IPOQUE

WHITE PAPER > POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING

POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING IN CONVERGING IP NETWORKS

SMART TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

WHITE PAPER

The reasons for network operators to deploy a smart policy control and charging solution in their network are as manifold as the operators are different in their strategy, market position and size. It ranges from the up-and-coming mobile network operator that wants to set itself apart from the well-established competition with progressive and creative charging models and value-added services to the global player that wants to monetize OTT trafc and use network capacity as efciently as possible to deliver the best quality of experience to its customers. This white paper describes how a exible and scalable policy enforcement system within a policy control and charging solution can enable a great variety of scenarios with a set of key network functions that is comparably small but powerful.

www.ipoque.com

WHITE PAPER > POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING

IPOQUE

INTRODUCTION
In the absence of real standards, solutions from different vendors are combined loosely and integrated poorly when deployed jointly in networks.
The reasons for network operators to deploy smart policy control and charging solutions in their networks are as numerous as the differences between the operators themselves with respect to strategy, market position and size. On the one end of the spectrum, there are the up-and-coming mobile network operators seeking to differentiate themselves from the well-established competition by using progressive and creative charging models and value-added services (VAS). On the other end, there are the global players looking to capitalize on over-the-top traffic (OTT) and use network capacity as efficiently as possible to deliver the highest quality of experience to its customers. At the same time, there are strong trends towards convergence at almost all levels be it the business level, with fixed-line operators entering the mobile market, or the IP network level, with more and more network operators rolling out IPv6 to their customers. Due to historical reasons, there is a wide range of solutions available in the areas of Internet traffic management, policy control and charging. These solutions are in turn offered by different vendors, each of whom is keen on and well-versed in solving specific network problems. In the absence of real standards, solutions from different vendors are usually combined loosely and integrated poorly when deployed jointly in networks. However, the pressure on the network operator end to consolidate different solutions is particularly heavy in the mobile market, where the proper balance of well-integrated solutions is the key to unlocking new revenue models. Any monolithic solution that could do everything both now and in the future would be extremely complex from a technical point of view. It would also be too bulky and lack a reasonable migration path for its rollout in existing networks. This white paper describes a multi-tier solution of loosely coupled, well-integrated systems that is extensible, flexible and scalable enough to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. This smart policy control and charging solution is driven by a central policy enforcement system that provides a comparably small, yet powerful set of communication interfaces and core network functions. The analysis below illustrates the advantages of this type of architecture by identifying the requirements of the policy enforcement system. It concludes that with a flexible, powerful and scalable policy enforcement component as its foundation, smart policy control and charging solutions are ready for the next generation of operator networks.

www.ipoque.com

IPOQUE

WHITE PAPER > POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING

DEPLOYMENT OF A sMART PCEF IN A NETWORK

PCRF LTE BSS

AAA OSS

OCS/ OFCS any other

DSL/Cable Internet Wimax Policy and Charging Enforcement Function

Satellite

video optimization content control, URL filtering, parental control content caching anti-virus any other VAS IP Traffic Signalling Traffic Rerouted Traffic

This figure shows the deployment of a policy and charging enforcement function in an arbitrary network

EVOLUTION FROM TRAFFIC OPTIMIZATION TO POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING

The drivers in the fields of Internet traffic optimization and policy control have changed significantly over the last decade. Initially, the main reason for deploying a solution in a network was to save costs and use available resources as efficiently as possible. This was achieved by actively managing IP traffic based on protocol/application, IP network or IP address and time of day. The need for dedicated, DPI-powered Internet traffic optimization solutions, as they where marketed back then, was exacerbated by the shift of protocols and applications from RFC-standardized and open protocols such as HTTP, SMTP, etc. to proprietary and closed-source protocols and applications such as Skype, P2P and others. With traffic management solutions becoming more sophisticated and network operators gaining more experience, new fields of use emerged. The scope of their use also evolved from simple cost-saving and revenue protection to the generation of new revenue streams. Then, the mobile data explosion happened. With the success of smartphones and mobile data growth, mobile network concepts such as DPI classification and application-aware traffic management finally hit the mobile world, where they merged with the concept of charging. There was a change of priorities: While it is still important for fixedline network operators to manage traffic optimization, for example OTT traffic, mobile operators have different interests when it comes to managing their own networks. With that, new opportunities, as well as new challenges such as the huge amount of video traffic and the need for creative and individualized charging models and value-added

