Oracle Communications Session Border Controller - Datasheet

1 Data Sheet / Oracle Communications Session Border Controller / Version 2.3

Data Sheet

Oracle Communications

Session Border Controller

Oracle Communications Session Border Controller (SBC) makes

possible trusted, carrier-grade real-time communications across IP

network access borders and IP interconnect borders, including fixed

line and mobile (VoLTE) services. SBC runs as a single software

application that supports both purpose-built hardware platforms as

well as virtualized deployments in both private and public clouds. SBC

offers a unique combination of performance, capacity, high

availability, and manageability. With the offering, CSPs can manage

critical requirements for security, interoperability, reliability and

quality, regulatory compliance, and revenue/cost optimization.

Overview

Oracle Communications Session Border Controller (SBC) helps service providers

to deliver trusted, carrier-grade real-time communications services across

Internet Protocol (IP) network borders. SBC provides control functions and

features, protocol support, scalability, and manageability in all types of IP

networks. It supports services and applications ranging from basic Voice over IP

(VoIP) to any service enabled by IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) including Voice

over Long-term Evolution (VoLTE), Rich Communication Services (RCS) such as

conferencing, presence, shared whiteboards, and chat. The functions offered by

SBC satisfy critical service provider requirements in five major areas: security,

interoperability, reliability and quality, regulatory compliance, and revenue/cost

optimization. Furthermore, SBC features powerful embedded management

options such as Command-line interface (CLI) and REST API. It can also be

managed with specialized management solutions such as the SaaS-based Oracle

Session Delivery Management Cloud or the on-premises Oracle Communications

Session Delivery Manager and monitored with Oracle Communications

Operations Monitor.

Security

Leveraging a comprehensive security framework for real-time communications,

the SBC secures all service provider access and interconnect & peering borders.

The tight coupling of the security framework and advanced hardware helps the

SBC to protect itself, the service delivery infrastructure, and communications

sessions from a wide range of malicious and non-malicious threats. SBC uses the

security framework to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of

real-time interactive communications services. It preempts attacks, eliminates

vulnerabilities, and applies powerful mitigation to counteract events as they

Carrier-grade real-time

communications services

 Access SBC in next-

generation fixed line and

mobile services

 SIP trunking and hosted

business services for

enterprises

 Interconnect SBC for peering,

Public Switched Telephone

Network (PSTN) termination

& origination, and wholesale

services

 VoLTE, RCS, and other IMS

services access and

interconnect

Key features

 STIR/SHAKEN support

 Comprehensive security

framework

 Scales to support up to three

million subscribers on a

single chassis

 Maximum service reach

enabled by normalization

and interworking of

signaling, media, transport,

and security protocols and

codec management

 Regulatory compliance

supported by lawful

intercept, prioritized routing

of E911 calls, and session

replication

 High QoS and quality of

experience (QoE) ensured

through high availability and

session routing

 Revenue and cost

optimization features,

including accounting and

protection against service

theft/fraud

 Available on both purpose-

built appliances and

virtualized COTS servers

2 Data Sheet / Oracle Communications Session Border Controller / Version 2.3

happen, while ensuring continuity and high quality for subscribers and operators

using the services.

Performance, capacity, and scalability

The Oracle Communications Session Border Controller portfolio consists of a

wide range of appliances that scale by performance, capacity, and price point.

The virtual offering scales through the inclusion of additional compute, storage,

and network resources to a single instance. Additional scalability can be achieved

by clustering appliances, virtual instances, or a combination of both by front

ending the SBC cluster with either Oracle Communications Session Router or

Oracle Communications Subscriber-Aware Load Balancer. Additional SBCs can

be added seamlessly to existing clusters.

Reliability and quality

SBC plays a critical role in ensuring service availability and user quality of

experience. It performs admission control via local policies or external policy

servers to ensure that both the network and service infrastructure have the

capacity to support high-quality communications. It also monitors and reports

actual session quality to determine compliance with performance specifications

set forth in service-level agreements (SLAs) between service providers.

Intelligent session routing and high-availability configurations minimize outages

caused by upstream link failure or equipment problems.

Revenue and cost optimization

SBC helps service providers control costs and increase revenues with options for

integrating many IMS functions—routing sessions optimally to minimize costs,

providing accounting and related mechanisms to maximize billable sessions, and

protecting against theft of bandwidth and quality of service (QoS). SBC delivers

the performance, capacity and throughput needed for any type and size of

service provider. Leveraging state-of-the-art hardware with symmetrical

multiprocessing across a purpose-built platform family, an Oracle

Communications Session Border Controller scales to support up to three million

subscribers on a single chassis and it can support massively scalable access

networks operating in an SBC cluster controlled by Oracle Communications

Subscriber-Aware Load Balancer.

