Broadband Network Architectures

Book excerpt: Service providers are increasingly focused on delivering triple-play bundles that incorporate Internet, video, and VoIP services—as well as multi-play bundles containing even more advanced services. Broadband Network Architectures is the first comprehensive guide to designing, implementing, and managing the networks that make triple-play services possible. Hellberg, Greene, and Boyes present their field-tested industry best practices and objectively evaluate the tradeoffs associated with key up-front architectural decisions that balance the complexities of bundled services and sophisticated traffic policies. Broadband Network Architectures not only documents what is possible on this rapidly changing field of networking, but it also details how to divide Internet access into these more sophisticated services with specialized Quality of Service handling. Coverage includes · An in-depth introduction to next-generation triple-play services: components, integration, and business connectivity · Triple-play backbone design: MPLS, Layer 3 VPNs, and Broadband Network Gateways (BNGs)/Broadband Remote Access Servers (B-RAS) · Protocols and strategies for integrating BNGs into robust triple-play networks · Triple-play access network design: DSLAM architectures, aggregation networks, transport, and Layer 2 tunneling · VLAN-per-customer versus service-per-VLAN architectures: advantages and disadvantages · PPP or DHCP: choosing the right access protocol · Issues associated with operating in wholesale, unbundled environments · IP addressing and subscriber session management · Broadband network security, including Denial of Service attacks and VoIP privacy · The future of wireless broadband: IMS, SIP, and non-SIP based fixed mobile convergence and wireless video