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Backoffice & OSS
Reef Point Unveils IMS Security For Both Fixed and Mobile Networks
Solution Integrates, Secures, And Ensures QoS For Next-Gen VoIP And Multimedia Services
by Telecommunications Magazine Staff
Playing a pivotal role in the IMS Forum's working display of next-generation telecommunications networks, Reef Point's Universal Convergence Gateway(UCG) became the industry's first fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) gateway product to publicly demonstrate security for multivendor mobile IMS networks and to concurrently provide security for mobile IMS and landline (or 'fixed') IMS networks. In addition, the Reef Point UCG was the first gateway to publicly demonstrate IMS fixed- line and mobile network security and IMS Proxy-Call Session Control Function integrated in a single chassis system.
The UCG ensures security as well as quality of service and policy enforcement for IMS core networks, IMS application services and user devices. The UCG performed the Border Gateway Function (BGF) as defined by the ETSI IMS standard for fixed-line networks, the Security Gateway (SEG) function for 3GPP IMS standard for mobile networks and the Proxy –Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) specified by the ETSI and 3GPP standard organizations.
Reef Point is an active member of the IMS Forum. The Reef Point UCG was the fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) control point between the access networks and the IMS core infrastructure in the IMS Forum's Plugfest (a multivendor equipment IMS interoperability demonstration) held at the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL).
"The IMS Forum's multivendor demonstration is a major validation of the telecommunications industry standards organizations' vision of the future and the vendor community's ability to comply with standards to make that vision a reality," said Woody Ritchey, Reef Point Chief Executive Officer. "Reef Point's contribution to the effort is the UCG - the industry's only platform that can deliver IMS services to users regardless of their access network or device and protect the whole IMS environment from all levels of Internet-based attacks. We have demonstrated that our 'universal' approach to convergence gives service providers the utmost flexibility and affordability to build compelling, secure and quality assured services for their customers."
At the IMS Forum's Plugfest, the Reef Point UCG concurrently provided defense-in-depth security services, bandwidth management for QoS, proxy services and the convergence of multiple access networks:
Concurrent support for multiple industry standard networks included:
- IMS mobile networks as defined by the 3GPP industry standards organization.
- IMS fixed-line networks as defined by the IETF industry standards organization.
Defense-in-depth for all the IMS network elements and services included:
- Users' mobile handsets and laptop computers.
- Telecommunications providers' IMS core infrastructure and IMS services.
- The Internet backbone.
Comprehensive feature set that encompasses and surpasses the IMS-specified security included:
- Stateful firewall for media plane security, for services such as VoIP, video conferencing, video-on-demand, IP TV, gaming, presence, email, messaging and web browsing.
- Prevents denial of service attacks based on RTP, HTTP, TCP and other media plane IP protocols.
- Session Initiation Protocol Application Layer Gateway (SIP ALG) for control-plane security and for associating control signaling with media.
- Prevents denial of service attacks and bandwidth theft based on the SIP protocol.
- IPsec encryption for security of the control and media planes.
- SIP encryption required by 3GPP IMS for wireless and optional for ETSI IMS for fixed-line.
- Theft-of-bandwidth protection for revenue assurance
- Enforces authorized bandwidth for each associated media stream
- Quality of service for customer satisfaction
- Differentiates services based on applications and subscribers
- Proxy-Call Server Control Function (P-CSCF) for communicating with other IMS elements that authenticate users and authorize services.
The P-CSCF software was deployed on the UCG's Application Services Module (ASM). The ASM is designed to integrate third-party software (i.e., proxies, intrusion detection systems, virus protection, etc.) into the UCG and provide an integrated solution that delivers customer-specific applications via the UCG's high scaleable, predictable wire-speed and reliable architecture.
At the IMSF Plugfest, Reef Point demonstrated its ability to integrate third-party applications on its UCG platform and the software's interoperability with multivendor IMS network elements. For deployment flexibility, third party software functionality can be distributed on multiple Reef Point UCGs, centralized on a single UCG or deployed as a separate server to interoperate with Reef Point's UCG IMS security and QoS functionality.
Said Scott Poretsky, IMS Forum Technical Chairperson and Reef Point Director of Quality Assurance, "With unprecedented cooperation among vendors, the IMS Forum's Plugfest is an important milestone in the telecomm industry's quest for next-generation rich-media services. It is proof that everybody wins - carriers, consumers and vendors - when innovative technology is combined with industry standards."
Poretsky is a coauthor of the IETF's SIP Performance Benchmarking Draft Standards, is an IEEE Member and has been a Session Chair for the IEEE's Communications Quality and Reliability (CQR) Conference.
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