Oracle Session Border Controller rich feature set

STIR/SHAKEN

The STIR/SHAKEN framework, an industry-standard caller ID authentication

technology, is a set of technical standards and protocols that allow for the

authentication and verification of caller ID information for calls carried over

Internet Protocol (IP) networks.

To meet the needs of the growing number of STIR/SHAKEN deployments

globally, Oracle has enhanced its field proven SBC based STIR/SHAKEN REST

client. Improvements include support for new PASSporT types, configuration

optimizations, country specific operational requirements, and provide a means

for STIR/SHAKEN header customization. SBC also provides support to evaluate,

Key benefits

 Runs as a single software

application that supports

both Acme Packet platforms

as well as virtualized

deployments, enabling

easier, seamless adoption of

virtualization

 Comprehensive signaling,

programmability, and control

functions and features with

Acme Packet Operating

Software

 Range of platforms to

provide operators a broad

array of price/performance

points helping them to utilize

what matches their needs

 Advanced hardware for

offloading of critical

functions such as

transcoding and security so

as not to impact or

compromise a user’s

targeted application of the

base platforms

 Symmetrical Multi-

processing (SMP) technology

helps operators to make an

investment today that is

designed to meet current

and future network

performance demands

 Full IMS integration

combined with legacy SBC

feature sets on a single

system allows gradual user

migration to IMS and LTE

networks

 Clustering for carrier-grade

performance, capacity, and

availability

3 Data Sheet / Oracle Communications Session Border Controller / Version 2.3

track and troubleshoot operations based on extended STIR/SHAKEN client

statistics.

Architectural flexibility

SBC can be configured as an Access SBC (A-SBC), Interconnect SBC (I-SBC), or

both roles simultaneously depending on service requirements. The flexibility of

Oracle Communications Session Border Controller extends to smaller service

providers wishing to consolidate access and interconnect functionality in a single

system. SBC also integrates standard IMS functions used at access or

interconnect borders, simplifying its integration with that next-generation

service delivery architecture.

At service provider access borders (the borders facing enterprise locations, as

well as public access networks such as the internet, 3G/4G/5G mobile, or fixed

line networks used by residential or cable subscribers), SBC enables new service

build-out and consolidation of service infrastructure. It protects the service

delivery infrastructure from malicious and equally dangerous non-malicious

threats while maximizing service reach, reliability, and user quality of experience.

At interconnect borders (the borders between service provider networks), SBC

accelerates initial offering or expansion of next-generation IMS or IP services,

which helps drive down time-division multiplexing (TDM) costs and expand

service provider partnerships. Oracle Communications Session Border Controller

delivers key functions for service provider interconnects such as highly scalable

and flexible routing as well as hardware-accelerated security and transcoding.

Figure1. Oracle Communications Session Border Controller can be configured as an Access or Interconnect

SBC depending on service requirements.

Network session delivery

infrastructure

Oracle’s network session

delivery infrastructure helps

enterprises and service

providers to manage the many

challenges in the delivery of IP

voice, video, and data services

and applications. Service

provider solutions are deployed

at network borders and in the IP

service core to help fixed-line,

mobile, wholesale, and over-

the-top service providers

optimize revenues and realize

long-term cost savings. In the

enterprise, session delivery

infrastructure solutions

seamlessly connect fixed and

mobile operators, enabling rich

multimedia interactions and

automating business processes

for significant increases in

productivity and efficiency. The

following Oracle products are

part of the network session

delivery and control

infrastructure.

Related products

 Oracle Communications

Session Border Controller

 Oracle Communications

Session Router

 Oracle Communications

Subscriber-Aware Load

Balancer

 Oracle Enterprise Session

Border Controller

 Oracle Session Delivery

Management Cloud

 Oracle Communications

Session Delivery Manager

 Oracle Communications

Operations Monitor

 Acme Packet 3950

 Acme Packet 4900

 Acme Packet 6350

4 Data Sheet / Oracle Communications Session Border Controller / Version 2.3

Acme Packet operating software

Oracle Communications Session Border Controller is based on Acme Packet OS,

which delivers comprehensive multiprotocol signaling, programmability, and

control functions and features. SBC supports all commonly used IP signaling

protocols including SIP, SIP-I, SIP-T, Diameter, Message Session Relay Protocol

(MSRP), and Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), helping service providers to

extend services to the greatest number of endpoints, as well as services offered

via interconnect borders. Extensive signaling protocol Interworking Function

(IWF) helps service providers to consolidate signaling traffic within their

networks. This reduces the number of required network elements, simplifies

management, and reduces capital and operating expenditures. SBC IWF also

allows the integration of next-generation SIP with legacy networks and

endpoints, maximizing service revenues.

