Analysis and Optimization of Network Intelligence - Assignment Example

Network intelligence Services- characteristics, classification and merits and limits: It has always been the innovation that has wheeled the world to be in the state that it is now. Starting from Industrial Revolution in England to mobile innovation in Finland and the latest buzz service provision science has traveled a long path. Now has emerged a new promise in the field of communication the SSME- integration of science that converts data and information into knowledge, engineering that makes things out of knowledge, management that examines the whole process. Now many national economies are found to be shifting towards services. The US employment growth has predicted that the growth will be much concentrated on service sector. According to IBM, the leader in this domain, services can be defined as the application of business and competencies for the benefit of client and society. It in itself include, business value, software engineering services, services of management and product, service optimization, service information.(IBM,2007). At the very outset the general term services can be defined as primary services of a nation as agriculture, production forms the primary sector, whereas the communication technology and service sector becomes the secondary service provider. When explained as service system it can be classified as for people, organization, nation, hospitals, government agency, NGO, online communities, data centers, call centre etc. Thus till date service system was one that was provided to a individual as medical ,legal, financial etc, now in business a company providing service to other has rapidly grown as consulting, design , technical support. Service is indeed no new term and is an oldest division of labor that began from the time of record keeping. (Jim Spohrer, 2006) Thus a service system can be defined as dynamic value that encompasses resources as people, technology, innovation shared information etc. all connected both internally and externally by the value preposition, with the aim to efficiently meet the customer need edging the competitor. Here the stakeholders are the person or business organization that wants to improve its service revenue and profit margin. Also knowledge workers across wide range of discipline are also stakeholders. The service science like any other has four characteristics encompassed in it, namely, Intangibility, Inseparability, Perish ability, Variability. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(systems_architecture,2006) These can be classified into four areas as Business and organization resource, technological resource, people as resource, information as resource (ICT). Thus the term service refers to a discretely defined set of contiguous and autonomous business or technical functionality. Early services environments for IN services such as ITU CS-1, AIN and CLASS based services The Intelligent Network, referred to as IN, is a network architecture that has arisen to be of use for both fixed and mobile telecom networks. It provides a range of offers to the operators to differentiate themselves by providing value-added services in addition to the standard telecom services such as PSTN, ISDN and GSM services on mobile phones. They are different from conventional in that IN intelligence is provided by network nodes owned by telecom operators, as opposed to solutions given by telephone providers. It operates on the basis of the Signaling System #7 (SS7) protocol between telephone network switching centers and other network nodes owned by network operators. They are developed based on the standards of ITU-T which is the standardization committee of the International Telecommunication Union with primary goal being the enhancement of the core telephony services offered by traditional telecommunications networks that includes making and receiving voice calls, call divert etc. (Ambrosch etal.,1999) The first of kind of IN, defined as a complete architecture including the architectural view, state machines, physical implementation and protocols was CS- 1. Following the success of CS-1, further enhancements followed in the form of CS-2, not that widely as they needed more specifications than existing. In was born as a result of the need for a more flexible way of adding sophisticated services before which, all new feature and/or services that was to be added had to be implemented directly in the core switch systems. But with the advent of IN, most of these services has moved out of the core switch systems into self serving nodes IN. The initial use of IN technology was for number translation services as translating toll free numbers to regular PSTN numbers. But much more complex services have since been built on IN, such as Custom Local Area Signaling Services (CLASS) and prepaid telephone calls. (Faynberg,1997) The main functionality surrounding IN services or architecture are connected with SS7 architecture that includes, Service