Clearing VoDSL Deployment Hurdles

Transcription

1 Clearing VDSL Deplyment Hurdles Paul Arceneaux Siemens, ICN DSL is an excellent speed and perfrmance value fr residential and business custmers alike. By expanding the capabilities f an rdinary cpper pair, DSL prvides residential subscribers with high-speed service fr nly incremental cst ver dial-up access; business users find DSL a very attractive alternative t cnventinal and far mre expensive data service ptins. Despite market slwdwns, the verall demand fr DSL and related bradband services cntinues t grw. But while DSL maximizes the utility f the lcal lp fr data, it adds nthing t the telephny side f the business. The underlying DSL transprt infrastructure is in fact ideal fr significant expansin f vice services, with substantial benefits fr bth service prviders and custmers. Enter Vice ver DSL (VDSL). Using the same, single cpper pair that delivers standard DSL, VDSL effectively adds up t 24 business-class vice lines with quality and feature sets intact. All f that sunds great and there are many benefits, including reuse f infrastructure and tremendus ptential fr additinal prvider revenue but VDSL has been cmparatively slw t take ff. Fr ne thing, VDSL and custmer base expansin dramatically increase service delivery, management, and supprt cmplexity. This is a significant hurdle fr any prvider; clearing it requires careful curse mapping and the right tls. Anther ptential bstacle cmes frm incrprating several new hardware and sftware elements int a netwrk infrastructure already burdened with varied and disparate elements. Even when cmpnents are standards-based, timely and chesive netwrk management can be a significant challenge. As the VDSL subscriber base grws and demand increases, existing rder entry, inventry, prvisining, and element and truble management tasks can quickly verwhelm prvider capacity and expse inefficiencies. The prblem is that cnventinal prvisining prcesses cannt scale apprpriately t meet advanced service needs. Bttlenecks can als surface in delivery and supprt mechanisms, particularly when dealing with a prliferatin f multi-vendr peratins supprt systems (OSSs). The gd news is that VDSL deplyment need nt be a mnumental challenge. The hurdles can be easily and prfitably traversed. The needed level f supprt can cme nly frm nn-disruptive, end-t-end systems designed t leverage existing infrastructure and business rules with flexible and cst-effective supprt fr new applicatins. 1

2 The key is t incrprate a cmprehensive flw-thrugh sftware tl capable f service creatin, activatin, mnitring, and prcess autmatin wrk in real time, incrprating direct knwledge f netwrk status and capabilities. Gd Frm: Flw-thrugh Netwrk Management Advanced flw-thrugh service delivery and management ffers the principal methd fr cntaining and lwering csts acrss all segments f a prvider s peratin. Instead f adding emplyees r re-training existing staff, fr example, prviders can emply flw-thrugh prvisining t effectively autmate the many cmplex and timecnsuming tasks assciated with advanced services. This keeps staffing and training csts under cntrl while virtually eliminating errrs and delays in prvisining and service peratins. A prperly designed flw-thrugh system ffers many ther key prvider success cmpnents, including vastly imprved netwrk perfrmance and prblem reslutin. In a sense perating as an umbrella applicatin, the system cntinually mnitrs the netwrk, delivering a cherent endt-end view f an entire multi-vendr, multi-prtcl netwrk. And due t its ability t cmmunicate with many disparate elements, an advanced flw-thrugh system typically identifies existing and ptential prblems befre custmers are affected. Flw-thrugh prvisining has a psitive impact n key areas within a service prvider rganizatin. The fllwing examples highlight hw a system ffers supprt t specific functinal grups: Planning and engineering departments frecast service needs and develp the netwrk structure t supprt them. Functins include netwrk inventry creatin, netwrk utilizatin mnitring, and recvery f stranded resurces. Dne manually, these are prtracted and errr prne prcesses. With a carrier-class flw-thrugh system, a real-time inventry f netwrk cmpnents and their peratinal status is always available, enabling accurate planning and capability assessment. Custmer care and service negtiatin grups handle service requests, generate rders fr prvisining and billing, and typically als frm call center hubs fr custmer and service infrmatin. The fault and prblem islatin cmpnents f an autmated system quickly identify and address issues generally in time t avert netwrk prblems r utages and keep custmer and netwrk data readily available. Service creatin and activatin departments assign netwrk resurces t match custmer needs and activate services within the netwrk. An end-t-end autmatin system easily addresses the disparate but critical netwrk elements that must be cnfigured fr 2

