP, ISUP, etc.) to theMediationEngineforcorrelation and analysis

2.CollectandanalyzelocallyRTPmedia streams, and send the resultstotheMediationEnginefor correlation to the relevant signaling

Acme Packet is embedding Palladion probes into its session delivery networking portfolio to

allow network operators to optimize their IP communications networks while reducing network cost and complexity. Service providers will be able to rely on embedded probes in SBCs, diameter signaling controllers(DSCs),sessionroutingproxies (SRPs) and other Acme Packet session delivery products to simplify deployment and enable the effectiveuseofTLSorencryptiontechnologies while gaining visibility into network traffic.

Deployment Architecture



Mediation Engine—TheMediationEnginereceivesthecompressedsignaling and RTP metadata from the probes and it performs further processing of the signaling data, call correlation and database functions.TheMediationEngine

and probes can be connected through secured channels for secure datatransaction.TheMediationEngineperformsmassiveprocessingof various messages to provide the necessary correlation to show a network-wide, single view of a call

that can be made available through the Palladion Communications OperationsMonitor,anditcanalso provides this information to thePalladionFraudDetection&Preventionproductfortrafficanalysis and trend analysis.

PalladionDeploymentArchitecture


The Palladion Software Suite is a real-time network intelligence software that increases the ROI of LTE,IMSandVoIPdeployments,and the following Palladion products are available:

Palladion Communications Operations MonitorPalladion Communications OperationsMonitorcomeswitha range of features for proactive

monitoring of the network. It captures all signaling messages from the network and offers full end-to-end correlation of all calls in real time. Various configuration options exist that can further divide and filter information and provide exactly the right view on the network and the complete user base. This allows service providers to reduce operational costs and increase service quality and

operational efficiency. It provides an easy-to-use tool that enables the root-cause analysis of any reported problem related to either a user, user group, trunk, network device or an IP address, allowing customer care and support teams to work efficiently on reported incidents.


The Palladion Software Suite

PalladionCommunicationsOperationsMonitorallowsserviceproviderstomonitorservicehealth



PalladionMediationEnginesareinstalled in each geographical location and serve as monitoring nodes.ThePalladionMediationEngineConnectorExtensionsimplifies the management of multiplePalladionMediationEnginesandmaximizesthebenefitsof Palladion Communications

OperationsMonitorinmultiplelocations. It provides an overview of the data collected by the Palladion MediationEngines,offeringaglobaldashboard and implementing global KPIs. The global search and drill-down features of the Palladion MediationEngineConnectorallow service providers to scale

the troubleshooting features of Palladion Communications OperationsMonitoracrossmultiplesites. Operations personnel can rapidly gain an understanding of the overall status of the global network while obtaining the ability to drill-down to troubleshoot issues.

Mediation Engine Connector

Palladion Fraud Detection & PreventionPalladionFraudDetection&Preventionisaself-learning,scalablesolutiontohelp operators detect toll fraud and prevent it before damage is done. To identify fraudulentcalls,PalladionFraudDetection&Preventionbuildsonanend-to-end correlated, network-wide service layer data to perform a real-time analysis of the user behavior and compare it with the individual behavioral pattern that is automatically learned by the system for each user. The solution collects real-time information about all users, customers, trunks and IP addresses. Once fraud incidents are identified, within a matter of minutes after an optional human approval,PalladionFraudDetection&Preventioncandisableusers,trunksandother groups automatically based on an easy-to-extend interface used to connect SBCs, application servers, core network elements or provisioning servers.

Palladion Control Plane MonitorPalladionControlPlaneMonitoroffersadvancedmonitoringandtroubleshootingfeaturesforDiametertransactions—a3GPPrecommendedstandardforsignaling—inLTEandIMSdeployments.Apassive,non-intrusivesolution,PalladionControlPlaneMonitorprovidesrelevantKPIsofDiameterusageandreal-timeend-to-endcorrelationofDiametertransactionsforserviceproviders’signaling and roaming network infrastructure. It also offers drill-down and sequence diagrams for these transactions that enables rapid troubleshooting.



Palladion Communications OperationsMonitorcanbeenhanced by purchasing optional add-on extensions to leverage additional functionality. The following optional extensions enhance the performance of this Palladion product and provide a customized solution tailored for specific user requirements.

Media Quality ExtensionTheMediaQualityExtensionenables the retrieval and processing of media quality information from RTP traffic and from reporting customer premises equipment.

Key Points•Multiplesourcesofquality

information –MeasuredbythePalladion

probes (network overview) – RTP analysis, no decoding

required – Implements ITU Standard G.107

•Retrievedfromtheendpoints(end point view)

•Fullprotocolsupportfor:RTCP,RTCP-XR, X-RTP-STAT, RTP-RXSTAT, and P-RTP-STAT

•AnalysisofindividualRTPstreams (multiple directions /multiplelegs)providingfullvisibility of the overall and local media quality

•ProvidesKPIstomeasurethemedia stream quality (packet loss rate, burst packet loss rate, jitter, latency (if provided by endpoint),R-Factor(audio)andMOScque(audio)

•Furthermediaqualityinformation (codecs negotiated, codecs used, length of media streams, source and destination addresses and ports)

•Completelypassive;noqualitydegradation or latency due to rerouting of traffic

App Support ExtensionTheAppSupportExtensionaddssupport for customer-specific applications and provides additional functionality that integrates seamlessly into the web application. It allows customers to develop custom functionality that is unique to their needs or not available yet in Palladion.

