FRAMINGHAM, MA — (Marketwired) — 08/19/13 — , the leading supplier of software-defined broadband service management solutions, today announced that its (DBSM) now incorporates (SDN) technologies that transform the delivery of broadband services. This new SDN controller solution allows network operators to easily deploy an intelligent, software-defined service layer for the common control and active management of broadband services across different types of access networks, including cable, DSL, FTTH and WiFi.
“The increasing cost and complexity of managing broadband services is a result of the functional constraints of proprietary software embedded in network elements and the performance limitations of existing OSS/BSS solutions,” said Adam Dunstan, CEO of Active Broadband. “Moving control plane and performance-critical network functions into SDN software running on high-performance server platforms will transform how broadband services are offered and allow network operators to tailor services to the individual needs of subscribers. The DBSM is the first of a new breed of SDN controller for service management applications to gain full visibility into and direct control over subscriber traffic flows at the broadband edge by exploiting the capabilities of SDN-enabled network elements.”
“A key goal of service providers is to use SDN technology to -listen- to their networks, dynamically analyze that information, then make on-the-fly adjustments to traffic patterns in order to make the network run hotter — which lowers capex — and deliver a better quality of experience to higher paying subscribers,” stated Michael Howard, principal analyst at Infonetics Research. “Active Broadband is using SDN technology to overcome the limitations found in most legacy policy, network management, and OSS/BSS software. Their new SDN-enabled service management product set is designed for the broadband edge, which can immediately benefit from these new technologies. Operators can deploy dynamically managed services that are monetized based on application type, connection speed, bandwidth consumption, and time of day.”
Operating as an SDN controller, the DBSM uses the OpenFlow protocol to dynamically activate services and manage subscriber traffic flows through SDN-enabled network elements at the broadband edge. OpenFlow structures communication between the control and data planes of SDN-enabled network infrastructure, and allows the DBSM to directly implement service management policies for fine-grained control of subscriber traffic flows.
The DBSM incorporates the IPFIX protocol for rapidly collecting network stream telemetry data on traffic flows and network utilization for real-time service management applications that require timely and accurate information about bandwidth consumption and network conditions. IPFIX is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) protocol that represents the state of the art in network telemetry data collection. It uses a highly efficient streaming protocol — the Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) — and specifies a uniform and extensible method for collecting IP flow information from elements in any type of IP network.
The DBSM can manage and control subscriber traffic flows through any SDN-enabled network element that supports OpenFlow and IPFIX. Active Broadband will be engaged in interoperability testing and demonstrating its new SDN controller at upcoming industry events by using OpenFlow to control Open vSwitch software running on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Intel-based hardware platforms capable of multi-gigabit throughput. Open vSwitch, which can also export network stream telemetry data using IPFIX, is Linux-based open source software that is also portable to ODM switching platforms and is a key technology in the OpenStack cloud computing platform.
Active Broadband Networks is an innovative supplier of software-defined broadband service management solutions that power an intelligent service layer for dynamically managed broadband services. Founded in 2005 by a team of highly experienced networking industry executives and engineers, the company is transforming broadband service delivery by enabling operators to close the growing gap between satisfying the needs of their subscribers and meeting their own business objectives. Active Broadband-s Dynamic Broadband Service Manager (DBSM) has been successfully deployed by some of the world-s largest, most demanding broadband providers, helping them to ensure customer satisfaction and profitable service delivery.
Laura Nelson or Jill Colna
SVM Public Relations
401-490-9700
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