Diameter routing use Case guiDe

Diameter use Case guiDe 1

Diameter routing Use Case Guide

Table of Contents Introduction....................................................................................................................... 1 SEGway Universal Diameter Router (UDR) Overview.................................................. 2 Centralized Routing........................................................................................................... 4 Deployment of Multiple HSSs in Either an LTE/EPC or IMS Network.................................. 6 PCRF Binding..................................................................................................................... 8 Roaming to Non-LTE Network Providers........................................................................... 10 Roam Steering.................................................................................................................. 12 Security Inter-Network Topology Hiding........................................................................... 14 Security TLS...................................................................................................................... 16 Security IPsec.................................................................................................................... 17 Routing Segmentation...................................................................................................... 18 Glossary............................................................................................................................ 20 About PT.......................................................................................................................... 21

Introduction
Today, mobile network operators are faced with the challenges of building 4G LTE/EPC networks to meet the demands of subscriber devices such as smartphones, tablets and the always on applications they support. As IMS and LTE infrastructures are deployed, new elements such as policy servers, gateways, session controllers and charging systems are interconnected. These new elements interwork via Diameter protocol to exchange critical network and services information. Diameter signaling capabilities support all subscriber services, both revenue generating and non-revenue generating, thus its criticality to the overall network performance and stability cannot be underestimated. The sheer volume and complexity of this Diameter traffic places staggering demands on core signaling elements causing serious concerns about the reliability of the network. Many issues have arisen in the initial stages of network deployment including: network scalability, exponential increases in signaling traffic, network outages, compatibility of interconnected network elements and others too numerous to mention.

Diameter routing Use Case Guide

SEGWAY UNIVERSAL DIAMETER ROUTER (UDR)

OVERVIEW PTs SEGway Universal Diameter Router (UDR) provides a flexible, robust carrier grade solution to the Diameter routing dilemma. SEGway UDR provides essential functions of centralized core and edge routing for Diameter protocol elements widely used in the all-IP, service-oriented, IMS and Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture networks. These functions include:

Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) as Specified by 3GPP Diameter Edge Agent (DEA) as Specified by GSMA Subscription Location Function (SLF) Interworking Function (IWF)
The SEGway UDRs flexible and open architecture allows network planners the ability to make intelligent deployment decisions. Diameter features can be deployed separately or within the same unit.

INTRODUCTION

Extensible and Flexible Routing PT developed the SEGway UDR to be a flexible routing engine with advanced screening capabilities, providing the ability to route and screen on any AVP in the message. Architected for extensibility, as well as straightforward evolution to future Diameter applications, this high-powered platform makes SEGway UDR ideal for LTE/EPC and IMS networks.

World Class Support PT provides a vast array of support services including: network planning, engineering, installation and training. The support organization has a vast degree of expertise in network routing and protocols in mission-critical networks such as SS7. These services are offered on an a la carte basis and can be tailored to meet individual customer requirements.

Diameter routing Use Case Guide

CentraLiZeD routing
PRoblem: the architecture of the Lte/ePC network defines a large quantity of network elements, each with its own functionality. each network element can have multiple interfaces to other elements based on the procedures and information exchanged. additionally, the peer concepts of the Diameter protocol and the connection-oriented methodologies of the stream Control transmission Protocol (sCtP) significantly increase the complexity and quantity of routing rules within the network. as the network continues to evolve and grow additional routing rules have to be provisioned in every network element. the routing complexity inherent within this mesh-type network presents a twofold problem. First, the large task of maintenance and administration of routing rules on individual nodes directly affects the consistency and scalability of the network. Finally, placing the routing responsibility on the individual network elements can degrade the network elements ability to perform its primary function.
4 CentraLiZeD routing

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S13 Gy Gz Gx

AAA H-PCRF
S9 S6b SWd

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P-GW

VPMN

MME

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3GPP AAA Proxy

SGSN

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Figure 1: LTE/EPC Network

HPMN
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soluTIon: Pts segway universal Diameter router

IMS
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I-CSCF P-CSCF

S-CSCF

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HSS
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P-GW
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H-PCRF
S6b

(uDr) provides a more efficient and scalable network architecture. By placing the segway uDr in the core of the network routing is centralized, reducing the quantity and complexity of inter-network and intra-network routing. also, since the routing responsibility is removed from individual network elements their expensive resources are freed up to perform their primary function, thus reducing network-wide capital expenditures. benefITs: the benefits realized from a network topology including a Pt segway uDr are numerous.