From saving costs and revenue protection to generating new revenue streams

www.ipoque.com

WHITE PAPER > POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING

IPOQUE

New type of solution for smart traffic optimization, policy control and charging

services also emerged. Thus, the number of solutions that must be deployed and interoperate in a network in order to provide value to the operator grew significantly. From a technical standpoint, operators found themselves faced with the dilemma of integrating this tangle of solutions. This was due to the fact that a simple daisy-chain of solutions does not scale, has adverse effects on traffic classification, adds latency beyond acceptable limits, increases the risk of failure, and complicates troubleshooting. This shaped the need for a new type of solution for smart traffic optimization, policy control and charging. By design, it must be: 1.  scalable: able to grow with the operator network, both in throughput and number of subscribers 2. e  xtensible and flexible: able to add new functionality to support new use cases and services without affecting overall processing capabilities 3.  multi-tiered: features a well-integrated ecosystem of solutions from different vendors

SMART POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING REDEFINED

Essentially, this approach is driven by a policy enforcement system that has a high processing capacity and low complexity tasks. This system provides a comparably small, yet powerful set of communication interfaces and core network functions that directs traffic to solutions with lower processing capacity/high complexity. These solutions are then responsible for value-added services such as video optimization or parental control. This policy enforcement system is equally as important as the policy decision component on the control plane end, and it is: DPI-driven subscriber-centric  lightweight and fast in terms of packet processing able to handle 100% of network traffic without service interruptions scalable in terms of both throughput and subscribers flexible in terms of network deployment options customizable to different customer sizes and target markets

Integration within value-added services systems

Within the data plane domain, the policy enforcement system is surrounded by a number of value-added services systems that are responsible for tasks that are bulkier and more computing-intensive and usually apply to a significantly smaller portion of the traffic that is specific to application or content type. They can be responsible for applications such as video optimization, content control, URL filtering, parental control or content caching. In the northbound direction, the policy enforcement system is tightly integrated into the control plane systems, such as reporting and analytics, policy control and charging, AAA, and other business support systems. In addition to communication channels for northbound integration, the policy enforcement system provides a comparably small, yet powerful and generic set of core network functions. This means that the network operator can implement any use case it desires. The following are the key communication channels: from subscriber-centric reporting towards the reporting and analytics system, from subscriber-centric charging towards the

www.ipoque.com

IPOQUE

WHITE PAPER > POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING

charging and billing system, and from subscriber-centric policy management towards the policy control system. The core network functions comprise smart (DPI-driven) rerouting, application usage, service access control and charging, as well as application traffic shaping, prioritization and bandwidth allocation. Having established the design of the general infrastructure above, we will now focus on what the policy enforcement system should fundamentally accomplish. Based on our knowledge and experience from working with operator customers from all over the world, we have selected a few crucial requirements that we would like to further explore.

