Common AAA Platform Provides Important Key to NGN Success

Among the most significant challenges facing service providers as they migrate from their legacy infrastructures to next-generation networks is delivering high-quality services across a variety of legacy and IP access technologies. As if that weren’t complex enough, they must simultaneously provide security, mobility and roaming management for those services, subscribers and their devices. Service providers whose networks are able to perform the required authorization, authentication and accounting (AAA) functions will enjoy the most successful and seamless migration efforts. In addition, subscribers will enjoy true mobility and the quality of experience they expect. Choosing the right AAA solution will play a key role in the complex task that service providers face in knitting their legacy infrastructures and backend systems together with emerging IP-based next-generation networks, devices and services. The best solution will offer the integration capabilities necessary to accomplish this goal with limited impact to CapEx and OpEx. Ideally, the AAA will offer service providers a high degree of integration and facilitate interoperability between multiple types of networks and backend systems. Therefore, it is critical that they choose an AAA solution that is able to connect to and interoperate with their existing backend systems and databases A best-in-class AAA server also must support complex security and accounting functions, mobility and roaming management. Such comprehensive functionality will allow service providers to deliver IPbased voice and data services using their existing mobile infrastructures, including their Home Location Register (HLR), billing platforms, and customer care systems. SUPERIOR SUPPORT In a single common physical platform, Juniper Networks’ Steel- Belted Radius (SBR) AAA Platform offers all of these capabilities and functionalities. It meets the need for seamless migration and provides support for multiple technologies and backend systems. As service providers migrate to a single IP-based infrastructure, they will be required to interact with one another and with public and private landline and wireless networks. The SBR AAA offers a future-proof solution that fully supports AAA functions for an ever-increasing number of end users and devices in multiple deployment and technology scenarios: • UMA/GAN environments: Extends mobile voice and data services over an IP access network by allowing seamless roaming and handover between wireless networks like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth or GSM and UMTS using the same dualmode mobile phone. • Femtocell environments: This network architecture also enables mobile operators to deliver voice, data, and IP-based applications to mobile phones in the home, but by leveraging 2G/3G radio resources instead of WLAN radio resources. This allows a broader range of devices to be used. • Secure 802.1x hotspots: Enables customers and roaming partners to use network resources as demands on those resources increase.