3 this functin, all the way dwn t the custmer-lcated netwrk device. Service deplyment delays are thus minimized while custmer satisfactin is maximized. Service assurance trubleshts and reslves a variety f netwrkbased custmer service issues. Autmatin sftware tls enable teams t mre quickly identify surces f truble r delay, accunting fr quality f service (QS) and bandwidth issues, and enabling custmer service level agreements (SLAs). With better and autmatic cntrl f the netwrk dmain, prviders can mre effectively respnd t service needs. Subscribers als benefit frm lwer csts, and the ready availability f varied services increases the prvider s perceived value. Overall custmer satisfactin increases as a result, helping t drive up prvider revenue and cntrl custmer churn. [NOTE: This image is a placehlder fr pssible camera-ready art.] Figure [x]. The cmpnents f a next generatin OSS architecture that makes VDSL pssible, shwing the flw-thrugh prvisining, management, and fault islatin framewrk at the tp. 3

4 Carrier-class Flw-thrugh Framewrk Criteria Withut the right prvisining and supprt framewrk t back it, any new service rllut als carries very high risk. Burgening market grwth, technlgical change, and cmpetitin can leave an unprepared prvider in a perpetual catch-up mde. Befre rlling ut new services, prviders must be ready t deliver needed VDSL services faster than the cmpetitin and at the right price, while simultaneusly managing rising netwrk and staffing csts. That s a series f very tall hurdles. T clear the curse fr VDSL, prviders must lk t a carrier-class flw-thrugh framewrk that supprts the needed service mix while als setting the stage fr additinal and future value-added services. The framewrk shuld include: Incrpratin f existing business rules and prcesses. Time- and field-tested rules are the backbne f the prvider s system. A flwthrugh framewrk must begin by incrprating these rules and building n them t supprt f new and future services. End-t-end flw-thrugh prvisining fr all services. All aspects f deplyment, perfrmance, management, and mnitring shuld be handled autmatically, with direct cntrl f all netwrk elements in the service path. This is the key t quick and errr-free service activatin. Seamless interwrking with diverse systems, netwrk elements, and layers. An extensive and expandable data base f CPE, gateways, servers, and assciated netwrk and functinal elements is the key t immediate results with minimal cnfiguratin. Autmated netwrk inventry creatin must be emplyed t assure quick identificatin f stranded resurces and t assure data base accuracy. Future-prf integratin f elements and next generatin services. The same netwrk and functinal element data base als prvides a building blck fr ther OSS tls, allwing prviders t select third-party mdules as needed t further extend capabilities r incrprate new features as they becme available. Practive netwrk truble identificatin and prblem reslutin. System tls must extend netwrk peratins persnnel access t a cmplete netwrk tplgy map fr fault and capacity alerts. It must als allw cnfigurable threshlds and alerts fr specific events. Autmated service fulfillment and cnfiguratin. With the netwrk clearly mapped ut, a flw-thrugh framewrk can autmate and streamline service turn-up, cnfiguratin, and terminatin. This effectively remves the need fr manual prvider interventin and sets the stage fr custmer-driven service purchases. Custmer-initiated, value-added services activatin and changes. A self-service interface is a critical cmpnent. The service shuld 4

5 prvide access t real-time accunt infrmatin and service selectin and cnfiguratin withut manual prvider invlvement. T prvide carrier-class reliability and functinality, the ideal flwthrugh framewrk must functin at the sftware layer, integrating service prvider management systems, netwrk equipment, and business rules. It must als cmbine with existing prvider OSSs rder entry, prvisining, and billing systems and prvider netwrks t enable pwerful new business slutins. At the netwrk level, the flw-thrugh system shuld integrate OSI management functins with Web-enabled user interfaces, legacy, and next-generatin OSS interfaces, and key netwrk adapters t enable smth and seamless systems integratin. The system shuld als be mdularized such that prviders can deply functinal cmpnents as needed t ffer the desired level f value-added services. Layered sftware cmpnents additinally facilitate interwrking between netwrks and external OSSs, enabling prviders t mdel the netwrk end-t-end, cvering CPE, access, and cre netwrk equipment. The result is a build-t-suit slutin that supprts nt nly VDSL, but als a wide variety f prfitable integrated vice and data applicatins, including digital vide and virtual private netwrking (VPN). Layering als facilitates service delivery ver varied access technlgies, including TDM, frame relay, DSL, and ATM. VDSL Prvisining Steps A significant advantage f VDSL is reuse f infrastructure already deplyed t supprt data-nly DSL. The cpper plant, existing central ffice DSLAMs and vice switches, and data netwrking and telephny equipment at the custmer premises all are leveraged, and n equipment is rendered bslete. Only tw new devices need t be installed t supprt multi-line VDSL service: a custmer-lcated integrated access device (IAD) and a COlcated vice gateway. Add flw-thrugh prvisining, and VDSL delivery and maintenance is streamlined end-t-end, with cnsistent netwrk availability, significant imprvements in custmer service, and crrespndingly imprved service prvider margins. Seamless integratin acrss glbal bradband data elements assures scalable, future-prepared peratinal and service delivery flexibility. An advanced flw-thrugh framewrk can integrate with business and management systems, including billing, wrkflw, custmer care, and rder management. 5