Integration in control plane systems

HIDE NETWORK COMPLEXITY

A state-of-the-art policy enforcement system that wants to address the requirements of both fixed-line and mobile network operators, as well as hybrids, has to be flexible with respect to its deployment options and the traffic it can analyze. Consequently, the system has to support a broad range of Layer 2 and Layer 3 mechanisms for its DPI protocol and application-aware policy enforcement. The policy enforcement systems most important task is to decouple functionality from the IP data network it is deployed in and hide the networks complexity. Whether deployed on Gn in a mobile network or in the Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) packet core, the use cases are the same, and the classification of protocols and applications and implementation of corresponding policies must be consistent. In order to accomplish this, dual-stack IP support, i.e. the parallel analysis of application traffic over both IPv4 and IPv6, is as essential as the analysis and decapsulation of traffic in a variety of tunnel protocols, such as GTP-U/GTP-C, L2TP, GRE and others that are used to provide IP connectivity to the user equipment within operator networks. Below the IP layer, the understanding and handling of MPLS-labeled traffic is of crucial importance, given that Multiprotocol Label Switching is more or less the standard in the operators allIP network core, including support for MPLS VPNs.

Hide network complexity through consistent classification of protocols and applications and implementation of corresponding policies

SMART REROUTING
Of all the core network functions, the ability to reroute traffic or, more specifically, traffic flows to any of the VAS systems in a smart way is the second most important function after DPI classification. It essentially turns the overall solution into a set of loosely coupled systems that is easily expandable once new application-specific VAS systems emerge. At the same time, the overall performance of the data plane remains unaffected. This is due to the fact that application-specific functions are essentially deployed in parallel with the policy enforcement system and are involved on demand through the rerouting functionality. An important requirement for the policy enforcement system is to reroute traffic to the value-added services as precisely as possible. A particular VAS should see as little traffic as possible to minimize VAS costs and as much as is necessary to maximize VAS efficiency. Ideally, it should process exactly the type of application traffic or content type traffic, it can handle. This implies that the rerouting decision within the policy enforcement system is made based on DPI knowledge and other criteria, or at least on a combination

Rerouting decision within the policy enforcement system is based on DPI knowledge

www.ipoque.com

WHITE PAPER > POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING

IPOQUE

of the following: subscriber, DPI protocol or application, protocol/application content type, and content provider. For example, all video traffic over HTTP is rerouted through the video optimization platform, while all non-video HTTP traffic is rerouted through the parental control platform for selected subscribers. A second important requirement is the interoperability between the policy enforcement system and the VAS. In the absence of standards, it is usually sufficient to know whether the VAS is proxy-based or works as a transparent bridge. In the first case, connections have to be rerouted from the first packet, while a less-strict mid-stream reroute might also work in the second case. In any case, certified tests of interoperability between the policy enforcement and VAS systems are essential.

SUBsCRIBER-CENTRIC AND APPLICATION-BAsED CHARGING

A state-of-the-art policy enforcement solution has to support charging and control policy rules organized by subscriber, traffic category and application.
The classification, control and charging of protocols on Layer 7 and above, and also of applications, is another key differentiator of a smart policy control and charging solution. It is also of particular importance for mobile network operators, since it is the basis for subscriber-centric and application-based pricing and charging models. As a result, a state-of-the-art policy enforcement solution has to support charging and control policy rules organized by subscriber, traffic category (time-based charging for streaming) and application (usage-based charging for applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Netflix). Furthermore, the modification of policy rules has to be supported in real time to minimize or completely avoid revenue loss. The charging functionality has to be highly flexible and configurable in order to enable different charging models, such as time- and volume-based variations, in near real-time. Obviously, application-based charging and control has to work independently of the underlying network, which means that functionality must be decoupled from this network. In addition, compliance with standards such as 3GPP Gx, Gy is also important, although proprietary interfaces might have less overhead.

OPTIMIZATION OF APPLICATION-BAsED INTERNET TRAFFIC

The basic components for a broad range of traffic management use cases remain the same: hierarchical traffic shaping and bandwidth allocation.
Although the charging aspect discussed in the previous section has attracted a lot of attention lately since DPI application awareness has entered the mobile environment with its long tradition of charging for services such as SMS traffic optimization is still one of the key tasks a policy enforcement system must perform when deployed in a network. It is also a key differentiator with respect to DPI-enabled gateway products. While the mobile environment has introduced new challenges such as the early detection and proactive management of cell congestion by restricting traffic of specific subscribers or applications the basic components for a broad range of traffic management use cases, such as quality of service guarantees for specific subscribers and applications or ensuring that subscribers each get their fair share of traffic, remain the same: hierarchical traffic shaping and bandwidth allocation. Traffic shaping is a means for actively controlling the maximum amount of bandwidth that is consumed, for example, by a certain application or by a particular subscriber and application.