Switching Function (SSF) or Service Switching Point (SSP) that is co-located with the telephone exchange and acts as the trigger point for further services to be invoked during a call thus entertaining calls requiring value added services. Service Control Function (SCF) or Service Control Point (SCP) , a separate set of platforms that receive queries from the SSP that operates on the base of a service logic which implements the services. Service Data Function (SDF) or Service Data Point (SDP) , a database that contains additional subscriber data, or other data required to process a call Service Creation Environment (SCE), the development environment used to create the services present on the SCP. (Magedanz and Popescu-Zeletin,1996) Specialized Resource Function (SRF) or Intelligent Peripheral (IP) the node that connects to both the SSP and the SCP and delivers additional special resources into the call. The interfaces between the SSP and the SCP are SS7 based and is like that of TCP/IP protocols. Various other variants appeared with the adaptation of CS-1 in different location, as ETSI in Europe ANSI in America etc. these apart from the cS-1 also had new features amalgamated in it. The biggest variant of all is the Customised Applications for Mobile networks Enhanced Logic, or CAMEL that allows for extensions to be made for the mobile phone environment, and allowed mobile phone operators to offer the same IN services to subscribers while they are roaming as they receive in the home network. Now is existing, the e Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) ,a variant of Intelligent Network developed for North America by Bell core .The AIN 1.0 , first version was found to have many incapacities after which the second version was released.(GP report ,2006) The examples of the IN services provided are televoting, call screening, toll free calls, account card calling, mass calling services, free phone, premium rate calls, etc. The Services Architecture for IMS The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) could be defined as a next generation application delivery architecture that promises flexibility, operational effectiveness, openness and standardization to the delivery of applications across the fixed and mobile networks. IMS aims to provide improved interoperability among networks and offers carriers control over applications .IMS is an international recognized standard, first specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP/3GPP2) and now being embraced by other standards bodies such as ETSI and TISPAN. The IMS technology is being adopted by all sectors of the telecommunications industry including cellular, landline and cable. The IMS technology also promises faster time-to-market for new services, reduced capital expenditures and reduced operational costs for networks, and easier customization of services. Thus as a applicative use, the IMS architecture provides a secure migration path to an all-IP architecture that will meet end-user demands for new enriched services. Also IMS, network service providers will be able to support differentiated service offerings and call delivery for multimedia services, combined with location and presence applications. The horizontal architecture of IMS also specifies interoperability and roaming, and provides bearer control, charging and security. The IMS aims to Combine the latest trends in technology, make the mobile Internet paradigm come true, Create a common platform to develop diverse multimedia services, Create a mechanism to boost margins due to extra usage of mobile PS networks. (Alexander Harrowell,2006) The IMS was originally defined by an industry forum called 3G.IP, formed in 1999. 3G.IP developed the initial IMS architecture, which was brought to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), as part of their standardization work for 3G mobile phone systems in UMTS networks. It first appeared in release 5 (evolution from 2G to 3G networks), when SIP-based multimedia was added. Support for the older GSM and GPRS networks was also provided. 3GPP release 7 added support for fixed networks, by working together with TISPAN release R1.1The IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem is a collection of different functions, linked by standardized interfaces, which grouped form one IMS administrative network. A function is not a node (hardware box): an implementer is free to combine 2 functions in 1 node, or to split a single function into 2 or more nodes. Each node can also be present multiple times in a single network, for load balancing or organizational issues. The IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem is a collection of different functions, linked by standardized interfaces, which grouped form one IMS administrative network. The Home Subscriber Server (HSS), or User Profile Server Function (UPSF), is a master user database that supports the IMS network entities that actually handle calls. It contains the subscription-related information (user profiles), performs authentication and authorization of the user, and can provide information about the user's physical location. It is similar to the GSM Home Location Register (HLR) and Authentication Centre (AUC).An SLF (Subscriber Location Function) is needed to map user addresses when multiple HSSs are used. Both the HSS and the SLF communicate through the Diameter protocol.