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UniPorte Architecture Facilitates Convergence of IP-Based Voice, Fax and Data Services UniPorte Architecture?Facilitates Convergence of IP-Based Voice, Fax and Data Services As traditional voice and data service providers vie for each other’s turf, the number of service providers offering IP-based, voice, fax and data services is on the rise. This convergence is creating a demand for a new breed of network access equipment at the edge of the public-switched telephone network (PSTN) that can process dial-up voice, fax, data and other traffic while providing a seamless bridge between the PSTN and IP networks. Performance Technologies’ UniPorte Architecture? gives OEMs targeting service providers a flexible, scaleable, high-density platform for quickly building multi-service network access equipment. Delivering four times the port density of competitive network access platforms, UniPorte is the only true universal port solution; the only one that can dynamically configure itself to handle any mix of dial-up voice, fax and data traffic. And it is the only architecture that can be readily upgraded to accommodate emerging services like broadband and wireless without changes to the existing hardware. In the fast-changing telecom landscape, time-to-market is everything, and a few months can make or break market share. The UniPorte Architecture and universal access modules give OEMs an out-of-the-box solution for building versatile network access equipment that supports voice, fax, and data services and can be readily adapted to accommodate new services as they emerge. With the UniPorte platform handling low-level network access and management functions, OEMs are free to focus their precious engineering resources on value-added features like security and routing that differentiate them from their competitors. A New Breed of Universal Access Equipment The Internet is acting as a magnet for Internet service providers (ISPs), competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) and Internet telephony service providers (ITSPs) who want to offer local exchange voice and data services without involving the telcos. However, regardless of whether voice and data traffic is transported over the PSTN or packet-based networks, the PSTN will remain the principal means by which dial-up subscribers access their voice and data services. Thus, the ability to handle a variety of access traffic while providing a bridge between the PSTN and Internet is a staple requirement for next-generation access equipment living at the edge of the network. Today’s network access equipment tends to be single-function, reflecting the specialization of today’s service providers. ISPs, for example, typically use dedicated remote access concentrators equipped with fixed-function 56K modem pools to provide dial-up Internet access. Similarly, ITSPs use gateways equipped with dedicated fax and voice processing boards to offer IP-based voice and fax services. As OEMs migrate from single-function to multi-function network access systems, the natural inclination is to architect the multi-function system as a collection of single-function modules, one for each type of service. The drawback to partitioning multi-function systems along these lines is reduced flexibility and poor efficiency. When each module or port performs a dedicated function, the system must be configured in advance with a particular set of demographics and usage patterns in mind. To accommodate changing demographics (for example, a higher percentage of voice vs. data customers) and usage patterns (for example, high voice traffic in the morning and high data traffic in the afternoon), service providers must either reconfigure their systems or provide excess capacity for each service that they offer. The UniPorte Architecture provides a flexible and efficient alternative to fixed-function partitioning that substitutes universal access ports for dedicated access ports. In the UniPorte architecture, each port can process any kind of dial-up traffic, including modem, fax, ISDN, VoIP, FoIP and VoDSL. Moreover, each port can be dynamically reconfigured on the fly. For example, a port that is handling a 56K dial-up call one moment can be reconfigured to process VoIP traffic the next moment. Dynamic Reconfiguration and Software Upgradeability The UniPorte Architecture’s flexibility eliminates the need to reconfigure network access systems and provide excess capacity to handle changing subscriber demographics and traffic patterns. UniPorte-based systems automatically reconfigure themselves in a way that takes maximum advantage of the available ports. As the traffic mix shifts between voice, data and fax throughout the day, UniPorte-based systems simply assign more ports to the needed service. Because UniPorte systems are programmable, they’re also easier to upgrade with new services than systems that use fixed-function partitioning. The OEM simply loads a new software module (such as VoDSL), and that function immediately becomes part of each port’s multi-function repertoire. In a system that uses fixed-function partitioning, upgrades require the addition and integration of new hardware modules. True Universal Port Functionality There are a number of companies offering programmable devices such as DSPs who tout universal port functionality. But programmability and universal port capability are not one in the same. It’s true that DSPs can be programmed to perform a broad range of functions. The hard work, however, is providing a software framework that enables the DSP to be reprogrammed on the fly to perform new functions. The UniPorte Architecture provides just such a framework, which automatically senses the type of incoming call, identifies available DSP ports, assigns calls to those ports and loads the appropriate modules needed to process those calls. Inside the UniPorte Architecture The basic building block for the UniPorte Architecture is a family of palm-sized Universal