UDR

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Non-3GPP

Figure 2: LTE/EPC Network with SEGway UDR

simplifies Connectivity maintenance/Provisioning Congestion management routing/traffic management network Protection security Firewalls topology Hiding Cost effective and Flexible network Deployment scalability Load Balancing session routing and Control interoperability Value added services roaming management roam steering
Diameter routing use Case guiDe 5

DePLoYment oF muLtiPLe Hsss in eitHer an Lte/ePC or ims netWorK

PRoblem: Home subscriber servers (Hss) are deployed in Lte/ePC and ims networks. in ims networks, Hsss are responsible for subscriber-specific authorizations, service profiles and preferences. in Lte/ePC networks, the Hss is responsible for mobile authentication and other HLr-like functionalities. either an increase in numbers of subscribers or the need for network diversification can drive network operators to deploy multiple Hsss. in networks that contain multiple Hsss, the subscriber identity is used to route to the appropriate Hss containing a particular subscribers information. each node requesting the subscriber information would have to be provisioned with routing information including subscriber identity and the Hsss address containing the subscribers profile.
Figure 3: Multiple HSS with No Diameter Router
MME AAA I-CSCF S-CSCF AS
HSS Routing Info

HSS-A

Diameter

HSS-B

DePLoYment oF muLtiPLe Hsss

soluTIon: By deploying Pts segway universal Diameter router (uDr) with subscription Locator Functionality, a more efficient routing mythology can be used. the segway uDr with sLF would be provisioned with subscriber identity and mapping to the appropriate Hss.

benefITs: the benefits realized from a network topology containing a segway uDr with the sLF functionality include:

HSS Routing Info

more efficient routing enables a more reliable network multiple Hsss reduces operations expenditures Less routing rules to administer increases network scalability

AS

S-CSCF

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UDR
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Figure 4: Multiple HSS with SEGway UDR

Diameter routing use Case guiDe

PCRF BINDING
Problem: The Policy Charging Rules Function (PCRF) is becoming increasingly more important in managing network operators resources while balancing the subscribers network data utilization experience. As network operators push to increase their Annual Revenue Per User (ARPU) by offering tiered data plans and the introduction of Voice over LTE (VoLTE), the role of the PCRF is one of the most critical within the network. The PCRF is used for the authorization of a subscribers bandwidth allocation based on multiple factors including the subscribers past usage, the level of service a subscriber has purchased and the amount of resources currently available in the network. When a subscriber establishes an IP/data session (IP-CAN) within the network, a PCRF is assigned to authorize the session and maintain a Quality of Service (QoS) for the session. IP-CAN/PCRF Binding insure the initial PCRF assigned for the session is responsible for maintaining the rules and QoS during the life of the session. Multiple PCRFs are deployed in the network based on either network scalability requirements or PCRF vendor product architectures. This type of network topology requires an IP-CAN/PCRF binding capability, within the network.

PCRF BINDING

soluTIon: By deploying Pts segway universal Diameter router (uDr) including iP-Can/ benefITs: the benefits realized from PCrF binding capabilities, multiple PCrFs can be provisioned in the network. the flexibility provided by segway uDr enables efficient network design to meet the needs of both operators and subscribers. the segway uDr iP-Can/PCrF Binding functionality can be integrated with any of the segway uDr functionalities or deployed on a standalone basis.
P-CSCF PCRF PCRF PCRF
UDR

a network topology containing a segway uDr with the iP-Can/PCrF binding functionality include:

