CDRs Collection for Legacy Switches

A versatile solution

With a wealth of experience since years acting in the Telecom domain, Marben, in partnership with Microtronix, provides powerful versatile and complete software CDRs collection solutions for legacy switches. Providing technical assistance services and expertise, Marben offers Telcos or System Integrators a turnkey solution that does not require the modification of the existing switches' configuration.

MARBEN CDR Collection solution is adapted to collect CDRs files from a single switch as to collect from a large set of various legacy switches in complex and critical operator networks. The solution collects charging CDRs files, measurement & meter CDRs files and more.

Supported Telecom switches

  • Alcatel E10
  • Alcatel OCB (283)
  • Alcatel S12
  • Ericsson AXE
  • Lucent 5ESS
  • NEC NEAX
  • Nokia DS200
  • Nortel DMS 100 series
  • Nortel DMS 200 series
  • Siemens EWSD
  • Other Telecom switches

Features

  • CDRs Collection protocols: FTAM, CMISE/CMIP, XFER, MTP, AMATPS (BX.25), EADAS
  • CDRs collection methods: Pull (client) and Push (server)
  • Network access: X.25, Ethernet, TCP/IP
  • Translations and conversion protocols: XOT (X.25 over TCP, RFC 1613), ISO Transport on top of TCP (RFC 1006), RAW
  • CDRs transfer protocols: FTP, SFTP, NFS, SCP, FTAM

Benefits

  • All legacy switches supported without modifying their configuration
  • Versatile solution providing only the protocols you need,
  • Ensure CDRs integrity during transfer,
  • MARBEN OSI, FTAM and CMIP stacks are integrated in the most famous collection and supervision system,
  • Linux platforms supported,
  • Comes with the main collection procedures,
  • Customizable collection procedure to map specific needs,
  • Collection performances and reliability.

Legacy switches' CDRs collection and Marben experience

Call Detail Records (CDRs) collection is at the front of the whole usage valuation and billing chain. It feeds the whole Telecom Service Provider's BSS with usage information it collects from the various switches and network elements for charging.

Whereas the new generation of switches supports most of the calls, legacy switches role is still important and associated revenues are still very significant. The collect of CDRs from legacy switches (Alcatel E10, Alcatel OCB, Alcatel S12, Ericsson AXE, Lucent 5ESS, Siemens EWSD, NEC NEAX, Nortel DMS...) remains a strategic investment for telecom operators. It must be reliable and efficient to ensure complete and timely revenues. If initially planned to be removed by 2015/2016, Telecom operators now know that they will have to support such legacy switches at least until 2020.

Thus, the existing CDRs collection platforms for legacy switches running most of the time either on Sun Sparc Solaris or HP-UX platforms have to be replaced due to the end of the hardware support. To address these needs, MARBEN CDR Collection solution supports all new Linux platforms. Moreover, the migration of the Telco CDRs collection application from existing Sun Solstice or HP-OTS is straightforward as the interfaces are very similar.

Marben provides up to date solution and associated services to maintain legacy switches collection and to ensure a safe future for associated billing data. Several years of experience and usage in the most constraint environments in various network architecture and protocols (X.25, XOT, RFC1006 and TCP/IP) makes MARBEN CDR Collection the most reliable, robust and efficient solution to collect legacy switches (Alcatel E10, Alcatel OCB, Alcatel S12, Ericsson AXE, Lucent 5ESS, Siemens EWSD, NEC NEAX, Nortel DMS...).

MARBEN CDR Collection solution

The MARBEN CDR Collection bridges the gap between the network of legacy telephone switches and new mediation and billing system. It deals with retrieving the Call Detail Records from legacy switches using FTAM, CMIP/CMISE, XFER, MTP or AMATPS and exchanging them with the billing system or any other downstream applications of the Telco information system using ftp/sftp/nfs/scp on TCP/IP.

The MARBEN CDR Collection solution is aimed at hiding the details and complexity of the communication with the legacy switches and appearing as a single source of CDRs data to the mediation and billing system. It is a versatile stand-alone application that suits all existing and future networks architectures to interact with all mediations and billing systems.

Marben and Microtronix offers a wide range of CDRs collection solutions. Some of them are described below:

  • Full software solution

    It is integrated in the existing collection platform or installed on a standalone frontend collection system.

    The solution is in conformance with all networks architecture and configuration available in existing Telecom networks.

    Collect CDRs from legacy Telecom switches (Alcatel, Ericsson, Siemens, Nortel, Nokia, ...)
    Collection of legacy switches using full software solution

  • Complete software and hardware collection gateway

    The gateway is usually installed in front of switches to avoid any network connectivity issue or simply to collect the switch as if it was providing an ftp/sftp interface.

    This solution avoids adding new features on an existing mediation system and is in conformance with all networks architecture and configuration you can face on your switches.

    Collect CDRs from legacy Telecom switches (Alcatel, Ericsson, Siemens, Nortel, Nokia, ...) using Microtronix gateway
    Collection of legacy switches using software and gateway solution

With MARBEN CDR Collection, Marben addresses the needs of all players in the area of Call Detail Record for measurements, mediation or billing who want to continue to take benefit from their legacy switches:

  • Operators and integrators who collect billing CDRs or measurement CDRs from legacy switches.
  • Operators and integrators who replace legacy switches mediation system,
  • Operators, service providers and integrators who build custom mediation or billing systems supporting existing legacy switches.
  • Editors of mediation or billing software who extend their connectivity capabilities integrating the MARBEN CDR Collection in their own product.
  • Telecom equipment manufacturers who embed the MARBEN CDR Collection in their own CDRs collection/mediation offer.

Handling the X.25 to IP migration in OSS/BSS

IP has replaced X.25 Wide Area Network to increase the network capacity and decrease maintenance cost of complex legacy network structures. That is why less computers and equipment manufacturers support X.25, forcing carriers to migrate from X.25 to IP even if the existing collection solution is suitable and despite the existing and operational X.25 legacy switches.

Marben has designed solutions to allow a smooth transition from an X.25 to an IP network and covering all migration cases with a minimal impact on the existing infrastructure. These solutions provide protocol conversion solution from X.25 to TCP/IP like XOT and RFC1006 that can be integrated in Marben collection solutions or provided on a gateway.

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