Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture

Transform networks to realize profitable, mass market delivery

of blended voice, video and data services, providing a superior

experience — anytime, anywhere.

The increase in demand for new bandwidth

intensive triple play services like IPTV, video on

demand, enhanced high-speed Internet, blended

IP multimedia services and voice over IP (VoIP)

represent a significant revenue growth opportunity

for operators. Triple play services require a network

that is scalable to deliver these services to the mass

market; reliable, to provide the optimal quality of

experience for the subscriber; and flexible, to adapt

to service changes and new service opportunities.

The Alcatel-Lucent Triple Play Service Delivery

Architecture (TPSDA) is designed to allow you

to quickly and efficiently respond to changes in

bandwidth demands and service needs ensuring

that you can meet the requirements of a triple

play world now and into the future.

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3Alcatel-Lucent | Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture

Delivering Profitable Triple Play Services to the Mass Market

Adding new triple play services to the servicebundle has compelled many operators to rethinktheir network infrastructures. Traditional IPnetworks were designed for best-effort, high-speed Internet services and applications. Whilebest-effort service works well for non-real-timedata transfers like e-mail, delivering profitabletriple play services that include real-time appli-cations such as streaming video and voice servicesto the mass market will require a more scalable,reliable and quality of service enabled networkfoundation. IPTV service providers need

additional service capacity improvements due tothe competitive requirements for multi-room andhigh definition service. Only a next generationnetwork will enable cost effective service deliverywhile guaranteeing the quality of experience(QoE) subscribers are expecting.

The Alcatel-Lucent TPSDA meets all triple playrequirements and provides you with a comprehen-sive network solution that will transform yourbusiness for triple play services now and intothe future.

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With more than 40 deploymentsworldwide, the Alcatel-Lucent TPSDAis a proven IP-based network referencearchitecture specifically designed toaddress the scalability, reliabilityand flexibility challenges you face inthe delivery of quality voice, videoand data services to your customers.The TPSDA enables you to engagestrategically in the IP transformationprocess with a purpose-built, nextgeneration network foundation thatleverages access, optics, Carrier-Ethernet and IP technologies andcouples them with robust managementand security capabilities to deliver aseamless user experience (Figure 1).

The Alcatel-Lucent TPSDA is basedon a comprehensive product portfoliospecifically developed to meet therequirements for a next generationtriple play infrastructure (see Table 1).It addresses the fundamental challengesof optimizing performance and costwith distributed functionality, allowingeach device to optimize its role in thenetwork to meet individual serviceneeds. This distribution is balancedby central administration and controlcapabilities to guarantee superior QoEend-to-end, in a cost-effective manner.

Optimized for any delivery method(copper, fiber or wireless), the TPSDAportfolio is built to simultaneouslyensure the delivery of today’s profitableservices and provide the flexibility forfuture service growth and innovation.

Transform Your Network with TPSDA

Figure 1. The Alcatel-Lucent Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture

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Table 1. TPSDA Components

“As triple-play service bundles are still in the early stagesof deployment, service providers are making critical invest-ments in network infrastructure to prepare for long-termgrowth in subscriber demand….[Alcatel-Lucent] demon-strates its operational experience from early TPSDAdeployments by developing important new product capa-bilities that will help its expanding customer base meetsubscriber demand and improve the user experience.”YA N K E E G R O U P

Residential Gateways (RGs): RGs are the demarcation devices between the homenetwork and the operator network. They combine a broadband access termination functionwith an integrated router and firewall, voice over IP (VoIP) gateway and wireless LANaccess capabilities. RGs enable the connecting of home computers, TV set-top boxes, andexisting POTS/ISDN “black phones,” as well as IP “hard phones” and IP “soft phones.”

Broadband Service Access Node (BSAN): BSAN refers to a new generation of accessdevices that leverages the economies and versatility of IP/Ethernet switching and employsDSL technologies and FTTx technologies (such as Gigabit passive optical networking(GPON)) to create deep fiber access networks. The TPSDA includes IP layer functions tooptimize the quality, security and cost-effectiveness of the overall architecture. The Alcatel-Lucent Intelligent Services Access Manager (ISAM) portfolio is designed to support therole of the BSAN.

Broadband Service Aggregator (BSA): The BSA is a new type of network elementthat combines the strengths of Ethernet and MPLS technologies to enable virtual privateLAN services (VPLS). The BSA supports subscriber access control functions and optimizesquality and efficiency in IP service transport over Ethernet for both IP unicast and multicasttraffic. The BSA has IP service awareness and support functions. The Alcatel-Lucent 7450Ethernet Service Switch is designed to support the role of the BSA.

