Sonus In Session

Selecting an SBC: 10 Steps to Game Day

  

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By Bob Bradley, Product Manager, Security Solutions at Sonus Networks

At this time of year, when your thoughts might turn to football, you might also be thinking of the large IP Peering project for new services enablement that marketing needs in early 2012. Just as sports teams have their linchpin starting players, such as the quarterback, the key player in a successful IP interconnection deployment is the session border controller (SBC). SBCs continue to grow more important as both service providers and enterprises deploy them in new competitive strategies. But, as with assessing and acquiring team members, how do you choose the best SBC for your IT team? Here are 10 steps to success:

1. Start with a game plan

Just as with football, your “talent” assessment and selection starts with an overarching business plan and an operational strategy that will help your team win. The goal may be launching new services, reducing costs, complying with standards or industry consortia (i3 Forum on IPX) or dealing with obsolete legacy equipment. The game plan should not only cover what is needed to win but also provide an objective assessment of where you are today and what skill gaps you need to fill.

2. Get the inside dirt

There is abundant material covering the topic of SBCs in general, issued by standards organizations (IETF), government agencies (DoD, NIST), analysts and industry experts from the user community. Some if it’s free on the Internet, and some of it you’ll have to pay for. Don’t disregard vendor-sponsored content either, which can be helpful in assessing technology “prospects.”

3. Use scouting reports

Although reviewing industry material is good, nothing beats seeing the SBC in action during public interoperability events (e.g., SIP Forum’s SIPit), in independent third-party test reports or running live in a customer reference account’s network. The next step in the process is reviewing “film” on SBCs as they actually perform DoS/DDoS protection, call admission control, overload condition handling and advanced media services with your technical coaches and managers.

4. Dig into the details

Even though multiple vendors may claim to have the same features, a closer eye on details will reveal a difference. For example, a growing number of SBC vendors offer audio transcoding but not all of them do transcoding well. How experienced are they in media processing? Do they control their intellectual property so they can customize it to meet unique requirements? Or does the SBC vendor use “canned,” off-the-shelf transcoding technology that they don’t own or can’t control as needs change?

5. Consider team chemistry

When picking an SBC, don’t settle for product “fantasy draft” stats. Instead, look at how well the SBC will integrate into your existing network and system. It’s tempting to get carried away by an SBC’s impressive speeds and feeds, but don’t overlook the team chemistry of how well it can be integrated and support other existing network functions such as policy, billing and provisioning. Individual statistics are absolutely important to note (ask anyone who plays in a fantasy football league), but they have to be viewed in the context of the organization’s strategies and long- and short-term goals.

6. Weigh free agents versus draft picks

The SBC market of today consists of established players and new entrants. Your team will most likely have a mixture of both, with your individual game plan driving when to use a veteran free agent or a rookie draft pick. Note: History shows that automatically going with a well-known SBC provider without fully assessing that provider in the context and needs of the game plan is hazardous and may not work.

7. Rank the prospects in a Combine

The Combine is where scouts can review a wide range of rookies in action. Although typically associated with newer entrants, a hands-on assessment of an SBC’s capabilities, performance and versatility—even for established SBCs—is mandatory, occasionally grueling but absolutely worth it. All “short-listed” SBC vendors should be assessed against their peers in a real-world environment before they’re ready to take the field on opening day.

8. Don’t place too much importance on pre-season games

Side-by-side product comparison testing is a good way to get up-close, hard data on an SBC’s performance. These tests can be conducted in house or by external, neutral firms and may range from pure lab test beds to limited field trials with friendly customers. As with pre-season games, however, the testing is limited and may not be a completely accurate indication of how they’ll perform in a live production environment. A win or loss for a particular criterion in an SBC at this stage in the decision process may or may not be a show stopper for selection. More important than winning or losing is understanding why an SBC didn’t make the grade in this situation/test case.

9. Make the necessary cuts

Just as with sports teams, network operators can suffer from paralysis by analysis. Once you’ve completed the technical and commercial assessment of an SBC, make the necessary cuts, select a vendor and move on.

10. Put your best team on the field

Now it’s time to put your chosen SBC into your network. Although each application and the associated deployment scenarios are slightly different, you should be confident that the SBC solution you selected will perform as advertised. Once you start deployment, a key element is knowing that your SBC provider has excellent educational, customer and professional services to help ensure a successful roll-out. Then, as the “regular season” progresses, you’ll be able to tweak your SBC as it takes on live traffic and faces such adversaries as DoS attacks and overloads. Each SBC will be reviewed and scrutinized for continual improvement as new opportunities for using IP interconnect come up.

With these tips in hand, you’re ready to start the process of selecting an SBC. You can kick off the process by watching our video on the Evolution of SBCs and reading our brochure on the NBS product family.