Network management solutions for next generation networks

Tail-f Systems and IBM BladeCenter – Unified Network Management Solutions for Network Equipment Providers

As telecommunications service

providers move applications

from proprietary hardware and

appliances to open systems like

the IBM BladeCenter, new network

management requirements arise. For

example, each application can have

its own set of management interfaces

and there is no unified approach to

managing the system as a whole. Such

a fragmented management approach

introduces additional cost and

complexity.

With the increasing number of threats

and attacks on information assets,

security has become a high priority at

all levels of organizations. In addition

to mitigating threats to mission-critical

network systems, service providers

must also comply with a wide range

of regulations that require them to

implement and verify the effectiveness

of security information management

controls.

• Tail-f Systems enables network

equipment providers to rapidly

build carrier-grade network

management systems

• Provides unified management

and security for all applications

in an integrated BladeCenter

chassis

• Support for key industry

standards like SA Forum

• Supports key management

interfaces including CLI, Web,

SNMP, and NETCONF/XML, all

from a single data model

• IBM BladeCenter family provides

a scalable, open standards based

platform for next generation

network applications

Highlights

Carrier-grade network management

systems require comprehensive

authentication, authorization, and

accounting systems. The ability to

support security solutions based on

open protocols like RADIUS and LDAP

and support for role-based access

controls are examples of security

requirements.

The number and complexity of required

northbound management interfaces is

increasing in next- generation network

equipment. In addition to SNMP and

CLI interfaces, Web and NETCONF/

XML interfaces are increasingly

expected on most network devices.

The feature sets and behavior of all

these management interfaces require

consistency to be effectively managed

as an integrated whole.

Support for industry standards

and open APIs are key industry

requirements. The SA Forum has

developed and published high

availability and management

software interface specifications. The

NETCONF Working Group within the

IETF is also playing an important role

publishing standards for automated

configuration management.

In addition, networking equipment

providers need to deliver solutions to

the market in less time with constrained

resources and relying on distributed

development teams.

The requirements include:

• Unified management

• Rapid development

• Common data model

• Change automation

• Transaction management

• Standards compliance

• High-availability

• Scalability and performance

• Security

• Fine-grained access control and

logging

• Data consistency and integrity

Tail-f Systems provides a family

of products to help build network

management systems for enterprise

and carrier-grade networks.

XML-based Network Management

ConfD is an XML-based software

solution for on-device network

management consisting of the

following key components:

• Shared backplane, called the ConfD

Core Engine

• Northbound management interfaces

(NETCONF, Web UI, CLI, and SNMP)

• Embedded configuration database

The ConfD Core Engine connects

configuration and operational data

on the device to all management

interfaces through a transaction-

oriented engine. Operations are

executed through this shared engine

for consistent execution of changes

Tail-f Systems Platform Architecture

Source: Tail-f Systems

“Tail-f Systems enhances the IBM BladeCenter family making it easier for customers to deliver carrier-grade solutions with unified management.”

— Hakan MillrothPresident and CEO

Tail-f Systems

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and allowing all management

interfaces to share the same powerful

transaction management and security

capabilities.

All management interfaces are

automatically rendered from an

expressive XML data model. This

can help reduce development time

and allow developers to immediately

start using ConfD for internal

demonstrations and prototyping.

ConfD is designed to meet the

performance, scalability, redundancy,

and security needs of carrier and

enterprise-class network management

systems, including:

• Transaction management

• Session management

• Audit trailing

• Role-based access control

• Authentication over RADIUS and

LDAP

• Extensible schema validation

• Rollback management

• Replication and High-Availability

High performance and scalability are

crucial in large systems. ConfD uses

its own parsing algorithm that streams

XML data to ensure that memory usage

is bounded. Its embedded database

is optimized to allow very efficient

operations on binary encoded XML

data structures.

IBM BladeCenter family —

the IT and network convergence platform

The IBM BladeCenter T chassis

provides hardware redundancy (power

supply, I/O modules, management

modules, L2 switching, mid-plane, etc.)

thereby reducing potential points of

failure in the solution.

The IBM BladeCenter is an advanced

blade system which integrates

servers, storage and networking into

a single chassis — yielding significant

simplification, improved density and

potential TCO savings . A single family

of common server blades, storage, I/O,

switches and networking modules are

fully supported and interchangeable

across the family of BladeCenter

chassis. The IBM BladeCenter chassis

is designed as the ideal solution for

data center deployments. The IBM

BladeCenter H is for high performance

computing platform, while the IBM

BladeCenter T chassis is specifically

designed for telecom central office

deployments.

The new, IBM BladeCenter HT — a

new, telecom optimized version of the

BladeCenter H — opens new market

opportunities with a new and powerful

NGN platform ideally suited for telecom

equipment and service providers.

“The IBM BladeCenter is the ideal platform for service providers to deliver scalable next generation network services.”

— Hakan MillrothPresident and CEO

Tail-f Systems

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2008

IBM Systems and Technology GroupDepartment XVXA3039 Cornwallis RoadResearch Triangle Park, NCU.S.A., 27709

May 2008All Rights Reserved.

BladeCenter, IBM, and the IBM logo are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries or both.

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Other company product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates.

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The information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. IBM may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time without notice.

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Printed in the United States of America on recycled paper containing 10% recovered post-consumer fiber.

The IBM BladeCenter T and

BladeCenter HT deliver rich

telecommunications features and

functionality, including fault-tolerant

capabilities, hot-swappable redundant

DC or AC power supplies and cooling,

and built-in systems management

resources in a 20” deep chassis. The

rigorous Network Equipment Building

System (NEBS) Level 3 and European

Telecommunications Standard Institute

(ETSI) outline requirements typical of

telecom central office environments

in the areas of electromagnetic

compatibility, thermal robustness,

fire resistance, earthquake and office

vibration resistance, transportation

and handling durability, acoustics and

illumination, and airborne contaminant

resistance. The IBM BladeCenter T

and BladeCenter HT chassis meet the

NEBS Level 3 / ETSI requirements1.

Tail-f Systems and IBM: a powerful

combination

The combination of Tail-f Systems

and IBM BladeCenter family delivers

application platforms meeting the

needs for scalability, management, and

affordability required by carrier-grade

networking equipment. Tail-f Systems’

software allows developers to rapidly

build complete on-device network

management systems from a common

XML data model with robust security,

scalability, and support for continuous

availability.

The IBM BladeCenter is the ideal

platform for the deployment of next

generation telecommunications

applications providing a single

managed platform to help reduce

operating costs and complexity.

For more information

Learn how IBM Systems can help your

company achieve more revenue and

reduce your costs, while helping you

keep your profitable customers.

Have questions? Contact the IBM

Telecommunications team today on

how we can help you take advantage

of our extensive industry expertise.

Please visit us on the web at:

ibm.com/telecom/systems

For more information about Tail-f

Systems, visit:

Tail-f.com

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