network scalability network Design Flexibility

S-GW

P-GW V-PCRF

PCRF PCRF PCRF

Trusted Non-3GPP

Figure 5 : PCRF Binding with SEGway UDR

Diameter routing use Case guiDe

roaming to non-Lte netWorK ProViDers

PRoblem: When mobile network operators start their deployment of Lte/ePC, it is important to provide subscribers with the widest breadth of coverage possible. in order to provide the coverage required by the subscribers, the home network (Lte/ePC) provider might have roaming agreements with non-Lte networks such as 2g or 3g operators. the home network provider would have provided its customers with multi-mode handsets to facilitate this roaming. since the 2g/3g networks are ss7 signaling-based and the Lte/ePC networks are Diameter signaling-based, an interworking function is required to translate from the Diameter signaling protocol in the Lte network to the ss7/maP signaling protocol used in the 2g/3g networks. Without this translation/ interworking function, it is impossible for a subscriber to roam from an Lte/ePC/Diameter network to a 2g/3g/ss7/maP network.

MME HSS

SGSN HLR
SS7/MAP

Diameter

STP Visited 2G/3G Network

Home LTE/EPC Network

Figure 6: Roaming to Non-LTE Network

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roaming to non-Lte netWorK ProViDers

soluTIon: the deployment of Pts segway universal Diameter router (uDr), complete with the interworking Function (iWF), solves the problem of subscribers roaming from an Lte/ePC Diameter signaling protocol network to a non-Lte network by providing the translation and mapping capability required for communication between Diameter-based networks and ss7based networks.

benefITs: the benefits realized from a network topology containing a segway uDr with the ss7/Diameter iWF include:

smooth migration to Lte/ePC network topologies Better roaming Capabilities increased subscriber satisfaction - reduced Churn - increased revenues

LTE Subscriber Information

LTE Subscriber

MME HSS
Diameter Diameter - MAP Interworking

SGSN HLR
SS7/MAP

STP
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Home LTE/EPC Network

Visited 2G/3G Network

Figure 7: Roaming to Non-LTE Network with SEGway UDR

Diameter routing use Case guiDe

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ROAM STEERING
Problem: As Mobile Operators address the business challenges of trying to increase ARPU and decrease Subscriber churn, some of the most critical factors they face are roaming management, roaming agreements and QoS while roaming. To maintain financial margins, mobile operators must be able to negotiate equitable roaming agreements and subsequently manage subscriber roaming to meet the conditions of the roaming agreements. Additionally, subscriber roaming satisfaction directly correlates to a reduction in churn. Currently most of the Steering of Roaming (SoR) solutions are SS7-based and are not deployable in LTE/EPC networks without major modifications. The following explanation is represented in Figure 8 (right). LTE Subscriber turns on their phone in an area served by VPLMN A, VPLMN B and VPLMN C. Both VPLMN A and VPLMN B have roaming agreements with LTE Subscribers HPLMN, however, the agreement with VPLMN B calls for a higher percentage of traffic than VPLMN A. LTE Subscriber handset sends a registration message to its HPLMN through VPLMN A the message is received by the SEGway Universal Diameter Router (UDR) in the HPLMN. The UDR forwards the registration message to the Roam Steering Application, which checks the subscriber, roaming conditions and roaming agreement parameters. The roam steering application finds that VPLMN B is the optimum roaming provider for both itself and the subscriber. The roam steering sends rejection messages to the UDR for routing to VPLMN A and ultimately to the LTE Subscribers handset. The rejection message is received by the LTE Subscribers handset. The LTE Subscriber handset sends a registration message to its HPLMN through VPLMN B the message is received by the SEGway UDR in the HPLMN. The UDR forwards the registration message to the Roam Steering Application which checks the subscriber, roaming conditions and roaming agreement parameters. The roam steering sees that the registration is for VPLMN B and that it is the chosen provider. The roam steering lets the registration process continues to its completion.