Oracle’s implementation of SIP offers unmatched interoperability, maturity, and

functionality, with thousands of production deployments throughout the world.

To normalize session signaling between SIP implementations that often feature

vendor-specific messages and response codes, the SBC features extensive

signaling programmability. This empowers inspection or modification of

elements within protocol headers or payload, including information found in SIP,

Session Description Protocol (SDP), and Diameter headers.

Oracle Communications Session Border Controller implements a full SIP back-to-

back user agent (B2BUA) approach that divides each session flowing through the

SBC into two discrete segments. In this way, the SBC maintains session state with

each endpoint simultaneously, empowering the application of a wide range of

control functions over the end-to-end session without modification to either the

behavior or configuration of either endpoint.

Figure 2: Oracle Communications Session Border Controller functions as a back-to-back user agent to

maintain full session state with endpoints and service platforms, perform 7-layer packet inspection, and apply

fine-grained controls to session traffic at wire rate

Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex, and Google Voice

Service providers can utilize Oracle’s session border controllers to establish

connectivity with multiple UCaaS/CCaaS solutions and monetize their PSTN

services in conjunction with their UCaaS/CCaaS offerings. Service Providers can

decide between different deployment models:

• cost efficient multi-tenant deployments like Microsoft Teams Operator

Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, Zoom Phone Cloud Peering (including

Zoom Provider Exchange), or Webex Go,

5 Data Sheet / Oracle Communications Session Border Controller / Version 2.3

• customer dedicated SBC for additional customization of the Enterprise

requirements with deployments like Microsoft Teams Direct Routing,

Zoom Phone BYOC Premise Peering, Cisco Webex Calling Local

Gateway, Google Voice SIP Link,

• hybrid deployments combining both cost efficient multi-tenant and

customizable customer dedicated deployments depending on enterprise

needs.

Interoperability

SIP interworking capabilities of Oracle Communications Session Border

Controller are designed to maximize service reach by ensuring interoperability

with and between subscriber endpoints, soft-switches, IMS Call Session Control

Function (CSCF) elements, application servers, media and recording servers,

media gateways, and SBCs in peering and enterprise networks. SBC enables

sessions traverse network address translation (NAT) and firewalls, IPv4 or IPv6

networks, public and private networks using overlapping IP addresses, and

virtual private networks (VPNs). SBC mediates between different signaling,

transport, and encryption protocols; converts incompatible codecs; and

translates signaling-layer telephone numbers, addresses, and response codes.

Full IMS/next generation network integration

Oracle Communications Session Border Controller offers full IMS functionality at

access and interconnect borders to fully control the SIP, Real-time Transport

Protocol (RTP), and Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) traffic flows that

comprise IMS sessions. At IMS access borders, the SBC implements signaling

and media related IMS functions such as Proxy Call Session Control Function

(P-CSCF), Emergency Access Transfer Function (EATF), Break-out Gateway

Control Function (BGCF), Access Gateway (AGW), Access Transfer Control

Function (ATCF), and Access Transfer Gateway (ATGW). IMS I-SBC functions

include Interconnect Border Control Function (I-BCF), IWF, and Interconnect

Border Gateway Function (I-BGF)/Translation Gateway (TrGW).

Highly scalable platforms and SBC clustering

Oracle Communications Session Border Controller operates on a wide range of

platforms that leverage the rich functionality of Acme Packet OS. SBC platforms

feature high availability, carrier-grade manageability, and redundancy for

uncompromised quality, interoperability, and security.

When deployed in conjunction with Oracle Communications Subscriber-Aware

Load Balancer, SBC can also function as a member of an SBC cluster. SBC

clusters provide dynamic, adaptive load balancing of subscriber traffic across the

cluster, allowing services to scale to support millions of subscribers without

architectural forklifts or network disruptions. SBC clusters also deliver enhanced

redundancy and manageability not achievable with traditional load balancers or

SIP redirect servers.