Broadband Service Router (BSR): The BSR acts as the converged IP service edge andperforms IP routing functions. The BSR uses a unified mode of operation based on IP overEthernet and DHCP to deliver services and obtain IP addresses on behalf of the subscriberor user device. The BSA and BSR work together as a virtual node that functionally replacesthe BRAS and associated ATM-based aggregation nodes in legacy IP service infrastructures.The Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router is designed to support the role of the BSR.

Optical Transport: Data-aware multiservice provisioning platforms and wavelengthdivision multiplexing (WDM) platforms aggregate multiple services to cost-effectivelyconnect the BSA with the BSAN and enable a smooth evolution to all packet transport.The Alcatel-Lucent OMSN and DMX are SDH and SONET multiservice provisioning plat-forms while the 1850 TSS is a hybrid packet/TDM/WDM transport service switch. TheAlcatel-Lucent 1696 MS and 1626 LM are metro and coreWDM transport platforms.

RG

BSAN

BSA

BSR

OP T I CA LTRANSPORT

I CON ROL E

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Accommodating Massive Growth

A key challenge is to build an infrastructure that is optimized for today’s offering and that can scale for

future subscriber and service growth. The TPSDA addresses multi-dimensional scaling needs on an end-to-end

basis. It alleviates scaling issues for bandwidth-intensive services and allows you to better optimize the

network for future service innovations by distributing the functionality and intelligence between the nodes

in the network. This provides the opportunity to “right-size” your investment over time to optimize capital

expenditure investments as your network evolves.

BANDW IDTH SCA L INGTo support video services, the architecture must be optimizedfor sustained high bandwidth demand, and it must scalecost effectively from a basic broadcast TV service offeringto a mass-market uptake of video on demand (VoD) andInternet video.

The TPSDA incorporates the flexibility to optimize forbroadcast TV service now, and still scale bandwidth levelsto support a full unicast model such as VoD at highconcurrency levels.

Broadcast TV is optimized by replicating the video channelsin the network as close as possible to the viewer. Thisincreases the efficiency of the network by reducing thebandwidth and fiber requirements for delivering broadcastchannels to the subscriber.

As video services mature, a higher percentage of unicasttraffic will flow into the network, creating a greater bandwidthdemand. The TPSDA can efficiently scale to offer therequired capacity and enables geographic distribution ofvideo content servers to minimize the transport cost ofvideo traffic. The first mile provides high bandwidth capacitywith the use of fiber in the access network and new technolo-gies like VDSL2 and GPON. The aggregation network canbe scaled to hundreds of Gigabit Ethernet ports per node,supported by an underlying optical infrastructure that allowsincremental growth of the network up to Terabit/s capacityper optical fiber.

S ERV I C E PR IOR I T I ZAT I ON AND CONTROLEnd users do not have the same expectations for all services.VoIP, broadcast TV, VoD and high-speed Internet traffic havedifferent quality of service (QoS) and bandwidth demandsand must be treated accordingly. The TPSDA allows youto allocate a bandwidth budget and/or priority to each sub-scriber and each service category, which enables you toprovide premium quality services to end users in a cost-optimized way. The TPSDA supports this capability bydistributing policy enforcement functions, such as trafficmanagement, filtering and accounting functions, in theend-to-end service path.

The TPSDA supports hierarchical QoS in which VoIP hasthe highest priority, then video services, followed by thevarious quality grades of high-speed Internet traffic. Unusedbandwidth dedicated to a higher order service class willautomatically become available for lower classes of service,thus optimizing resource utilization. When a higher priorityservice class needs more bandwidth than budgeted, it canpre-empt bandwidth of lower priority services to optimizerevenue.

To make sure the proper bandwidth is allocated to eachuser, the TPSDA features a centralized service andsubscriber management system that enforces control overnetwork resources. This enables subscriber access to thenetwork and ensures users receive the appropriate QoS,based on the applications they are using.

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The foundation for a successful triple play offering is to ensure a

flawless user experience by enabling people to do what they want —

watch, play, talk, listen — whenever they want. When it comes to

video and audio services, end users have very high expectations and

very low tolerance for anything but a positive experience. Assuring a

superior QoE to the end user is not just a matter of bandwidth. The

TPSDA includes the functionalities and provides the tools to help you

ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.

NON - S TOP S ERV I C E DE L I V ERYThe Alcatel-Lucent TPSDA providesa highly available infrastructurefoundation. One of its foremostdifferentiators is its ability to delivernon-stop routing and non-stopservices by reducing the risk of serviceoutages due to node or link failure.

