Today’s VoIP service depends on centralized session border controllers (SBCs) to manage peering between service providers. SBCs translate VoIP formats between networks and perform the translation required to maintain continuity across network address translation (NAT) boundaries. Many also implement some form of admission control and quality of service (QoS) marking to prevent network overloading and illegitimate bandwidth use.

The Peering Edge

But a peering SBC may not meet the requirements found at the access edge. They have not been designed to predictably scale, secure, control and manage hundreds-of-thousands to millions of active endpoints. This is the reason the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) standard defines both an access-edge SBC, to connect users to VoIP and other real-time services, and the peering-edge SBC to interconnect provider networks

And the edge is about much more than just VoIP. The race is on for the delivery of new real-time services to increase users and create new sources of revenue. Instant messaging (IM), Push-to-Talk, multimedia conferencing, Find-me/Follow-me, voice-video messaging, Click-to-Dial, See-What-I-See and presence-enabled applications are just a few of the potential services on the horizon that will need to be secured and managed at the access edge.

The Access-Edge SBC Solution

Covergence Session Manager (CSM), is the industry's first access-edge session border controller. Located where user SIP traffic first enters the network, CSM efficiently terminates, secure, controls and manages large numbers of user connections. CSM combines traditional border control with comprehensive security and powerful management and control capability, to deliver a single point of security, management and control for VoIP services.

The Access Edge

CSM “Business-grade” Services Open New Markets
Business users expect real-time communications and collaboration to deliver the same levels of security, reliability and quality of service (QoS) as they enjoyed with traditional phone service. CSM provides the features necessary to enable service providers to meet the security, performance, quality and reliability thresholds for business customers.

CSM Extends Service Portfolios Beyond VoIP
CSM enables service providers to increase subscribers and create new sources of revenue by enabling them to extend their service portfolios beyond VoIP, to the delivery of real time services such as IM, multimedia conferencing, Find-me/Follow-me, Click-to-Dial, presence-enabled applications, and others.

With a Clear Path to IMS Compliance
But the strategy for many service providers is full IMS compliance and this is where CSM really proves out its value. CSM enables the secure and managed deliver of rich multi-media services today and future proofs the access-edge migration to IMS in the future.

In an IMS compliant architecture, as specified by the ETSI TISPAN organization, CSM satisfies the requirements of the Proxy-Call Session Control Function and the Access Border Gateway Function. To that end the CSM IMS-compliant system architecture includes independent signaling proxy, media proxy and policy decision functions, plus value-added features like audio recording and a web services interface for management and session control.

If your access-edge is limiting your opportunity, look into CSM and see what the market leaders already know.