6 Data Sheet / Oracle Communications Session Border Controller / Version 2.3

Figure 3. Oracle Communications Subscriber-Aware Load Balancer enables formation of SBC clusters for

enhanced scalability.

SBC virtualization

Oracle Communications Session Border Controller may be run as a Virtual

Network Function (VNF). Supported hypervisors for SBC VNF include

Kernel-Based Virtual Machine (KVM), and VMware ESXi. SBC supports HEAT

templates for improved automation and Virtual Machine (VM) instantiation

which can be used in Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Cloud

deployments with OpenStack.

As a VNF, SBC may be deployed as a standalone instance or within an

orchestrated virtual environment, and offers the same level of functionality,

security, interoperability, and reliability as it does on purpose-built platforms.

Instances of virtualized SBCs may be clustered with their counterparts on

purpose-built platforms, creating what are known as “hybrid clusters”, providing

a way for their gradual introduction and for even greater deployment flexibility

and network agility.

Supporting a virtualized function in a public cloud requires meeting special

requirements. Public clouds have very specific guidelines such as IP addressing

usage, hypervisor selection and I/O mode to provide security and integrity for all

its tenets. SBC software supports deployment on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure,

Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud Platform public clouds in highly

available (HA) mode. It can also be deployed on Microsoft Azure public cloud in

Standalone mode.

Management and orchestration

Oracle Communications offers VNFs for session delivery platforms including

SBCs, load balancers and session routers. Oracle’s strategy is based on providing

carrier-grade VNFs that can be orchestrated in a flexible manner by a variety of

environments, including the major industry orchestration and automation third

party offerings.

SBC supports REST API to enable zero-touch instantiation, remote configuration

and monitoring of SBC VNFs and facilitates multivendor interoperability and

predictable behavior based well defined standards and specifications.

“At Evolve IP, we are

committed to

evolving our network,

positioning ourselves

to support the

anticipated traffic

growth and value

added services our

customers will

require in the future.

It is clear to us that

moving to the cloud

will be critical in

meeting these goals.

We see Oracle as an

expert in cloud,

virtualization, IT, and

telecommunications

and have found that

its Oracle

Communications SBC

offers unique

strengths in all of

these areas.”

Michiel van Dis

Managing Director

Evolve IP Europe

7 Data Sheet / Oracle Communications Session Border Controller / Version 2.3

SBC key functions and features

FUNCTIONAL

AREA

SBC FUNCTIONS/FEATURES

General

 Supported on Oracle’s purpose-built hardware and virtualized server platforms

 A-SBC or I-SBC functionality

 Software only offering for virtualized platforms

 HA: signaling, media, configuration checkpointing

Signaling

protocols

 Session Initiation Protocol (SIP): user interface or back-to-back user agent (B2BUA)

 Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP)

 DNS: application layer gateway (ALG)

IMS/NGN

support

 Proxy Call Session Control Function (PCSCF)

 Serving Policy Decision Function (SPDF)

 Access/Core Border Gateway Function (A/C-BGF)

 Access Transfer Control Function (ATCF)

 Access Transfer Gateway (ATGW)

 Interconnect Border Control Function (I-BCF)

 Interworking Function (IWF)

 Interconnect Border Gateway Function (IBGF)

 Emergency Access Transfer Function (EATF)

 Signaling interfaces: Gm, Mw, Ic, Iw

 Diameter interfaces: Rf, Rq, e2, Gq, Rx

 COPS interfaces: Rq, e2

Security

 SBC denial of service (DoS) self-protection

 Static or dynamic access controls (permit/deny)

 Self-protection against signaling overloads and distributed denial of service (DDoS)

attacks

 Protection of IMS core from registration overloads and attacks

 Media and signaling validation to prevent service theft and fraud

 Internet Protocol Security (IPsec), Transport Layer Security (TLS) including TLS 1.3,

Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS), IP Media Subsystem-Authentication and Key

Agreement (IMS-AKA), and Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) encryption for

privacy and confidentiality

 DTLS-SRTP in server mode

Interoperability

 SIP signaling protocol interworking and mediation

 SIP/SIP-I/SIP-T interworking

 SIP IPv6-IPv4 interworking

 NAT traversal and IP address mediation

 Signaling and dial plan normalization

 Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) extraction

 Transcoding/transrating with flexible, dynamic codec management

 Microsoft Teams

 Zoom Phone

 Cisco Webex Calling

 Google Voice

SLA assurance

 Check-pointing of signaling, media, and configuration for nonstop availability

 Define and enforce QoS marking/mapping

 Traffic and session prioritization

 QoS monitoring, accounting, and reporting

 Admission controls to maximize service infrastructure availability

 Policy enforcement to ensure bandwidth availability

 Session reroute around upstream outages

Service

enablement

 Flexible routing

 Number matching and translation rules

 SIP load balancing

 Standards-based AAA (ENUM, DNS, Diameter, RADIUS)