( The 3G IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS): Merging the Internet and the Cellular Worlds,2006) IMS also requires IP Multimedia Private Identity (IMPI) and IP Multimedia Public Identity (IMPU). Several roles of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) servers or proxies, collectively called Call Session Control Function (CSCF), are used to process SIP signaling packets in the IMS.A Proxy-CSCF (P-CSCF) is a SIP proxy that is the first point of contact for the IMS terminal. It can be located either in the visited network (in full IMS networks) or in the home network (when the visited network isn't IMS compliant yet). A Serving-CSCF (S-CSCF) is the central node of the signaling plane. It is a SIP server, but performs session control too. It is always located in the home network. It uses Diameter Cx and Dx interfaces to the HSS to download and upload user profiles — it has no local storage of the user. All necessary information is loaded from the HSS. Application servers (AS) host and execute services, and interface with the S-CSCF using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). An example of an application server that is being developed in 3GPP is the Voice call continuity Function (VCC Server). Depending on the actual service, the AS can operate in SIP proxy mode, SIP UA (user agent) mode or SIP B2BUA (back-to-back user agent) mode. An AS can be located in the home network or in an external third-party network. If located in the home network, it can query the HSS with the Diameter Sh interface (for a SIP-AS) or the Mobile Application Part (MAP) interface (for IM-SSF). (Miikka Poikselka etal.,2006) Web 2.0 and the Internet environment for emerging services Web sites were generally made up of pages, each of which could contain text and images. Those pages were able to connect to other information on the Web through links. Wwith the advent of Web 2.0, the relationship between corporate reputation and employment relationships is strengthened even further. These concepts (of employer and employee branding) would seem traditional soon and will be made redundant with enormous amounts of time, energy and financial resources wasted. The concept of Web 2.0 is as follows: within a period of 36 months, the Internet has moved on from static applications like Google Maps, Mapquest to more dynamic applications like various blogspots, Orkut, Myspace, et al, which derive their existence (and updation) from the human connections and networks formed around these portals. Besides, users can voice and leave their comments on a product, service, brand and thus generate an authentic, first-hand feel of the user-experience associated with the product or service. The risks involved in Web 2.0 technologies do not only apply to the enterprise. (Jed kantos,2008) References: 1. Succeeding through business innovation, A discussion Paper Cambridge Service Science Management and Engineering Symposium, 2007, www. ifm.eng.ac.uk/ssme. 2. Jim Spohrer, 2006,iSchoolInformation and Service Economy, California http://www.ibm.com/university/ssme 3. OASIS Reference Model for Service Oriented Architecture 1.0 Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(systems_architecture)" 4. Ambrosch, W.D., Maher, A., Sasscer, B. (editors) The Intelligent Network: A Joint Study by Bell Atlantic. IBM and Siemens, Springer-Verlag, 1999. ISBN 3-540-50897-X. ISBN 0-387-50897-X. Also known as the green book due to the cover . 5. Faynberg, I., Gabuzda, L.R., Kaplan, M.P., and Shah, N.J. The Intelligent Network Standards: Their Application to Services, McGraw-Hill, 1997, ISBN 0-07-021422-0. 6. Magedanz, T., and Popescu-Zeletin, R.. Intelligent Networks: Basic Technology, Standards and Evolution, Thompson Computer Press, 1996. ISBN 1-85032-293-7. 7. Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Stage 2, V5.15.0, TS 23.228, 3rd Generation Partnership Project, 2006. 8. Alexander Harrowell, Staff Writer, A Pointless Multimedia Subsystem?, Mobile Communications International, Oct 2006. 9. The 3G IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS): Merging the Internet and the Cellular Worlds" by Gonzalo Camarillo, Miguel-Angel García-Martín (John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-470-01818-6). 10. "The IMS: IP Multimedia Concepts and Services" by Miikka Poikselka, Aki Niemi, Hisham Khartabil, Georg Mayer (John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-470-01906-9) "SIP/IMS standard view: SIP IMS Specifications for Dummies" by Solomon Berliner (self published by sip knowledge). 11. Jed Kantos, 2008, Emerging security threats with Web 2.0, Helium . Read More