Architectural Approaches To Scaling Infrastructure

Nishi Kant,
VP, Technology
12/07/21 March 10th, 2010 1
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 Company Introduction

 Purpose: To build high performance carrier infrastructure for convergence and 4G

 Headquarters: Santa Clara, CA

– Founded March, 2004

 Proven management team

– Seasoned leadership from Cisco, 3Com, Redback, Motorola, Juniper, P-Cube, HP

Premier investors: $70M

– Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, Pilot House, Integral, Presidio, DAG, Reliance, KTB, Docomo, MIC…..

 Solution: Stoke Session Exchange (SSX)

– Mobile Broadband Gateway integrates IP session management and mobility

Solution’s for real problems – “2010…The year of off-load”

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 Outline

 Architectural issues in the mobile networks

 Rigidity is inversely proportional to innovation
 What does scaling mean? Or what is meaningful scaling?
 Use cases of scalable solutions
– a user plane solution for UMTS networks
– a control plane solution for fixed broadband in emerging markets
– a management plane solution for Machine-2-Machine systems
 Summary

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 The Hierarchical Network
Mobile Broadband is happening now
• Services: Broadband services (Youtube, Pandora) are available
• Devices: Smartphones (iPhone) allow consumption with ease of use
GMSC PCs datacards have become substitute to DSL in some markets
• Radio: Dramatic increase in radio capacity (HSPA)

• Built-in hierarchy puts tremendous strain on aggregating

nodes
• Long distance backhaul of increasing volumes of data is
expensive and inefficient
• This leads to desire for flattening of architecture and a
distributed network

RNC RNC RNC RNC RNC RNC RNC RNC RNC

• With this, a single BitTorrent user can overwhelm the

whole cell site!
NB NB NB NB NB NB NB NB NB NB NB NB NB NB NB NB
• Flat rate data plans invites more such users.

• Over the years the radio access has gone through considerable enhancements
• From GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, and to HSPA, the radio capacity has gone up to 7 Mbps for
average cell.
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 Rigidities in The Mobile Infrastructure
• Identifier (IMSI)
• Authentication keys
• Location information
• Voice service related barring
• Data related restrictions and barring
• PDP context information
• Subscribed QoS profile
Customer voice/data Management path • etc.

Provisioning HLR/HSS

Control path

Data path
3G / HSPA RNC

• Sophisticated devices, including consumer device and

machines could make use• of suchData,services
control, and management traffic all have to go through the same path,
• However, the rigid nature of the existing 3GPP
regardless
• Devices are becoming open to 3 party app ofinfrastructure,
device type ofasservice
definedbeing
by traditional
accessedvendors, make the
rd
development
interconnecting network unwelcoming
• High and • expensive
ARPU There
mobile areusers
manyorservices
low ARPUthatsmart-meters
could benefithave
vast reach
similarofcost
macro
of provisioning
• High cost of enabling many innovative andservices cellular
interconnect through cellular network
in terms of data, control, management plane, limits the ability of MNO
to benefit from that market • Impediment • 3 for
rd
enabling
parties couldcertain markets
lead the development of innovative Value Added Services

• Only a small segment of the market is accessible– Services or MVNO applications

Opportunity loss for operators and others

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 What Are Dimensions Of Scale?

 Data Plane – Ability to handle growth in user plane data while maintaining
QoE
 Control Plane – Ability to handle signaling overload from user or node
interaction
 Management Plane – Ability to provision subscriber, services or features
without getting inundated by work orders
 Attributes of scalable architecture
– Distributed
– Early differentiation
– Line rate processing
– One shot inspection and marking
– Evolutionary

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 Use Case – Scaling The User Plane

Customer voice/data Management path

Provisioning HLR/HSS

Control path

Data path
3G / HSPA RNC

• MDO offloads the user data plane from MNO

network
• Allowing MNOs to keep mobile broadband cost
effective Services
• First step to open the rigid architecture

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 Use Case - Scaling The Control Plane

• Situated between RNC and SGSN, the SSX can add

efficiencies to the control plane as well by:
- Early detection of traffic/device type
- Selective change of control path treatment as
per the type of devices/traffic
Customer voice/data

3G / HSPA RNC

• Subscription profile for a vending machine

does not need numerous attributes of
regular subscription profile

• Data for the machines, e.g. vending machine

M2M market • SSX acts status or electricity meter Center
as HLR/Authentication status isfordirectly
• This could open up many possibilities Services
sent to the corresponding
the provisioned machines and completes server. the in a
new market
control loop segments, e.g. M2M market
on to itself.

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 Use Case – Scaling the Management Plane

Fleet management Smart meter

Customer voice/data

3G / HSPA RNC

• Provides opportunity to expose API to

different business entities at SSX
• Direct control of M2M type traffic between
• Each business entity can control their
• Stoke solution eliminates the expensive subscription creation
the machine at server
and the the HLR,
customers as they want
by their the
own cost of
provisioning system
control processing at SGSN / HLR, and the management overhead
• While maintaining
• Offloading
for the
the service levelselected
provisioning burden from
billing
M2M market
devices, providing more scalable solutions for newoperators
markets,
ability at the e.g. M2M
operators
Services

• Resulting architecture is more conducive to service creation

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 Q&A

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