 Protocol interworking to simplify core network traffic

 Dynamic bandwidth monitoring and control

 Industry-standard Session Recording Protocol (SIPREC)

 Lawful intercept

 3GPP Enhanced Firewall Traversal Function (EFTF), formerly TSCF

 Accounting with Diameter, RADIUS, and comma-separated value (CSV) file formats

 Native REST API for custom configuration and KPI monitoring

 Support for orchestration on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Amazon Web Services

using Terraform scripts

8 Data Sheet / Oracle Communications Session Border Controller / Version 2.3

Oracle – Supported SBC platforms – Sample capacity and performance

comparison

Feature

Virtualized SBC

AP3950

AP4900

AP6350

Form factor

Virtualized

1U System

3U System

System Architecture

Data Centre /COTS

Purpose Built

Max. Media Sessions

60,000

10,000

40,000

160,000

Max. SRTP Call Legs

30,000

10,000

16,000

120,000

Max. SIPREC

Sessions

19,000

7,500

12,000

40,000

Max. Transcoded

Sessions

(G711 <-> G729)

3,500

6,500

60,000

Max. Calls Per Second

2,000

150

700

1,700

Performance and capacity numbers vary by deployment type, transport protocols used, feature interaction and usage of transcoding resources. Performance and

capacity based on S-Cz9.3 software release.

VM configuration dependent

Monitoring and management

Oracle Communications Session Border Controller embedded element

management delivers full administrative access to the command line interface

(CLI), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) management information

bases (MIBs), statistics, system logs, packet trace information, and system

software and configuration files via distinct management interfaces. Third-party

management systems and operation support systems (OSS)/ business support

systems (BSS) applications can also leverage Secure File Transfer Protocol

(SFTP) and SNMP to access system accounting and performance data, MIBs, and

historical data records (HDRs). REST API support is also available for

configuration and statistics monitoring.

Built on Oracle’s next-generation cloud infrastructure, Oracle Session Delivery

Management Cloud helps customers minimize operational costs in a more agile,

reliable, and secure way. The feature-rich SaaS solution includes fault,

configuration, accounting, performance, and security (FCAPS) management, and

provides an insightful and unified view across the Oracle Communications

session delivery products portfolio. Through integration with monitoring

solutions such as Oracle Communications Operations Monitor, Oracle Session

Delivery Management Cloud provides users with the ability to view call data

using a ladder diagram, as well as additional monitoring KPIs which can be

displayed in customized dashboards. Oracle Communications Session Delivery

Manager is the on-premises solution for FCAPS management across multiple

Oracle’s session delivery products. Oracle Communications Session Delivery

Manager also features application add-ons for reporting, SIP trunk provisioning,

and SIP session routing.

Oracle Communications Operations Monitor is browser-based real-time network

intelligence software that optimizes next-generation IP communications

networks, enables rapid troubleshooting of customer experience issues down to

the individual session level, proactively identifies and isolates communications

network faults and events, and detects fraudulent network activity. Oracle

Communications Operations Monitor delivers end-to-end network visibility to

9 Data Sheet / Oracle Communications Session Border Controller / Version 2.3

better align network resources with end user application requirements and

improves the performance of end user services.

SBC features an internal probe that captures and forwards session traffic at wire

rate, helping Oracle Communications Operations Monitor to instantly display

fine-grained real-time communications performance metrics. Since it is

integrated with the SBC, the internal probe overcomes limitations of standalone

external probes by capturing and analyzing encrypted sessions without

compromising subscriber privacy or confidentiality. The embedded probe also

analyzes voice quality metrics and reports it to Oracle Communications

Operations Monitor.

Summary

Oracle Communications Session Border Controller is a valuable solution for fixed

line, mobile and over-the-top service providers. SBC is based on a product

strategy that is aligned to support the continued growth of IMS based mobile

and fixed broadband services. Via state-of-the art hardware platforms,

virtualized offerings, industry-leading 3GPP, GSMA, and IETF compliance, and

groundbreaking software enhancements, SBC brings value-added solutions

through integration with other key Oracle technologies and helps operators

remain innovative and profitable.

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