Acme Packet - the leader in session border control

Acme Packet Net-Net® EMS is an element management application for Acme Packet network elements - session border controllers (SBCs) and session routing proxies (SRPs) and multiservice security gateways (MSGs) . It enables service providers and enterprises to rapidly deploy and easily manage one or multiple Acme Packet network elements. As a standalone management system, Net-Net EMS supports all required configuration, fault, performance and security management functions through an intuitive, easy-to-use, browser-based graphical user interface. Net-Net EMS can also integrate seamlessly into existing and next-generation Operational Support Systems (OSS) through industry-standard northbound interfaces.

Benefits:

Enables efficient deployment, configuration and upgrade of Acme Packet network elements
Monitors real-time fault and performance status so that corrective action can be taken quickly
Delivers bulk performance data for network capacity planning
Control access for both individual users and user groups, and provides audit trail for all changes
Provides northbound SOAP/XML configuration interface to integrate with OSS applications

Architecture

Net-Net EMS employs a three-tier client/server architecture comprised of client, application server and database for optimum accessibility, performance and availability. A browser-based, Java thin client delivers the GUI that simplifies all management operations. The Net-Net EMS communicates with Acme Packet network elements and OSS using standard protocols such as SOAP, XML, SNMP, telnet and SSH, shielding network administrators from protocol complexities.

Net-Net EMS offers scalable performance, designed to handle the full range of small to large Acme Packet deployments. The application server and database are supported on Sun Solaris and Linux platforms. Several high availability configuration options are also available to guarantee the accessibility of the application server to client, network element and OSS connections. It provides a top-level view of the network and allows for “drill-down” into the individual management objects of each network element. This view also provides indications of the alarm and operational status.

Configuration management

Net-Net EMS enables element configuration, provisioning and software management for multiple networks:

Configuration via GUI client interface or SOAP/XML northbound interface to OSS provisioning applications
Multiple networks of multiple network elements supported
Hierarchical view of Acme Packet network elements and their physical and logical components (physical interface, virtual interface, realm, signaling service, session agents, etc.)
System auto-discovery imports and displays system inventory component information and configuration parameter details
File-based discovery/re-discovery provides SFTP-based retrieval of entire compressed system configuration
EMS database storage of multiple configuration files
- Active folder shows operationally active configurations
- Inactive folder stores configuration backups and multiple off-line configurations
Multiple concurrent users supported per configuration copy
Off-line configuration support enables building multiple configuration files for future deployment
Drag and drop feature supports moving configuration file to different network elements
Selective configuration replication eliminates repetitive configuration operations on multiple elements
Naming/renaming of configuration objects in navigation tree
Global configuration parameter definition and single field editing for parameters common to all network elements
Complete control via commands - save, activate, save and activate, reboot, switch active/standby system roles in HA configuration
Granular save optimizes EMS performance by only saving/activating configuration changes versus entire configuration
EMS tool tip displays Acme Packet CLI parameter name by 'mousing over' EMS GUI parameter description
On-line, context sensitive help
User-defined filtering support for all tables within configuration screens
Configuration search for same-type elements within active or inactive configurations
Configuration integrity check
Display Net-Net OS configuration version
Net-Net OS upgrade enables auto-initiated upgrade of multiple Acme Packet elements
Global parameter changes allows simultaneous configuration of multiple attributes across multiple Acme Packet elements

Fault management

Net-Net EMS enables real-time monitoring of operational status by collecting and displaying alarms and fault-related statistics:

Event delivery via SNMP traps and syslog
Alarm synchronization with Acme Packet network element
Visual display of alarms on main GUI screen
Alarms color-coded by severity level
Configurable alarm severities
Configurable audible alarms and alarm thresholds
Alarm, event and log filtering and management
Alarm correlation and forwarding to OSS fault management applications
Alarm forwarding by severity to one or more e-mail addresses
Alarm acknowledgement, clearing, deletion, and save to a file
Real-time display and storage of syslog events via a log reader
CLI cut-through capability (telnet or SSH) for access to “show” commands for fault management

Performance management

Net-Net EMS enables the collection, real-time monitoring and historical reporting of Acme Packet performance statistics:

Real-time, on-demand collection and display of performance statistics, exportable to CSV formatted file
Bulk data collection, at user configurable intervals, for use by OSS performance management applications
Graphical reports based on statistics collected from each Acme Packet network element
Graphical display, audit, and delete operations on registration cache
Statistics available for all configurations objects - systems/HA nodes, physical interfaces, network interfaces (VLANs), realms, session agents
Comprehensive performance metrics
- Signaling - session rate and quantity, registrations, acceptance/rejection, etc.
- Media - packets & bandwidth
- Network - frames, packets & bandwidth
- System resources - CPU & memory utilization, health score
Configurable, performance-related threshold crossing alerts
CLI cut-through capability (telnet or SSH) for access to “show” commands for performance management

Security management

Net-Net EMS enables the definition and control of access rights for both individual users and user groups and an audit trail for all changes:

Access control lists define permitted user and user group access rights
- EMS functional areas - fault, configuration, performance, security and EMS configuration
- System operations and information
- Network realm operations and information
Access rights - read, read-write, and read-write-admin
Support for third-party X.509 security certificates
User and user group support
- Users assignable to groups with pre-defined permissions
- Override to group permissions to grant/deny permissions for individual user
- Unique user name/passwords for each individual user for authentication
Audit trail log of all activities performed on EMS by individual user including user name, date, time and description of action

Net-Net EMS system requirements

Server
Solaris - minimum platform requirements	Linux - minimum platformrequirements
Dual 1.28 GHz UltraSPARC IIIi processors 4 GB RAM 2 x 73 GB hard drives DVD-ROM drive	Single 3.0 GHz Pentium IV processor 4 GB RAM 80 GB hard drive CD-ROM drive
Operating system
Solaris 9 or Solaris 10 (SPARC, 32-bit) Red Hat Fedora Core 4 or Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v4.0 32-bit mode VMware with Red Hat Fedora Core 4 guest (based on Linux server requirements)
MySQL database
Bundled with Net-Net EMS when Net-Net EMS application and MySQL database are installed on the same server Requires separate purchase and installation when Net-Net EMS application and MySQL database are installed on separate servers
Client
Windows XP SP1, SP2 or SP3; Windows Vista and Vista SP1 512 MB RAM or greater for Windows XP; 1 GB or greater for Windows Vista Internet Explorer version 7.0 or higher; Mozilla Firefox version 3.0 or higher Java Runtime Engine 1.5_14 or higher (including JRE 1.6) for GUI clients Java Runtime Engine 1.4.2_4 or 1.5_14 for northbound SOAP/XML API provisioning clients