Project Wireless Zones, Supporting Systems

1

• Project Enitel Wireless Zones
• Pilot for productification of WLAN IP-zones
• for a Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• ______________________
• A WLAN-based IP-zone testbed and implementation
  in compliance with
• existing supporting systems (selling chain,
  supply chain, billing) of the ISP Enitel AS.
• December 2000 April 2001

2
Wireless Zones Platform choice

• Supporting systems
• Transmission
• Choice of standard IEEE 802.11b (WLAN)
• Choice of product Lucent ORiNOCO series.
• Authentication, Authorization, Accounting (AAA)
• Authentication Control and approve access, e.g.
• by usrename and password.
• Authorization Permit and configure users
  functionality, e.g. provide
• Transmission protocol,
• Routing,
• IP-address,
• etc...
• Accounting Logging data for the use of
• Billing,
• Statistics,
• Error tracking for customer support,
• Abuse.

3
Choice of platform, service systems

• Authentication, Authorization, Accounting (AAA)
• An thoroughly tested and widespread standard is
  preferred!
• A plus if Enitels existing (legacy) systems can
  be utilized!
• Choice Remote Authentication Dial In User
  Service (RADIUS),
• Developed over many years, and a defacto
  standard.
• Defined as an Official Protocol Standard by IETF
  (June, 2000).
• Preferred and dominant solution in the AAA
  market.
• Choice of product
• NavisRADIUS for the pilot phase (quick
  implementation, customizable),
• RadiatorRADIUS for operational phase (already in
  use by Enitel tech. staff).
• Billing system
• An existing system that supports CDR!
• Choice TIMS, and CDR via BMP.

4
Choice of platform, Systems overview
Salesmen, Agents, ...
End-user clients
Extranet server
Other service system n
DMZ
Registration server
AS-2000 NAS 1
AS-2000 NAS n
. . . .
Secure network
Authentication Authorization Accounting
NetConfig server
New user billing config
New user tech config
RADIUS server 1
Abuse dept.
RADIUS server 2
Users
AcctLog
TBS
Daily
Credit control system
WZ automatic CDR export
Customr
Subscr.
OTC, MRC
WZ CDR
CDRs of other services
BMP/CDFM
TIMS billing
5
Choice of platform, supporting systems

• Choice of supporting systems
• Selling Chain System
• Alternative 1 Enitel PartnerWeb
• Alternative 2 Enitel ChannelServer
  (Kanalserver)
• Supply Chain System
• Alternative 1 Manual processing on RADIUS and
  TBS/TIMS.
• Alternative 2 ChannelServer semi-automation.
• Three alternative solutions
• Ref. to separate documentation for an overview of
  the 3 solutions (levels/phases)
• Solution A) Fully automated, order-entry,
  auto-provisioning, real-time billing.
• Solution B) Semi-manual, subscription-registry,
  real-time billing.
• Solution C) Manual, only order-entry and CDR
  mechanisms, and no subscription registry or
  real-time billing.

6
Billing

• Flexible billing solution, automated for
  cost-efficiency, and prepared for
• market changes in a new and agile market.
• CDR solution
• WZ Automatic CDR Export (WZ-ACE), developed by
  this project
• Extracts RADIUS Accounting Log
• Only relevant records (successful STOP-records of
  Enitel subscr./roaming only)
• Adds info in CDR record, for parametering, CC or
  customer info subscription type,
• zone, etc...
• Formats CDR for TIMS (or billing system of
  choice)
• Automatic transfer of last 24-hour traffic every
  night
• Billing of account owner
• Unambiguous common key sub_no (subscription
  number/ID), uniformly across all systems
  (technical, sales, and billing systems)
• simplifies data processing.
• Invoice document layout
• Layout as current invoice document for Mobile
  Service Provider (SP) range.
• Product specification (invoice item text) Start
  time, duration, connection zone.

7
Billing Price models

• Flexibility in price models provides fast market
  compliance by means of parameter alteration in
  the systems
• One Time Charge (OTC)
• Sales Support System enters OTC in billing system
  subscription database
• Monthly Recurring Charge (MRC)
• Sales Support System enters MRC in billing system
  subscription database
• Traffic rate
• Price per session,
• Price per second, or
• Price per byte.
• Subscription selection
• Standard,
• Hotel,
• Company, or
• others...
• Rate zones/areas
• LOCAL - Local rate
• LONGD - Long distance
• ROAMG - Roaming, access from other service
  providers network
• FORGN - Foreign subscriber acessing Enitels
  network

8
Access, Hand-Off Roaming
Subscr.E1
Subscr.E2
Subscr.T3
Subscr.T4
Roaming between SPs
Req.E1
Req.T3
Req.E2
Telenor SP Network
Enitel SP Network
Hand-Off within zone
Zone Telenor1
Zone Sjølyst
Zone Enitel-HQ
Zone Telenor2
AS-2000 NAS E1
AS-2000 NAS E2
AS-2000 NAS E3
AS-2000 NAS E4
. . .
. . .
AS-2000 NAS T1
Req.T4
Authentication Authorization Accounting
Req.E2
Req.T3
Req.E1
Neutral Network
Broker House proxy-RADIUS GRIC/ iPASS/...
Load balancing
Req.E2
Clients NAS T1 Telen ....
Req.E1
RADIUS server E1
RADIUS server E2
RADIUS server T1
Clients NAS E1 Sjøly NAS E2 Sjøly NAS E3
Enite NAS E4 Enite
Req.E2
Req.T4
Req.T3
Req.T4
Acct.Log CDR T3 local CDR T4
roaming ....
Users x Subscr.T3 y Subscr.T4 ....
Acct.Log CDR E1 LOCAL CDR E2 ROAMG CDR T4
FORGN ....
Users 00001001 Sub.E1 00001002 Sub.E2 ....
DHCP server IP-pool, range per zone
Req.T3
Req.E1
Req.E1
Req.T3
Req.E1
Req.T4
Req.E2
Req.T4
Req.E2
Req.T4
Req.T4
9
Next phase of project

• Wireless Zones is prepared for the following
• The specifications for RADIUS are also documented
  in a version independent of software choice.
• Based on, and can be adapted to, existing RADIUS
  implementations.
• Can be run simultaneous with RADIUS-installations
  of other services and realms.
• WZ-ACE generalizes the CDR export format, and
  thus provides for a wide selection of billing
  platform.
• RADIUS limitations
• Scalability...
• Congestion...
• This is under improvement in the IETF now. The
  WZ service will most likely not reach these
  limitations, even when based on a low-budget
  hardware investment.
• RADIUS will ensure compatibility with future
  solutions, due to the dominating role and
  widespread distribution in the ISP market.