6 The fllwing list enumerates the VDSL prvisining and service path, including the IAD and vice gateway, and highlights the flw-thrugh system s rle. Figure [X]. VDSL greatly expands the range f services available t subscribers, using the infrastructure already in place t supprt DSL. Only an IAD at the custmer premises and a vice gateway at the CO need t be added t supprt VDSL. 1. The Integrated Access Device (IAD): The IAD terminates the subscriber end f the DSL access netwrk. It resides at the custmer premises and splits the data and vice prtins f the signal. Similar t a DSL mdem, the typical IAD has ne r mre standard Ethernet prts fr cnnectin t the custmer s LAN. Multiple standard telephne line jacks n the IAD cnnect t the subscriber s telephny equipment telephnes, fax machines, key systems, r PBXs, with all features intact. Up t 24 simultaneus, business-quality vice lines can be carried in additin t the high-speed data prvided by standard DSL service. 2. The DSL Transprt Netwrk: This is the link between the IAD at the custmer premises and equipment at the service carrier s CO. The prtcl fundatin f the transprt netwrk varies but is mst ften supplied by asynchrnus transfer mde (ATM). An ATM-based transprt netwrk has substantial advantages as the prtcl is designed specifically t meet the stringent demands f cncurrent vice and data traffic, and ATM is already widely deplyed in ther carrier netwrk segments. 3. The DSL Access Multiplexer (DSLAM): At the CO, the DSLAM terminates the DSL prtcl and cnverts ATM-based data t traditinal frmats. Data traffic is directed t its destinatin (usually thrugh a bradband remte access server t the Internet), just as in current DSL service. Vice traffic is ffladed t the vice gateway, belw. 4. The Vice Gateway: Als lcated at the CO, the vice gateway receives encapsulated vice traffic frm the DSLAM. The gateway cnverts the stream t the traditinal frmats used in 6

7 existing vice netwrks and then frwards the traffic t a Class 5 vice switch where it ges ut t the public switched telephne netwrk (PSTN). Crssing the VDSL Finish Line First Healthy demand fr expanded services ver the lcal lp is great news fr prviders, but it als creates a fiercely cmpetitive envirnment. With flat-rate pricing the nrm fr basic access, prviders need significant service differentiatrs t attract new custmers and keep existing nes happy. The main differentiatrs prviders can ffer are timely service activatin, reliability, and value-added services such as VDSL. An autmatin-capable flw-thrugh framewrk is essential; it s the key t rapid service expansin, revenue realizatin, and prvider survival. Fr VDSL supprt, seamless wrkflw must cmbine with real-time access t resurce and prcess visibility and utilizatin. The system must als incrprate end-t-end rder and service delivery management acrss hetergeneus netwrks and netwrk elements. The right framewrk is key t mre than VDSL it als enables new and future fferings prviders need t meet the grwing demands f service-hungry subscribers. Many new value-added services are n the hrizn: bandwidth n demand, multi-service delivery, and priritized bandwidth. Only thse prviders armed with advanced flw-thrugh prvisining will be in a psitin t capitalize n them. Finally, a flw-thrugh framewrk als sets the stage fr a successful transitin t the next-generatin netwrk. Fast paced, cntinuus netwrk evlutin cmbined with the need t rll services ut fast and accurately means advanced flw-thrugh prvisining is a necessary way f life fr prviders, nt an ptin. ### Based in Dallas, Texas, Paul Arceneaux is VP and General Manager f Siemens ICN s Service Management Business Unit. 7