Access Modules (UAM) known as the MTN1000, which combines a farm of Analog Devices DSPs with a StrongARM RISC controller. The first member of the MTN1000 Series, the MTN1024, uses 12 DSPs to provide 24 universal access ports. Occupying just over 10 square inches, the module provides four times the port density of its nearest competitor while consuming less than half the power. A single MTN1024 module provides enough universal access ports to handle an entire T1 line. By combining multiple UAMs on a single board, OEMs can process much larger spans. For example, one of the voice and fax media packet processors offer a CompactPCI? card with seven UAMs that provides 168 ports, enough to process seven T1 lines. New MTN1000 modules deliver even higher densities with additional reductions in power. The UAM uses a TDM (Time Division Multiplexed) bus supporting MVIP, H.100 and H.110 signaling to acquire DSO channels from external WAN interfaces such as T1/PRI cards and route them to UAM DSP resources. The MTN1024 also provides an electrical PCI interface with full bus mastering capability for easy connection to host systems and efficient transmission of packetized data to and from the host processor’s local memory. Within the UAM, the DSPs perform compute-intensive functions such as voice, fax, modem and HDLC processing. The RISC processor performs protocol-processing functions such as voice/data packet framing, error correction, compression and jitter buffer management. The RISC processor also runs an embedded operating system optimized for multimedia processing and network access that detects incoming calls and then loads and manages the RISC and DSP software modules needed to process incoming calls on the fly. The UAM supports an out-of-the-box solution for analog modem, fax, VoIP, FoIP, wireless and VoDSL/VTOA services. Data modem support includes V.90, V.34 and lower data modulations, together with NP5 and V.42bis compression and MNP 2-4 and ITI-T V.42 error correction. Fax support includes ITU-T V.17, V.29, V.27ter, T-30, Class 2 and Class 2.0 fax modulations. Voice support includes; ITU G.711, G.723.1, G.729A and G.729B voice coders, G.165 and G.168 echo cancellation, voice activity detection, comfort noise generation, DTMF relay, jitter buffer management and playback, call status/progress monitoring, statistics/error collection and system diagnostics. Packetization support includes PPP and SLIP data, RTP packets for VoIP, T.38 IFP packets for FoIP and rate-adaptation with buffering, spooling and stalling. Wireless support includes PIAFS, a cellular protocol primarily used in Japan and South East Asia. Support for other wireless features such as GSM and TFO (Tandem-free operation) is in the works. VoDSL support includes ITU I.366.2 and I.363.2 loop emulation and trunking for VTOA gateways. Carrier-Grade Network Management The UniPorte Architecture provides a management interface that makes it easy for host systems and network management stations to independently control and monitor ports and devices in a UniPorte system. Based on managed objects, this interface simplifies management software design by allowing the host system to follow the basic SNMP/MIB paradigm, which eliminates the need to shift access methods or data representations on the host. The UniPorte Architecture provides the basic abstraction for managed objects. It also provides operations such as set, get and trap for accessing and controlling those objects. A Range of Delivery Options Voice and fax media packet processors offer variety of delivery options for OEMs who want to incorporate the UniPorte Architecture into their network access equipment. For OEMs who want to utilize UAM modules directly, a manufacturing and licensing kit known as the MTN800 Series provides all the hardware and software documentation needed to integrate one or more modules into a custom network access system. The MTN800 Series supports all phases of UAM development and integration, from hardware schematic capture and layout, through software development integration and testing. Hardware support includes a functional description of the UAM, schematic files, layout files, net list, parts list and an approved vendor list. Software support includes a bus mastering and API specification, diagnostics software specification; debug software specification and C source code library routines. For OEMs with tighter time-to-market requirements who want to utilize standard backplane packaging, PCI and CompactPCI adapter cards based on the UAM module are offered. The PCI adapter card, known as the MTN2100, provides 120 dial-up universal ports. It also provides a ribbon cable TDM interface with MVIP and H.100 signaling that enables it to acquire data from PCI-based T1/PRI and E1/PRI network interface cards without interfering with PCI system bus transfers. For OEMs who place a premium on high availability, a PICMG?-compliant CompactPCI adapter card known as the MTN5000 provides a ruggedized, hot-swappable, telco-quality network access solution. Equipped with 96 to 168 universal access ports, the MTN5000 complies fully with the PICMG Hot Plug specification. The MTN5000 also provides an H.110 TDM interface that enables it to acquire TDM channels from T1/PRI and E1/PRI WAN interface cards over the CompactPCI backplane without interfering with system bus transfers. Conclusion The convergence of voice, data and fax services over the Internet is creating exciting new opportunities for both service providers and OEMs who supply network access equipment. Performance Technologies’ UniPorte Architecture gives OEMs a flexible platform for quickly producing high-density, multi-service network access equipment that can adjust on the fly to changing usage patterns and be readily upgraded to support new services. For more information, visit Performance Technologies’ Web site at www.pt.com or contact [email protected]. To learn about voice/data/fax network technologies, visit: http://www.pt.com/products/prodgroup_dsp.html |