The underlying TPSDA productsmeet and exceed the most stringentreliability demands of operators, withhardware and software architecturesdesigned for maximum uptime. AllAlcatel-Lucent platforms in theTPSDA are fully redundant platformswith no single point of failure. At thenetwork level, rapid protection andrestoration mechanisms are imple-mented at the photonic, Ethernetand IP layer providing a sub-50millisecond recovery time. TheTPSDA also enables a dual homingof the access node to the aggregationnetwork with zero impact to end usersand their services in the event ofthe access link or aggregation nodefailing.

ASSURED & OPT IM I Z ED I PV I D EO DE L I V ERYTPSDA provides a foundation for IPTVoperators to deliver superior videoquality, with greater personalizationand interactivity. The enhancementsto TPSDA have multiple benefits thatinclude:

• a more cost-effective and flexibleplatform for high bandwidth servicessuch as HDTV

• an improved user experience — withimmediate channel changing andmore reliable TV service

• the ability to insert into TV programsadvertisements that are targeted tospecific communities or localities, inturn enabling the development of anew TV advertising business model

The enhancements add applicationlayer intelligence to the TPSDAnetwork elements enabling them tocache, store, stream and splice videocontent as well as to characterizeapplication layer content. As a result,the triple play operator is able todeliver a better TV experience, reducecosts, and also improve the ability tomonetize the service.

CONGES T ION AVO IDANCEThe Alcatel-Lucent TPSDA providesa comprehensive approach to capacityplanning and congestion avoidance tomeet the service quality, availability andcost objectives. Service admissioncontrol, a mechanism that verifiescapacity in the network to allow userrequests, complements other qualityassurance mechanisms to preserveservice sessions in progress. Theobjective is to preserve service sessionsin progress against the risk of qualitydegradation due to network overload.Alcatel-Lucent TPSDA supports bothmulticast service admission control(i.e., for broadcast TV) and unicastservice admission control (e.g., forVoD and streaming IP multimedia).

Alcatel-Lucent deploys a centralizedbroadband policy server to supportunified subscriber management andservice delivery control for triple play.The policy-based authentication,authorization and accounting, andservice admission control functionsare tightly integrated and centrallyadministered to close the loopbetween demand and supply basedon the subscriber’s service profileand network resource availability.

Providing a Superior Quality of Experience

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CONTENT AND CUS TOMER S ECUR I T YNetwork security and content protection are key concernsof customers, who want their personal network protected,and content owners, who need assurances that their contentis securely delivered and protected against piracy and unau-thorized replication. To respond to security threats, theTPSDA includes comprehensive, built-in security mechanismsand authentication processes to prevent theft of service anddenial of service attacks, while also protecting digital rights.

S ERV I C E QUAL I T Y AS SURANCEA resilient, scalable and secure architecture, combined witha congestion avoidance mechanism, contribute to increasingthe probability that end users receive the QoE they areexpecting. However, the only way you can be sure yourend users’ QoE is satisfactory is by actually monitoring it.

The Alcatel-Lucent TPSDA combines monitoring

and troubleshooting tools to collect usage and

performance data coming from the entire service

delivery path to verify and assure that services are

being delivered at the required quality. Management

tools enable you to diagnose potential problems

prior to performance degradation, so you can take

proactive actions such as rightsizing capacity at

perceived congestion points. With this information,

you can respond to increased demand, proactively

remedy potential quality issues and isolate faults in

the end-to-end network, from the home to the

service source.

Your end users can also undertake their own troubleshootingoperations using a dedicated self-care application that willguide them through the different steps required to resolveproblems.

Alcatel-Lucent Motive® home device management andcustomer support solutions facilitate and automate variousoperational processes including device installation, serviceactivation, customer support and troubleshootingoperations.

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Ultimate Flexibility

F ROM THE GRACE FU L M IGRAT ION OF L EGACYS ERV I C E S TO NE TWORK CONVERGENCEThe TPSDA can be deployed alongside your legacyinfrastructure to enable you to support the introductionof IPTV services, cap investments in legacy voice anddata service infrastructures, and support the evolution toNGN/IMS and enhanced Internet services. Legacy voiceand high-speed Internet service offerings are typicallymigrated to the TPSDA at the time a subscriber signs upfor an IPTV/triple play service bundle. In addition TPSDAprovides a foundation for converged mobile and Wirelinenetworks for streamlined introduction of new convergedservices, easier application enablement and efficientinfrastructures for service and content delivery.

From an expense and investment perspective, the costs ofrolling out a new infrastructure that is able to address theintroduction of IPTV can be balanced against the need toupgrade the installed base to address continuing growth inhigh-speed Internet and the additional capacity required fornext generation services.