Key Points•Operatesindependentfrom

release schedules and product lifecycles

•Runsinasecuresandboxenvironment

•Future-proofduetoindependence from development roadmaps

•Applicationscanbeprovidedby Acme Packet or authorized system integrators

•Providesanswerstoveryspecific customer requirements

•Applicationshavefullaccesstoall internal real-time and historic data structures

•Applicationscanmodifyandextend the Palladion web-basedGUI

REST Remote API ExtensionTheRESTRemoteAPIExtensionprovides an open interface to the Palladion system so third-party applications can access real-time and historical data. The internal data—including raw and aggregated data such as traces, calls, registrations, KPIs and user experience information—can then be exposed to third-party systems.

Key Points•Remoteexecutionof

applications and download of recorded media streams

•Easy-to-useinterfacebasedonmodernRESTfulparadigm

•ComparabletoSOAPbutmoreflexible and interoperable

•Accessofallnetworkanduserinformation is provided

•Palladioninformationcanbeused in mash-ups

•Easyintegrationwithumbrellasystems, data warehouses, network management systems, etc.

•Self-explaininginterfacewithlink-based structure, directly accessible with a web browser or command line tools such as curl or wget. Through implementations in all modern programminglanguages,RESTis state-of-the-art for remote data access

Optional Extensions for Palladion Communications Operations Monitor



CDR Generation ExtensionTheCDRGenerationExtensiongeneratescalldetailrecords(CDRs)for successful and failed calls based on Palladion’s end-to-end call correlation.

Key Points•Allinternalinformation

is included•PreliminaryCDRsaswellasCDRsforfailedcalls

•Easyintegration•CDRdataisprovidedasCSV

files and can be accessed remotely using an interface for FTPorSFTPbasedGUI

High Availability ExtensionTheHighAvailabilityExtensionallows the running of the Palladion Software Suite in a high availability (HA)configuration,andthePalladion Software Suite can always be accessed through a single virtual IP address.

Key Points•Heartbeatmechanism•Configurationsynchronization•Enableshighavailability

of Palladion•Mediationenginecanbe

deployed in active-standby configuration

•Automaticandseamlessfailoverbetween systems in case of an outage

•Allservicesavailablethroughavirtual IP address

SS7 / SIGTRAN Protocol ExtensionThis extension extends the set of supported signaling protocols with: SS7,ISUP,SIGTRAN,M2UA,M2PA,M3UAandtheMTP3protocol.

Key Points•Fullintegrationwithother

signaling protocols•Fullend-to-endcorrelation

support in real-time•Cross-protocolcalldetailsviews

and ladder diagram creation•Individualprotocolelementsare

searchable in history buffer – Based on identified messages

access to associated end-to- end call

– Supports a classical monitoring approach while still allowing the Palladion approach of complete real- time correlated call lists

Gateway Control Protocol ExtensionTheGatewayControlProtocolExtensionextendsthesetofsupported signaling protocols by the relevant gateway control protocolsH.248,MGCPandMEGACO.Gatewaycontrolprotocols are frequently used inIMS/LTEandheterogeneousnetworks.

Key Points•Controlprotocolsfully

correlated with other signaling protocols

•Allowsrealend-to-endtroubleshooting and monitoring

•Sophisticatedcorrelationalgorithm

•Supportsallrelevanttransportprotocols(SCTP,UDPandTCP)

Diameter Protocol ExtensionTheDiameterProtocolExtensionprovidesDiameterprotocolsupport,including the full correlation to call signalingprotocols.DiameteriswidelyusedinIMS/LTEnetworks,andthisfeaturesupportstheIMSCxinterfacetowardtheHomeSubscriberServer(HSS).

Key Points•Multipletransportprotocolssupported(UDP,TCP,SCTP)

•ExtendsPalladioncapabilitiesinto the AAA domain according toIETFRFC3588

•SupportedDiametermessagetypes:

–UAR/UAA –SAR/SAA –LIR/LIA –MAR/MAA

ENUM Protocol ExtensionTheENUMProtocolExtensionenables support for the processing ofENUMmessages.

Key Points•Allowstroubleshootingand

monitoring of routing logic•Real-timecorrelationwith

call data•SupportstheIETFRFC3761

standard



Service providers are looking for ways to optimize their IP communications networks not only to reduce cost and complexity, but also to better deploy new value-added applications and services. The addition of the Palladion

Software Suite to the Acme Packet portfolio allows service providers to get the most out of their IP communications networks with unique, real-time management capabilities. The integration of Acme Packet solutions with

Palladion’s correlation engine enables service providers to move beyond individual element management and benefit from real-time, network-wide visibility into multi-vendor IP communications networks.

The Palladion Implementation Service is a robust deployment service that offers customers a thorough and streamlined implementation of Palladion solutions. It combines several established Acme Packet Professional Services offerings into a single services solution tailored for Palladion deployments. Acme Packet Professional Services network engineers will produce all the required documentation, design and optimized Palladion configurations necessary to ensurethesuccessfulintegrationofPalladionsolutions.EngagingexperiencedAcmePacketProfessional Services engineers not only brings industry experience and best practices to the design and implementation of Palladion solutions, but it also ensures that overall deployment complexity and risk is reduced while desired operational and business objectives are met effectivelyandonschedule.Formoreinformation,visitwww.acmepacket.com/implementation.

Improving the Customer Experience

Palladion Implementation Service

©2013AcmePacket,Inc.Allrightsreserved.AcmePacket,Session-AwareNetworking,Net-Netandrelated marks are trademarks of Acme Packet. 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 reasonable efforts have been made in the preparation of this publication to assure its accuracy, Acme Packet assumes no liability resulting from technical or editorial errors or omissions, or for any damages resulting from the use of this information. Unless specifically included in a written agreement with Acme Packet, Acme Packet has no obligation to develop or deliver any future release or upgrade or any feature, enhancement or function.

100CrosbyDriveBedford,MA01730USAt+1781.328.4400f+1781.275.8800www.acmepacket.com03/06/13

http://www.acmepacket.com/implementation

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