Until recently, telecommunications equipment manufacturers (TEMs) kept major platform design “close to home” via in-house development of proprietary system components.

Later, TEMs started to grapple with the proprietary “make versus buy” decision, weighing the pros and cons of producing such components inhouse as opposed to purchasing third-party offerings. Today, TEMs aren’t hesitating to “leave home” to enjoy the clear time-to-market and cost benefits provided by non-proprietary, standards-based commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components—wherever and whenever possible.

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and AdvancedTCA (ATCA)—two emerging telecom architectures gaining wide industry acceptance— are key drivers in the move to open, standards-based COTS products. At the same time, ATCA-based COTS components are ideally suited for IMS deployment, especially when TEMs can leverage the advantages of common building blocks across multiple network elements.

In this article, we’ll examine how the capabilities of IMS and ATCA individually are impacting the telecom infrastructure market. Next, we’ll consider how TEMs can share COTS components across multiple IMS network elements and best leverage the ATCA ecosystem. Finally, we’ll explore how flexible ATCAbased COTS components deliver tangible benefits to communications service providers (CSPs) and TEMs alike.

IMS & ATCA IMPACTS
IMS is a standardized next-generation network (NGN) architecture for CSPs that want to offer converged wireless and fixed multimedia services. Using a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) implementation based on a 3GPP standardized implementation of the session initiation protocol (SIP), IMS runs over the standard Internet Protocol (IP).

Existing phone systems (both packet- and circuit-switched) are supported, and users can access all services from their home networks or while roaming. Helping to merge the cellular and Internet worlds, IMS uses mobile technologies to provide ubiquitous “anytime, anywhere” access and IP technologies to deliver compelling triple-play services.

A key driving force behind the move to IMS is the need for service providers to offer an array of services over diverse network and terminal types. Examples of compelling IP-based services include VoIP, push-to-talk over cellular (POC), videoconferencing, multiparty gaming, and content sharing. Subscribers eventually will be able to use the terminal of their choice (wireline, mobile, or IP) based on convenience and personal preference, as well as instantly switch between voice, data, and video modes.

IMS networks offer a number of technical and business advantages to CSPs. Promoting network resource sharing due to its horizontal services architecture, IMS reduces capital expenditures and streamlines resource usage and maintenance. Since the core network is independent of any particular access technology, IMS enables easier migration of applications among fixed, mobile, and cable users. Designed for easy scalability and redundancy, the standardized IMS architecture enables faster deployment of new triple-play services.

The Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (AdvancedTCA or ATCA) initiative, in which more than 100 companies are participating, is the largest-ever specification endeavor undertaken by the PCI Industrial Computing Manufacturers Group (PICMG).

As defined by PICMG, the ATCA specifications, denoted as PICMG 3.X, are a series of specifications targeted to meet the requirements for the next generation of carrier-grade communications equipment. The ATCA series of specifications incorporates high-speed interconnect technologies, next-generation processors, and improved reliability, manageability, and serviceability.

One of ATCA’s key drivers is the proven success of modular infrastructures in packet-based data networks. Yet communications networks maintain different success criteria, including superior performance and high availability.

ATCA addresses the demanding technical requirements for IMS network elements, including scalable capacity up to 2.5 Tbits/s, full redundancy support for “fivenine” (99.999%) availability, high computer density, rich media content and transcoding, strict regulatory conformance, and support for multiple switching fabric types. Such capabilities make ATCA the platform of choice for telecom infrastructure applications in general, and IMS network elements in particular.

SHARED COMPONENTS
The many advantages of ATCAbased COTS components enable even greater time and cost savings when they’re deployed in multiple IMS network elements. For example, take an IMS network configuration with a transport plane composed of a media gateway (MGW), session border controller (SBC), and media resource function (MRF).

These three IMS network elements can share a number of key components, including an ATCA carrier board (Fig. 1). As a result, TEMs can cut down the number of inflexible, time-consuming processes (e.g., development, qualification, regulatory) from three (i.e., one for each network element) to one. And by using ATCA-based COTS products, TEMs can further drive down development time and costs.

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