The TPSDA supports any combinationof home gateway, access technology,aggregation network, authenticationprotocol, connectivity model, subscribermanagement and policy enforcementto cater to the specifics of any tripleplay service rollout around the world.This “any mode of operation” modelprovides you with maximum flexibilityto build a triple play network tailoredto your market.

With the Alcatel-Lucent TPSDA, therequired intelligence can be activatedin each part of the network accordingto the optimal cost and function setyou need. TPSDA is a highly flexible,multiservice architecture that allowsyou to rapidly develop and roll outinnovative services without requiringa complete re-architecting of yourexisting services or the deployment ofnew equipment. As services continueto grow, and users become more andmore sophisticated, a blending of serv-ices will be a natural evolution andnetwork requirement. IP multimediasubsystem (IMS) is a key enabler ofthe blending of triple play services.The TPSDA is an IMS-ready architec-ture that can grow and evolve withyour service mix.

“Launching HD TV secures SaskTel’s position as an IPTV pioneer. With [Alcatel-Lucent’s] Triple Play solutions, we are confident that HD is one of many innovativeentertainment services that we will continue delivering to our customers.”S A S K T E L

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LOOK ING AF T ERTHE BOT TOM L IN ETriple play network, operating costsneed to be streamlined and expendituresmust stay in line with revenue. Inorder to quickly and cost-effectivelydeliver new services, tools are nec-essary to orchestrate the interactionof all elements of the service deliverynetwork with subscriber policies andunderlying billing and operationalsupport systems (OSS). These toolsmust be open, so they can integratewith legacy OSS environments andsupport a range of standards-basedinterfaces as well as proprietaryextensions, to enable managementand control operations end-to-endacross multiple layers.

The TPSDA management tools facili-tate the introduction of new servicesto ensure the network is up andrunning — and generating revenue —as quickly as possible. The highlyflexible architecture is designed toallow you to “right-size” your servicedelivery architecture for specificdemographic and market conditions.Services can be scaled up or down inline with demand, supporting a “pay-as-you-grow” model.

The Alcatel-Lucent team ofexperienced system experts areavailable to you every step of the wayto minimize deployment risk andshorten time-to-market. Alcatel-Lucentprovides a suite of professional servicesfor the design, integration, deploymentand management of the network inorder to help you minimize thecomplexity of network transformationand migration, and reduce your overalltotal cost of ownership.

“By offering innovative triple play and IPTV services to our customers while drivingdown the operational costs of the company, Wind is strengthening its competitive positionin the Italian marketplace. Our partnership with [Alcatel-Lucent] is a significant elementof our ongoing network transformation strategy to IP-based technologies.”W I N D

Alcatel-Lucent is uniquely qualified to help you transform your network to growyour triple play service offerings and ensure profit potential. As a proven partnerin network transformation, Alcatel-Lucent provides you with:

UNPRECEDENT ED L EADERSH I P >> An experienced leader in triple playsolutions with 40 triple play network transformation deployments worldwide.

PROVEN PRODUCT S AND TECHNOLOGY >> A global wireline market leader,focused on innovation and growth, with market leadership positions in everysegment.

• Leading DSL and GPON technology and platforms

• Superior WDM and multiservice optical transport platforms

• Innovative IP/MPLS platforms

• Industry leader in IPTV

MULT I - T E CHNOLOGY NE TWORK TRANS FORMAT ION EXP ERT I S E >> Solutionsthat are implemented and supported by one of the largest and most experiencedglobal services teams, with partners from leading businesses in related fields.

REA L -WOR LD INNOVAT ION >> Alcatel-Lucent plays an active and leading rolein many key international standards bodies. Our strong research heritage, unique,patented multimedia innovations, and extensive IP video expertise enable ourcustomers to deploy proven technology that lasts — maximizing their networkinvestments.

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Why Alcatel-Lucent?

“Our decision to launch a new triple play offer, oncehaving our own network infrastructure, required thesupport of an experienced partner with extensiveintegration skills, innovative applications and best-of-breedportfolio of solutions. This is why we have selected[Alcatel-Lucent]. We have great expectations in thisproject, which will undoubtedly contribute to expand andconsolidate Ya.com in a definite way as one of the mainTelco operators in the Spanish market.”YA . C O M

www.alcatel-lucent.com Alcatel, Lucent, Alcatel-Lucent, the Alcatel-Lucent logo andMotive are trademarks of Alcatel-Lucent. All other trademarks are the property of their respectiveowners. The information presented is subject to change without notice. Alcatel-Lucent assumes noresponsibility for inaccuracies contained herein. Copyright © 2009 Alcatel-Lucent. All rights reserved.CMO9592090501 (07)