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ROAM STEERING

HPMN
hPCRF
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soluTIon: the deployment of the segway uDr as a Diameter edge agent as recommended by gsma (PrD ir.88 Lte roaming guidelines 3.0) provides a single point of interface to all interconnected networks whether directly connected or connected through a Hub Provider. Diameter messages used for roam steering pass from the VPLmns through the segway uDr acting as a Diameter edge agent. the Diameter messages are passed to the roam steering application registered with the uDr, where they are acted upon and the resultant message sent back to the uDr for routing. benefITs: the benefits realized from a network topology containing a segway uDr acting as a Diameter edge agent with roam steering include:
PCRF

UDR

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UDR

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SGSN VPLMN A

PCRF

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PCRF

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x
LTE Subscriber

more efficient routing Higher roaming revenues Better roaming Capabilities increased subscriber satisfaction - reduced Churn - increased revenues

Figure 8 : Roam Steering with SEGway UDR

Diameter routing use Case guiDe

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inter-netWorK toPoLogY HiDing

PRoblem: During the design phase of an Lte/ePC network, service providers might decide to interconnect other networks at the individual network element level using the topology shown in Figure 9. When using this interconnection scheme, both the visited and home networks topology are totally open to each other including node types, addresses, etc. in this open type of interconnection, if a malicious hacker is able to compromise a trusted node within the network access can be gained to most other network components and then further attacks mounted based on the information gained.

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Figure 9: LTE/EPC Network

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seCuritY

soluTIon: the deployment of the segway universal Diameter router (uDr) as a Diameter edge agent as recommended by gsma (PrD ir.88 Lte roaming guidelines 3.0) provides a single point of interface to all interconected networks, whether directly connected or connected through a Hub Provider. this single point of contact for all interconnected networks enables topology Hiding, thus increasing the security of the network by protecting the nodes/addresses from being exported to foreign networks. benefITs: the benefits realized from a network topology containing the segway uDr deployed as a Diameter edge agent include:
VPMN
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UDR

UDR

vPCRF

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hPCRF

Figure 10: SEGway UDR/Diameter Edge Agent

Better network security more efficient inter-network routing

Diameter routing use Case guiDe

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Security TLS
Problem: Although there are a large number of security mechanisms specified for the EPC network, security challenges continue to exist due to the open nature of the architecture. Protocols used in the EPC, including Diameter, Stream Control Transmission Control Protocol (SCTP) and GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP), have specified security improvements. However, security vulnerabilities still exist and can be introduced in the network design phase, implementation phase or the operations/configuration phase. Solution: The deployment of a SEGway Universal Diameter Router (UDR) with its inherent Transport Layer Security (TLS) capability significantly increases the security of the control/signaling plane. TLS is a cryptographic protocol that provides security for IP communications. TLS encrypts packets within a segment of network connections at the application layer using asymmetric cryptography for key exchange, symmetric encryption for privacy and message authentication codes for message integrity. Benefits: The benefits realized from a network topology including a SEGway UDR including TLS include:

Increased Network Control/Signaling Plane Security Increased Network Reliability Hop by Hop Security Network Address Translator (NAT) Traversal

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SecURITY

Security IPsec
Problem: Although there are a large number of security mechanisms specified for the EPC network, security challenges continue to exist due to the open nature of the architecture. Protocols used in the EPC, including Diameter, Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) and GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP), have specified security improvements. However, security vulnerabilities still exist and can be introduced in the network design phase, implementation phase or the operations/configuration phase. Solution: The deployment of a SEGway UDR with its inherent IP Security (IPsec) capability significantly increases the security of the control/signaling plane. IPsec is a protocol suite used to secure IP communications by using authentication and encryption of IP packets during the communications session. IPsec has the capability to establish mutual authentication at the beginning of a session and to negotiate cryptographic keys used during the session. IPsec (RFCs 2401, 2406, 2409, 2411) is a protocol suite that runs at the networking layer (L3). It provides confidentiality, integrity protection, data origin authentication and replay protection of each message by encrypting and signing every message. Benefits: The benefits realized from a network topology containing a SEGway UDR with IPsec include:

