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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.
Intel and Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation In the United Slates, other countries or both.
Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both.
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.
IBM hardware products are manufactured from new parts, or new and serviceable used parts. Regardless, our warranty terms apply. For a copy of applicable product warranties, write to: Warranty Information, P.O. Box 12195, RTP, NC 27709, Attn: Dept. JDJA/B203.
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.
[1] For additional details, please refer to Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) certified NEBS Level 3 / ETSI test report.
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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