www.ipoque.com

IPOQUE

WHITE PAPER > POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING

Bandwidth allocation is a means for guaranteeing a minimum amount of bandwidth that can be used, for example, by a certain application or by a particular subscriber and application. The configuration of both traffic shaping and bandwidth allocation policies is usually well coordinated. That means that a minimum amount of bandwidth is guaranteed for a certain application, while the maximum amount of available bandwidth is capped. Another important aspect is the ability to configure traffic shaping and bandwidth allocation policies hierarchically, starting at the operator network level and moving to specific IP networks and autonomous systems, VPNs, subscriber groups and individual subscribers. Since traffic management entails active interference with traffic, the policy enforcement solution must avoid as much buffer bloat as possible and keep latency as low as it can.

CONCLUsION
In the absence of standards, network operators are starting to consolidate different solutions that, in the past, resembled systems that operated more independently of one another. This convergence is an important part of keeping the operators network management efficient, since it is very unlikely that there will ever be one solution for everything. The reasons for this are, of course, very simple: A monolithic solution that can do everything would be extremely complex from a technical point of view, and it would be too bulky and provide no reasonable migration path for its rollout in existing networks. Therefore, we believe that the network architecture of the future will be based on flexibility. Network operators have to keep pace with rapid technological developments, and this is when a smart policy control and charging solution, such as the one we described above, becomes a factor. In this white paper we have demonstrated that such a solution requires a flexible, powerful and scalable core policy enforcement system: Flexible, to be able to fully meet the requirements of fixed-line and mobile network operators, as well as hybrids, and to keep up with the fast-changing environment and handle numerous set-up scenarios. Powerful, because of the sheer amount of traffic that is handled by todays networks. Scalable, to be able to meet the requirements of network operators varying network environments, so that it ultimately makes no difference whether it is the small mobile network operator or the global player asking for a smart policy control and charging solution. Network operators need a certain level of flexibility to integrate new solutions into existing network structures. In the end, it is important that all of todays network management challenges, as well as those yet to come, can be met: from simple Internet traffic optimization for fixed-line operators struggling with OTT content to progressive application-based charging and pricing models that increase revenue for operators and provide their customers with greater transparency. Whether operators decide to aim for direct revenue by using DPI-enabled charging for different services or want to generate it indirectly via the smart reroute function when a new service emerges, it is critical that they keep pace. Whatever the next big thing in communications networks ends up being, clearly network operators will be able to recognize, monitor and handle it appropriately if they have a policy control and charging solution in place providing the necessary business intelligence. This is exactly how network operators can equip themselves for future challenges.

Smart policy control and charging solutions require a flexible, powerful and scalable core policy enforcement component.

www.ipoque.com

WHITE PAPER > POLICY CONTROL AND CHARGING

IPOQUE

COMPANY PROFILE
ipoque provides network intelligence and policy control solutions helping fixed and mobile broadband operators to better understand traffic patterns, monetize new data services and improve the quality of experience for their subscribers. Our application classification and analysis engine enables bandwidth and congestion control, prioritized quality of service delivery and detailed network visibility. Over 200 broadband operator customers in more than 60 countries across the globe rely on ipoques policy control solution to limit equipment and operating expenditures, increase profitability and maximize subscriber satisfaction.
For more information: www.ipoque.com

ipoque GmbH, Neumarkt 29-33, 04109 Leipzig, Germany Phone: +49 341 59403 0 Fax: +49 341 59403 019

www.ipoque.com info@ipoque.com

2012 ipoque GmbH WP-1202