Increased Network Control/Signaling Plane Security Increased Network Reliability

Diameter routing Use Case Guide

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ROUTING SEGMENTATION
Problem: The deployment of LTE/EPC by network service providers has uncovered issues and opportunities directly related to routing messages to other interconnected networks. One of the key opportunities is for an LTE/EPC network operator to resell inter-network connection and message transport capabilities to other operators. The combination of a complex LTE/EPC network, numerous interconnected networks and vendors wide diversity of equipment, presents service providers with the challenge of setting up routing rules, shaping traffic and handling Diameter protocol inconsistencies on an interconnected network basis. The deployment of separate Diameter Routers has been investigated, however this significantly increases the operations and capital cost. Another solution is having consolidated routing rules for both intra-network and inter-network traffic. This massive routing configuration leads to complexity and increases the chances of errors when making routing/traffic rules changes.

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DIAMETER/USAGE WHOLESALE

soluTIon: Pts segway universal Diameter router (uDr), built on Pts network-proven Dynamic routing engine, provides more efficient, flexible and scalable Diameter routing solutions. the segway uDr enables the definition of separate Diameter routing agents within a single uDr. each of these virtual segway uDrs has its own separate routing and screening rules that include the ability to shape traffic on a per peer basis. this shaping includes traffic flow control, throttling and congestion per peer. the uDrs industry proven, flexible routing concept provides increased control, as well as ease of implementation and it opens the door to increased service provider revenues.
LTE/EPC
MME S-GW eNodeB P-GW HSS

LTE/EPC
MME HSS S-GW eNodeB AS P-GW

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benefITs: the benefits realized from a network topology containing a Pt segway uDr are numerous.

HSS

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simplifies routing maintenance/Provisioning Congestion management routing/traffic management Load Balancing session routing and Control interoperability network Protection topology Hiding Cost effective and Flexible network Deployment Value added services

HSS

HSS

Figure 11: Roam Steering with SEGway UDR Diameter routing use Case guiDe 19

GLOSSARY
2G Second Generation 3G Third Generation 3GPP Third Generation Project Partnership 4G Fourth Generation AAA Authentication Authorization Accounting ARPU Annual Revenue Per User AS Application Server AVP Attribute Value Pair DEA DRA Diameter Edge Agent Diameter Routing Agent I-CSCF Interrogating Call Session Control Function IETF Internet Engineering Task Force IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem IP Internet Protocol IP-CAN Internet Protocol Connection Access Network IPsec Internet Protocol Security IWF Inter Working Function LTE Long Term Evolution MAP Mobile Application Part MME Mobility Management Entity NAT Network Address Translator OCS Online Charging System OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer OFCS Off Line Charging System OPex Operations Expenditures PCRF Policy Control Rules Function P-CSCF Proxy Call Session Control Function P-GW PDN Gateway Packet Data Network Gateway PRD QoS Permanent Reference Document Quality of Service

RFC Request for Comment S-CSCF Serving Call Session Control Function SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node S-GW Serving Gateway SLF Subscription Locator Function SoR Steering of Roaming SS7 Signaling System Seven TLS Transport Layer Security UDR Universal Diameter Router VoLTE Voice over Long Term Evolution

EPC Evolved Packet Core EPDG Evolved Packet Data Gateway GPRS General Packet Radio Service GSMA GSM Association GTPQ GPRS Tunneling Protocol HPLMN Home Public Land Mobile Network HLR HSS Home Location Register Home Subscriber Server

VPLMN Visited Public Land Mobile Network

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GLOSSARY

ABOUT PT

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PT (NASDAQ: PTIX) is a global supplier of advanced, high availability network communications solutions. Its SEGway Diameter and SS7 Signaling Systems provide tightly integrated signaling and advanced routing capabilities and applications that uniquely span the mission critical demands of both existing and next-generation 4G LTE and IMS telecommunications networks. The Companys IPnexus Multi-Protocol Gateways and Servers enable a broad range of IP-interworking in data acquisition, sensor, radar and control applications for aviation, weather and other infrastructure networks. Established in 1981, PT is headquartered in Rochester, NY and markets and sells its products worldwide through its direct sales organization as well as through channel partners that include major telecommunications equipment vendors, government prime contractors and value-added resellers.
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