Say You Want an Evolution?

Class 4/5 Switch Vendors Aim to Satisfy

Are the packet revolutionaries finally ousting the TDM establishment? Not quite.

Softswitch vendors have stopped pushing forklift replacements of TDM networks, instead encouraging a more moderate “cap-and-grow” strategy of ending capital expenditures in traditional equipment and deploying nextgeneration softswitches for all new growth. Thus, multiservice support and softswitch scalability to handle all customers regardless of access technology, and interoperability and integration have become the hallmarks of the move to packet-based voice.

Indeed, Global Crossing’s announcement was just that: a migration notice. “This is a significant accomplishment that paves the way for future TDM/VoIP traffic migration,” says Dan Enright, Global Crossing’s executive vice president of operations. “This initiative aligns directly with our overarching goal of providing all our voice applications over our IP backbone, while still offering complete interoperability at the core and edge of our VoIP network.”

In other words, it will continue to support TDM and packet, but with VoIP traffic at 2.4 billion-plus minutes each month — or approximately 40 percent of its total voice traffic — Global Crossing says turning down TDM switches starts to make sense because putting in a softswitch frees up real estate and allows for future scalability. The company, which says the TDM switch was maxed out from a physical space perspective, is using softswitches from Sonus Networks.

Global Crossing’s VoIP minutes only continue to grow. The carrier recently came out with new VoIP services for enterprises including VoIP Outbound, VoIP Toll-Free and VoIP On-Net Plus.

As Global Crossing’s situation illustrates, a critical issue with voice services is the ability to scale without hardship.

To meet the need, Telica — which Lucent Technologies Inc. recently announced plans to acquire — announced at SUPERCOMM its Plexus 9000 VoIP Media Gateway component of the PLUS softswitch solution can support 21,500 voice channels and more than 37,600 fully protected channels. When deployed as an element of the PLUS softswitch architecture, the Plexus 9000 MG enables carriers to build networks of up to 500,000 ports. The Plexus switch previously could handle 21,504 ports. PLUS can support 7.5 million calls per hour with at least one terabyte of memory for database and routing requirements.

WilTel Communications Group Inc. is moving from past-their-prime Nortel DMS switches to Telica PLUS softswitches for the implementation of its IP-based voice services. The Telica PLUS option allows TDM and VoIP to coexist on WilTel’s network.

“PLUS provides a solution with functionality and scalability that exceeds the capabilities of legacy switches, allowing WilTel to support existing high-quality voice services while enabling our customers’ IP migration strategies,” says Blaine Gilles, vice president of voice services and strategic markets for WilTel.

A Class 4 network with a VocalTec/Acme Packet network peering solution

PLUS lets carriers deploy Class 4 tandems or Class 5 end offices, using TDM or IP for trunking or access in one network. Telica’s PLUS architecture supports a mix of legacy TDM, nextgeneration packet, Class 4, wireline and wireless services. WilTel will launch VoIP Gateway service in the third quarter, so IP-based carriers and resellers can interconnect to WilTel’s network via dedicated Internet access, MPLS IP VPN or peering to use voice transit over its 10gbps MPLS IP network.

In another vendor move adding scalability to VoIP, MetaSwitch, a division of Data Connection, recently unveiled the VP3510, which it demonstrated at SUPERCOMM. A new version of MetaSwitch’s TDM/packet-based Class 5 switch alternative, the VP3510 will be able to handle 7,392 simultaneous calls. A future version is expected to triple chassis capacity.

While MetaSwitch never has focused on the RBOCs and doesn’t intend to, Andy Randall, the company’s vice president of marketing, says the VP3510 does allow it to “step up to larger telcos,” including CLECs and independent telcos with 100,000-plus line counts.

Later this year, MetaSwitch plans to offer the ability to decouple its softswitch/call agent functionality from the application server and other parts of the softswitch model. That will take the switch up to hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and the distributed architecture will enable carriers to manage multiple boxes as a single virtual switch, says Randall.

In addition to scalability and the ability to support TDM-based, IP-based and ATM-based voice on a single platform, many service providers are looking to integrated solutions to ease installation issues.

Tekelec, which recently absorbed both Santera and Taqua, unveiled its post-acquisition, unified family of products at SUPERCOMM, aimed at lessening TDM-to-packet headaches. Its product line includes a new SIP-SS7 Gateway, which gives voice over packet networks access to legacy services in the TDM infrastructure, such as calling name, toll-free calling and local number portability. The gateway doesn’t require operators to upgrade existing network elements, such as service control points, to offer circuit-switched intelligent network features in a SIP-based packet environment, allowing providers to use past investments while migrating to VoIP at their own pace, says Robby Benedyk, applications product manager for applications marketing at Tekelec. “This adds right onto the SS7 network and adds more intelligence to the applications server,” explains Benedyk. “This offers a bridge to going SIP without having to put IP on every legacy database, so it’s really a catalyst for operators to deploy IP services.

“The carriers need this service and have asked for it in their RFPs,” he adds. “It’s hard to migrate without service transparency.”

In another move to deliver more integrated VoIP solutions, VocalTec Communications Ltd. announced plans to integrate Acme Packet’s Net- Net family of session border controllers into its Essentra softswitch platform for wholesale international long distance, Class 4 and broadband access networks. Meanwhile, CopperCom Inc. announced it has integrated AFC’s AccessMAX integrated multiservice access platform into its CSX next-generation switching system solution, providing the CSX with a line frame capable of offering high-density POTS, DSL and FTTP interfaces. When coupled with AFC’s TelcoVideo solution the combination allows carriers to deliver the triple play with one box.

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines