White Paper
Reduce complexities in managing IP-based services.
Efficiently manage
mission critical IP resources to reliably deliver next generation services.
This paper describes how Wireless Service Providers
can use IP Address Management (IPAM) software to:
• Centrally manage your IP infrastructure for the delivery of next generation wireless services
• Identify services and technologies (such as 3G+, WiMAX, IMS, IPv6 and ENUM) requiring mission-critical IP
management solutions
• Maximize IP resources to ensure high availability, security and reliability for 3G services
Increased customer demand and operational complexities for
advanced wireless services are escalating requirements for
Introduction
The many IP-based service management challenges facing Wireless Service Providers (WSPs) today include managing advanced blended service offerings, complex supply chains and convergent technologies. Today’s hot new multi-media and access anywhere services are key to attracting new subscribers, increasing revenues, improving profitability and overall, enhancing the brand image and market position. . Presence, location, commerce, push-to, and multimedia are just a few of the emerging services that require fast, reliable, scalable and secure IP address management.
There is a myriad of IP address management challenges facing wireless providers today that are necessary to deliver new services. They include:
An alarming increase in quantity and diversity of mobile telephony, computing and converged hybrid devices, all requiring IP addresses.
Multiple IP address assignment and management methodologies, including various combinations of dynamic or static IP addresses, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) or Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) protocol.
As standards evolve, determining which IP assignment and allocation method will support next generation networks and services.
The rapid depletion of available IP addresses requires absolute efficiency in the use of available IP address space.
The increase in demand for IP Address space increases the requirements for IPv6 migration. The need to remain competitive and maintain a high-level brand image requires accelerating
provisioning time, maximizing address utilization, improving reliability and security. These wireless service challenges make centralizing IP address management critical to the successful deployment of services and ultimately time to revenue. Regardless of how IP addresses are assigned, centralized IP Address Management (IPAM) is necessary and vital to delivering services to end-users. OSS products like Lucent Technologies VitalQIP® IP Address Management software, for example, provide the robust, carrier-grade Domain Name System (DNS), DHCP and IPAM management solution required for next-generation
converged network and service architectures.
The need for DNS/DHCP and IP Address Management (IPAM)
Because of the complexities introduced by today’s new blended lifestyle and business services, supply chain challenges and IP and IMS based technologies, fast, reliable and scalable IPAM capabilities are critical for all WSPs today. Network Administrators face a daily challenge of creating and managing their IP network address infrastructure through this period of rapid irrepressible growth. Organization and consumer’s needs are growing, networks are quickly evolving, and technology is advancing every day. Maintaining absolute control of each element in the network amidst accelerated growth is the true value of IP address management and an absolute necessity for delivering and managing high-quality mobile services. Other critical IPAM functionality includes interfacing to Regional Internet Registries (like ARIN or RIPE), rule based creation of address pools and client class or service category-based IP address scope allocation and assignment.
For providers using DHCP anywhere in the assignment process, IPAM software provides an integrated solution for centrally managing operations, as opposed to multiple, disparate local solutions, preventing network outages due to security breaches, duplicate IP addresses, and out-of-synch DNS servers. For providers using dynamic IP address assignment but not DHCP, a carrier-grade AAA solution provides secure, cost-effective IP address assignment using standards compliant RADIUS protocol. This type of software should also offer Dynamic DNS update capabilities that allow for updating the DNS server and ensuring that the centrally managed database stays synchronized with the network.
DHCP based architectures are growing in popularity in today’s broadband service rich environment. Deploying a proven reliable and scalable DHCP server from a performance and
failover perspective can often be the difference in a customer’s experience and satisfaction. DNS is also essential for enabling programs on end user devices to connect with related services across the network. The user must be able to obtain an IP address, via DHCP or other mechanisms, or their services will not be enabled. If application host names are not quickly resolved by DNS, connecting to these applications and services become increasingly difficult, if not impossible.
IP Address Management in High Speed Mobile Networks
Today’s Network Administrators are challenged to maintain the rapidly changing mobile networks (e.g. UMTS, CDMA EV-Dx, CDMA 450, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, OFDM, etc.). For today’s wireless services, voice, data and converged mobile devices are IP enabled and require IP addresses to access services. With the mass onset of mobile IP-based services including audio, video, advanced messaging, high-speed data access, and shared workspace, the number of network devices requiring IP Address Management is increasing at a phenomenal pace. With or without automated, centralized management capabilities, this challenge is enormous. Accurate, centralized IP network inventory management reduces address assignment errors and links IP device addresses to domain names. It improves network moves/adds/changes management processes by providing IP address visibility to the individual object level, not just a subnet block. IP address management allows administrators to bring organizational control to the management of the IP infrastructure, in either a centralized or decentralized network administration structure. The following section details five key components that effective IP address management must include.
Simplification of the configuration and management of the network, including the creation of subnets: Simplifying Network Management.
Point-and-click interfaces for defining policies for subnet creation allows IP administrators to establish consistent rules for non-expert users, reducing the overall expertise required to effectively manage the IP space. Lucent’s IPAM software for example, provides a subnet calculator that allows the end user to quickly calculate appropriate subnet masks even in a classless domain environment. This allows the available IP space to be divided efficiently and accurately based on the addressing needs for a particular service or organization and simplifies the process so that less expertise is required to effectively manage the IP space. Displaying the IP space in a user-friendly fashion, simplifying the identification of available and used space: Easy Identification of IP Space.
When providing IP addresses to many customers, a method to organize the address space into groups allows a concise view of the overall network to be displayed. A hierarchical graphical user interface (GUI) allows viewing of IP networks by domain, network, subnet, subnet organization, OSPF area, DNS server, DHCP server, and even a user definable hierarchy. This allows use of the software across a multitude of constituencies with varying perspectives, hot buttons, and backgrounds. Flexible administrator network resource visibility also increases security and improves accountability.
Supporting all IP address space, even where different organizations may have implemented the same internal IP addressing: Reclaiming Address Space. When objects are moved or networks subnetted or rejoined, some objects may be marked as used but in reality are not used. A function of reclaiming allows the IPAM application to sample IP addresses on a network over an interval of time with results being generate in a report, to reclaim (free up) the addresses or both.
Identification of IP addresses that are inaccurately recorded in the database so that they can be reclaimed and reused: Managing IP Address Overlaps.
Grouping individual enterprise customers into an organizational category provides a method to manage each enterprise exclusively. Each organization is considered an entity independent of other organizations. As such, each organization can have its own private address space (per RFC 1918). This feature is useful when managing a merger of two or more companies or for
service providers wishing to provide customer network management, allow a customer or Organization visibility only to its own portion of the network.
Reporting on IP address usage and predicting additional space requirements: Reporting on Address Use.
Finally, the IPAM system must be able to provide management and operational reports. Reports should be sent to the screen, a file, a printer, or emailed to an end user or administrator. Audit reports for administrator activity history or object history are also necessary.
DHCP in Mobile Networks
In order to communicate over an IP network, all devices require an IP address and a method to recognize the device as a unique end point. IP addresses can be allocated statically, dynamically, with DHCP, with PPP, with a Radius server or through a combination of these methods. Assignment of an IP address is the process of configuring the device with the allocated IP address. Allocation is the process of deciding the IP address for a device. The process of allocating and assigning an IP address to a device requires the mobile service provider to consider several factors. The first consideration is what address allocation method can the terminal devices support; PPP, DHCP, or static addressing? Secondly, what allocation method does the core network support: PPP, DHCP, Radius server or static addressing? Next, how does the core network get its addresses; Radius server, embedded DHCP, or discrete DHCP? Finally, if a Radius server is being used, does the mobile station get an IP addresses from an internal pool or through DHCP? These scenarios are explained in further detail below.
In general there are three options for IP address assignment to the mobile device: GTP (a GPRS standard), PPP and DHCP. UMTS and CDMA support two types of IP addresses: static and dynamic. GTP, PPP or DHCP can assign dynamic IP addresses. IP addresses can be stored in any of the following:
• Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) for GPRS/UMTS or PDSN/Home Agent for CDMA • AAA server
• DHCP server
Table 1 below summarizes the wireless technology and the allowable options for IP address assignment, allocation and storage.
Type of IP address Storage of IP address Allocation of IP address Assignment of IP address Wireless Technology Dynamic GGSN/PDSN PPP PPP UMTS/CDMA GGSN PPP GTP UMTS
AAA server PPP PPP UMTS/CDMA
DHCP server DHCP PPP UMTS/CDMA
DHCP server DHCP DHCP UMTS
Static GGSN/PDSN PPP PPP UMTS/CDMA
AAA server PPP PPP UMTS/CDMA
End-to-End DHCP Assignment and Allocation
DHCP provides both the allocation and assignment functionality. Allocation is the process of deciding the IP address for a device and assignment is the process of configuring the device with the allocated IP address. The assignment functionality requires a DHCP client to be present on the end-user device. The end-to-end DHCP scenario can be found in UMTS wireless service provider networks as well as many broadband cable networks. To date, the end-to-end DHCP model has not yet been adopted in CDMA networks. See Figure 1 below for the end-to-end DHCP scenario.
Table 1: IP address
assignment and allocation in wireless networks.
Figure 1: End-to-End DHCP Scenario
PPP Assignment and DHCP Allocation
In other cases, the end-user terminal may be using PPP for assignment but gets its allocation from any of the above mechanisms. This configuration is typically used for supporting access to corporate intranet or ISP customers. See The PPP assignment with DHCP allocation method can be found in UMTS and CDMA wireless service provider’s networks as well as many broadband DSL networks.
Figure 2: PPP Assignment and DHCP Allocation
Please note, that in case of CDMA2000, the current mode of IP address assignment is PPP and hence the allocation functionality is provided by DHCP. In UMTS, end-to-end DHCP is beginning to be adopted in WSP networks. One major UMTS carrier expects to implement end-to-end DHCP by the end of 2005. As the complexity and number of addresses assigned increase, more and more WSPs will adopt DHCP in UMTS networks as carriers look to improve operations and management functionality.
Typically, GGSN and Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) based IP address assignment works well when the number of IP address pools are limited and there is little change in the pool structure and size. As the network grows, manageability of the pools will quickly become an issue. For example, every time there is a change in IP address pools, assignment policies in all the PDSN/GGSN have to be re-configured. Additionally, any need for current or historical reporting on IP address utilization requires custom applications, which then have to be updated continually to keep up with changes to the device models. As organizations need this data to be in central databases for reporting and general management functions, network devices (GGSN/PDSN) cannot be the only source of this information. Separate data repositories would mean that the two data stores would have to be continuously synchronized using proprietary mechanisms. For any WSP attempting to increase revenue, it is far faster and cost efficient to invest in an IP address and DNS/DHCP management system than to build a custom solution.
Phy. Layers IP UDP DHCP Client
Packet Domain Bearer Lower Layers IP IP UDP UDP DHCP Relay Agent Lower Layers IP UDP DHCP Server TE MT SGSN GGSN Intranet/ISP Phy. Layers
Packet Domain Bearer Lower Layers Lower Layers IP UDP DHCP / RADIUS TE MT SGSN Intranet /ISP GGSN PPP PPP IP UDP DHCP / RADIUS
DNS in Mobile Networks
Recently DNS capabilities have been extended to support the mapping of additional types of records, that allow new services to be offered, including high speed mobile access, ENUM, ring tones, push to talk, and more. This extension of DNS is essential to truly converge network services. By supporting multiple types of services in DNS, traditional circuit switched voice traffic can now be routed over a packet switch network. Both traditional and wireless voice services are already becoming integrated with other multi-media service offerings.
Maintaining an accurate DNS server is not only essential for successfully delivery of blended service offerings but vital to the quality of user experience as well. When an end user or subscriber cannot access an application, service or website, the result will put extreme pressure on customer care, brand quality and marketing initiatives. DNS also allows administrators to change the IP addresses of servers without changing host names, allowing them to change the IP network without impacting end users attempting to access these servers. Since the DNS server addresses are an optional piece of information that can be provided using DHCP, a comprehensive IPAM application provides extreme value to WSPs.
ENUM in Mobile Networks
Electronic NUMbering (ENUM) is a protocol (RFC 3761; obsoletes RFC 2916 that makes it possible to translate the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 10 digit numbers into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. ENUM translates the E.164 address (i.e., telephone number) with an identifier associated with a service (Uniform Resource Identifier) by using a Domain Name System server (DNS). The syntax of Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) is defined in RFC 2396. ENUM uses Naming Authority Pointer records (NAPTR), defined in RFC 2915, to identify available ways or services for contacting a specific node identified through the E.164 number.
The DNS server is autonomously updated with updated NAPTR records containing subscriber data, potentially including preference data. A requirement of an IP address management system is to provide automatic updates via an interface to the relevant subscriber data. The wireless infrastructure elements provide the initial subscriber data or updates to existing subscriber data through an interface to an ENUM Manager. An ENUM Manager interface should enable initial bulk loading of subscriber data to facilitate rapid service implementation. In addition, ENUM
administration is required such that entries in the DNS server can be modified and managed by the administrator as needed.
The primary purpose an ENUM Manager should be to support the administration of ENUM domains (e.g., 1.e164.arpa.) and the Naming Authority Pointer (NAPTR) records in them. Using the ENUM Manager GUI, an administrator can split and merge ENUM domains in order to manage the size of ENUM zone files used in DNS servers. The GUI should allow an administrator to create, update, delete, and search the NAPTR records. The administrator would then be able to select the
resource record type, enter additional relevant information, and create an appropriate format for the resource record. It should also allow administrators to more tightly control DNS updates by
providing a centralized system to manage all DNS records and then push the correctly configured and appropriate configuration files out to the DNS servers, to prevent potential errors that can literally take down DNS ENUM services.
ENUM management systems should provide all these management capabilities while ensuring minimal configuration time for services dependent upon ENUM DNS, and provide an electronic interface for upstream systems to send NAPTR records automatically. It then places this data in a database and automatically updates the appropriate DNS ENUM servers, through Dynamic DNS updates. ENUM Manager also performs zone file pushes on a scheduled or manual basis to allow for automated or immediate updates. For IMS implementations, the software interfaces with the enhanced Services Manager (eSM) to receive updates to NAPTR records associated with IMS provided SIP services. Typically, one NAPTR record is created per IMS subscriber, identifying the E.164 number as an SIP subscriber.
IMS in Mobile Networks
The IMS services architecture is a new open industry standard that supports converged text, voice, data and video services. IMS is access agnostic and supports various access technologies
including 3G, Wi-Fi, DSL and others. Today, there is global interest in IMS already demonstrated by Lucent’s early deployment of IMS customer trials and interest by other leading vendors including Nokia, Nortel, Siemens and Ericsson. IMS solutions, however, also require a DNS server, more specifically a DNS server supporting ENUM features.
Additionally, business and consumer demand is rapidly growing for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications, a part of the overall IMS architecture. As providers begin to add IP-based services to their new services portfolio, their requirements extend to secure and reliable IP address and DNS/DHCP management. Such services include access independent Instant Messaging (IM), Push-to-Talk (PTT), mobile Video, m-commerce, VoIP 3G services and others. In addition, the evolution to VoIP opens the door for several classes of new services, for example, location-based services, multimedia services, collaboration services, and more.
IP Address Management for WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) provides broadband wireless access, expected to soon compete with today’s DSL and cable modem access. The WiMAX Forum, an organization of leading operators and communications component and equipment manufacturing companies, promote and certify the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless access equipment that conforms to the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HiperMAN standards. The forum expects that equipment vendors will begin shipping WiMAX Forum Certified equipment sometime in 2005. As service providers expand offers to providing services to the new set of customers enabled by this emerging broadband wireless access technology, managing network access, enhancing the customer experience, and reducing operational expenses become critical. As Service Providers begin to compete with cable and DSL service providers, they will be under increasing pressure to guarantee a high quality of service to subscribers. With the introduction of new and blended high-speed wireless data services, subscribers to a WiMAX network will expect consistent service availability and better quality than they currently receive from cable and DSL systems. OA&M can be leveraged to help the network operators achieve end-to-end service management. WiMAX must overcome critical operational and business support challenges to accepted by the public and generate profitable revenue.
As operators begin to extend their network with WiMAX to provide Voice over IP and broadband data services at transmission speeds that rival the wired DSL or cable modem connections, for both enterprise customers and the mass consumer market, IP address management will become
absolutely critical to their operations. As subscribers increase along with their use of high-speed data services, IP address management becomes more resource intensive and more complex. Large numbers of independent address pools become increasingly difficult to manage, which increases the risk of failed services, customer dissatisfaction and ultimately, churn. . Furthermore, address pools on some gateway routers may become exhausted while others have availability, a common scenario whereby centralized management becomes critical. Distributed IP address management makes it more complex, resource consuming and in many cases, more expensive to manage and deploy new IP-based services such as ENUM and WiMAX address support.
In general, IP management for WiMAX can be separated into three broad functions: configuring network nodes with IP addresses, monitoring address usage and configuring host name to IP address lookup facilities. Each of these functions is expanded below.
Configuring network nodes with IP information - WiMAX base stations and Substation devices
(IP Phones, laptops, Wi-Fi Access Points, etc.) need to be configured with an IP address that allows them to access the Internet (i.e., public address space) while allowing IP packets to be routed back to the device using standard IP routing techniques (i.e., utilize an IP address on the subnet appropriate to serving location or one that can be tunneled to the serving location).
Monitoring IP address usage - As devices require an IP address when they come on-line, the
service provider needs to monitor the utilization and consumption of available address space to allow proper management of address capacity.
Configuring host name to IP address lookup facilities - Accessing information in corporate
applications or on the Internet from any device is greatly simplified for end users when they can use the application or website address name. But today’s devices communicate using IP addresses and dynamic Domain Name System or DNS updates are absolutely necessary for name to address conversion.
IPv6 in 3G Networks
The introduction of IPv6 into wireless network environments will present significant challenges for even the most seasoned and experienced professionals and organizations. The technical
differences between IPv4 and IPv6 networking are numerous. The size and format of IPv6 addresses are the most obvious example. IPv4 addresses are 32 bits in length whereas IPv6 addresses are 128 bits in length. As a result, the number of possible hosts in IPv4 is approximately 4 billion, whereas the number in IPv6 exceeds 340 undecillion. Additionally, IPv4 addresses use a dotted-decimal notation (198.200.138.1) whereas IPv6 addresses use colon-hexadecimal
(3ffe:0302:0011:0002:024c:69ff:fe6e:7579).
Complexities relating to how IPv6 networks must be allocated raise significant network
management as well as planning concerns. From a user’s perspective, the additional complexity of IPv6 increases concerns surrounding the usability of, and access to, IPv6 resources. For example, is it possible or expected for the non-technical community, or even the technical community for that matter, to remember well-known IPv6 addresses and why? The advent of auto-configuration and the improvements to DHCP in IPv6 are both viable alternatives for address allocation. Deciding which is the best for your organization and more importantly, which offers better control and auditing capabilities will be extremely important for your organization. The co-existence of IPv4 and IPv6 is expected into the foreseeable future. The concept of managing two parallel IP spaces and the interaction between them during migration will be a new and challenging experience complete with its own set of complexities and of course, solutions.
Wireless Networks Supporting IPv6
Currently, wireless deployments are primarily IPv4; however, the migration to IPv6 will occur over the next several years. Hybrid networks of IPv4 and IPv6 are expected and will need to be supported. The UMTS standard supports both IPv4 and IPv6. Mobile IP, an IETF standard (RFC 2002), is also part of both IPv4 and IPv6 standards. UMTS (3GPP) architecture mandates IPv6 for IMS; however, vendor implementations of IMS will vary. Today, the 3GPP2 (CDMA) network architecture is based on IPv4, but there are on-going efforts to support IPv6 on this system.
Managing IP Address Allocation and Node Configuration
There are three main address types in IPv6 as defined by RFC 3513: unicast, multicast, and anycast. Unicast type addresses may have one of several scopes determined by what mechanism will be employed to assign IP addresses to an interface. Link-local addresses are generated by the node and are used to facilitate communications with other nodes on the same link (i.e., network communications), where no router is required. Conversely, global-unicast addresses or prefixes can be assigned to nodes using one of four general mechanisms (Auto-configuration, Stateful DHCP, Stateless and Stateful).
Managing Name Resolution Services
The differences between IPv6 and IPv4 addresses exponentially increase the value for name resolution services or DNS, in next generation networks. IPv6 name resolution uses AAAA resource records to represent host addresses, while PTR records similar to those in IPv4 are used for reverse queries. The examples below clearly illustrate the complexity and error-prone nature of managing this data, especially if done manually:
Without DNS services, those who require access to IPv6 network resources would need to refer to the colon-hexadecimal formatted IPv6 address, which is certainly impractical and close to
DHCPv6 server that supports RFC 2136 or dynamic DNS updates facilitates the dynamic update of DNS servers with IPv6 host data, such as IPv6 addresses or hostnames.
The challenges and complexities that exist today in the management of IPv4 DNS will certainly exist tomorrow in IPv6. In fact, the challenges are likely to be expanded due to the enlarged nature of the IPv6 address space compared to that in IPv4 as well as the co-existence between to two platforms. A need clearly exists for a mechanism to manage name resolution services effectively, not only for maintenance, but to facilitate deployment.
Managing Network Access
The advent of IPv6 features such, as stateless auto-configuration will offer a great deal of convenience for “assigning” IP addresses. In some network environments, the efficiency that this form of address assignment provides may be desirable (or even required in the wireless domain). In many other cases, however, stateless auto-configuration can be a recipe for disaster and a security nightmare, since those responsible for managing network access, have no mechanism to govern it. The use of stateful DHCPv6 can provide access and the necessary control over IP address
assignment to reduce the risks associated with unauthorized or unknown network access. Using stateful DHCPv6 for address assignment creates an opportunity to audit network access, since IP address requests are governed by one or more authoritative sources, such as stateful DHCPv6 servers.
Integrated IPAM in a Wireless Service-Rich environment
IP addresses are the heart of the wireless provider’s services environment. Service bundling and secure access control is configured and driven around its IP address allocation policies. This requires flexible, methodical and centralized planning and management of the IP address space to: • Reduce the possibility of outages or failures due to duplicate addresses.
• Reduce the possibility of outages or failures due to non-availability of IP addresses for specific services.
• Allow for efficient and non-fragmented planning and use of address space.
• Allow for easy detection of security breaches as deviations from “the plan” are easily detected.
The key is to integrate your IPAM planning tool with the actual deployment of these policies. Manual deployment of the centralized policies can be resource intensive, lead to errors and reduce the speed of new service introductions. Note that, in PPP environments or in embedded IP pool based environments, the integration between the planning and deployment phase is typically not automated. Costly and proprietary solutions may be required to provide this automation.
DNS plays a critical role in service access through name resolution for next-generation services like ENUM, WiMAX and IP Video in an IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem (IMS) environment. Figure 3 below, is an example of a WiMAX access wireless network, incorporating DNS/ENUM and DHCP functionality.
Changes in the IP addresses of the IMS environment (e.g., change in the IP address of a feature server) here, needs to be updated in the DNS for name-based access to that feature server. DNS services are important for peer-to-peer services like mobile chat applications where end-clients need name resolution services. IPAM solutions should integrate DNS server configuration that prevents any service unavailability arising out of errors in name resolution (DNS) infrastructure. Note that it is possible to purchase a standalone DNS server (like ISC BIND), however, this type of solution is not integrated and results in a more complex management of IP Addresses.
Monitoring the IP address assignments, DNS zones and historical reporting of this information are critical for Iterative planning of IP address policies, Auditing, and Detecting security breaches.
Lucent VitalQIP
®Software for IP Address Management in 3G Networks
VitalQIP® IP Address Management software, part of the Lucent Technologies VitalSuite® Network and Service Management portfolio, is today’s market-leading solution for IP address, DNS and DHCP management for wireless networks. The solution’s flexibility and scalability enables WSPs to migrate from using selected functionality initially to comprehensive and integrated functionality in later stages. This approach allows WSPs to combine phased investment with operationally superior integrated environments for IP address management. Lucent’s solution does not require users to choose a particular architecture, but rather allows users to choose modules of the solution suite as needed.
VitalQIP® was the first true automated IPAM solution with a full complement of functionality, virtually pioneering the IPAM market. It has continued to evolve with the needs of service providers by providing features that enable delivery of new services and technologies, such as ENUM, IMS, WiMAX and IPv6 and is committed to leading the way in emerging technologies and services. It provides comprehensive IP Management capabilities that allow efficient and centralized segmentation of the address space across services classes and other organizational policies, already addressing specialized needs of IP address assignment including:
Secure, automatic DDNS updates when new hosts/servers/routers are added.
Integration with address space management across the whole WSP organization (different service groups, services network infrastructure group, etc)
Comprehensive DHCP management capabilities (automatic and centralized policy generation bband configuration, view active lease information and reports on historic lease information).
The VitalQIP® DHCP component, is an industry leading carrier grade DHCP server that automates the implementation of DNS and DHCP policies while providing seamless fail over capabilities. Its DHCP component is automatically configured to implement the centralized service policies determined during the planning phase. VitalQIP® provides secure DDNS update mechanisms through both its client and the DHCP server keeping the DNS infrastructure synchronized. Add-on modules such as the VitalQIP® Audit Manager and Auto Discovery software, enhance the solution’s monitoring capabilities to further strengthen its inventory accuracy and network security capabilities.
VitalQIP® is a complete solution that helps achieve operational superiority while meeting the needs of a rich wireless services delivery environment. DHCP based architectures are integral to rich service access environments and the software’s DHCP component is industry leading in terms of performance, fail over and proven extensibility. With over 900 customer deployments worldwide today, VitalQIP® is globally proven in commercial 3G environments from both functional and performance perspectives.
Lucent Technologies VitalSuite
®Network and Service Management
Software Portfolio
Lucent Technologies, a proven global provider of multi-vendor, multi-technology software, provides market leading integrated OSS management solutions that deliver today's complex IMS services. Lucent's award-winning VitalSuite® Network and Service Management portfolio is used today by more than 200 fixed, mobile and broadband customers worldwide. Lucent leverages innovations from Bell Labs and experience and expertise from Lucent Worldwide Services to provide highly flexible, scalable solutions that enable converged services, enhance the user experience and accelerate time to revenue.
Lucent partners with world-class system integrators, complementary ISVs and hardware vendors to deliver end-to-end solutions that reduce operational complexities, ease integration costs and help maximize profitability.
For more information on Lucent VitalQIP® software, contact your Lucent Technologies representative or visit: www.lucent.com/nms
This document is for planning purposes only, and is not intended to modify or supplement any Lucent Technologies specifications or warranties relating to these products or services. The publication of information in this document does not imply freedom from patent or other protective rights of Lucent Technologies or others.
VitalQIP and VitalSuite are registered trademarks of Lucent Technologies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
