Mobile Virtual Private Network

A mobile virtual private network (mobile VPN or mVPN) provides mobile devices with access to network resources and software applications on their home network, when they connect via other wireless or wired networks.




Mobile VPNs are used in environments where workers need to keep application sessions open at all times, throughout the working day, as they connect via various wireless networks, encounter gaps in coverage, or suspend-and-resume their devices to preserve battery life. A conventional VPN cannot survive such events because the network tunnel is disrupted, causing applications to disconnect, time out, fail, or even the computing device itself to crash.



Makers of mobile VPNs draw a distinction between remote access and mobile environments. A remote-access user typically establishes a connection from a fixed endpoint, launches applications that connect to corporate resources as needed, and then logs off. In a mobile environment, the endpoint changes constantly (for instance, as users roam between different cellular networks or Wi-Fi access points). A mobile VPN maintains a virtual connection to the application at all times as the endpoint changes, handling the necessary network logins in a manner transparent to the user.



Functions

The following are functions common to mobile VPNs

• Persistence – Open applications remain active, open and available when the wireless connection changes or is interrupted, a laptop goes into hibernation, or a handheld user suspends and resumes the device

• Roaming – Underlying virtual connection remains intact when the device switches to a different network; the mobile VPN handles the logins automatically

• Application compatibility – Software applications that run in an "always-connected" wired LAN environment run over the mobile VPN without modification

• Security – Enforces authentication of the user, the device, or both; as well as encryption of the data traffic in compliance with security standards such as FIPS 140-2

• Acceleration – Link optimization and data compression improve performance over wireless networks, especially on cellular networks where bandwidth may be constrained.

• Strong authentication – Enforces two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication using some combination of a password, smart card, public key certificate or biometric device; required by some regulations, notably for access to CJIS systems in law enforcement



Industries and applications

Mobile VPNs have found uses in a variety of industries, where they give mobile workers access to software applications:

• Public Safety

• Home Care

• Hospitals and Clinics

• Field Service

• Utilities

• Insurance



In telecommunications

In telecommunication, a mobile VPN is a solution that integrates all offices and employees in a common network that includes all mobile and desk phones. Using mVPNs the company has the following advantages:

• Direct connectivity – the corporate network becomes part of mobile operator's network through direct connection

• Private numbering plan – the communication is tailored to company organization

• Corporate Business Group – all offices and employees are part of one common group, that includes all mobile and desk phones

• Short dialing – a short number to access each employee

• Smart Divert – easy divert within company group

• Groups and subgroups – Several sub-groups could be defined within the group with different changing as well as with separate numbering plan

• Calls control – certain destinations could be allowed or barred both on mobile and desk phones.



References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_virtual_private_network

e-UTRAN

e-UTRAN




e-UTRAN or eUTRAN is the air interface of 3GPP's Long Term Evolution (LTE) upgrade path for mobile networks. It is the abbreviation for evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network, also referred to as the 3GPP work item on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) also known as the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) in early drafts of the 3GPP LTE specification.



It is a radio access network standard meant to be a replacement of the UMTS, HSDPA and HSUPA technologies specified in 3GPP releases 5 and beyond. Unlike HSPA, LTE's E-UTRA is an entirely new air interface system, unrelated to and incompatible with W-CDMA. It provides higher data rates, lower latency and is optimized for packet data. It uses OFDMA radio-access for the downlink and SC-FDMA on the uplink.



Rationale for E-UTRA

Although UMTS, with HSDPA and HSUPA and their evolution, deliver high data transfer rates, wireless data usage is expected to continue increasing significantly over the next years due to the increased offering and demand of services and content on the move and the continued reduction of costs for the final user. This increase is expected to require not only faster networks and radio interfaces but also more cost efficient than what is possible by the evolution of the current standards. Thus the 3GPP consortium set the requirements for a new radio interface (EUTRAN) and core network evolution (System Architecture Evolution SAE) that would fulfill this need. These improvements in performance allow wireless operators to offer quadruple play services - voice, high-speed interactive applications including large data transfer and feature-rich IPTV with full mobility.



Starting with the 3GPP Release 8, e-UTRA is designed to provide a single evolution path for the GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA, CDMA2000/EV-DO and TD-SCDMA radio interfaces, providing increases in data speeds, and spectral efficiency, and allowing the provision of more functionality.





EUTRAN architecture as part of a LTE and SAE network



Features:

• Peak download rates of 299.6 Mbit/s for 4x4 antennas, 150.8 Mbit/s for 2x2 antennas with 20 MHz of spectrum.

• Peak upload rates of 75.4 Mbit/s for every 20 MHz of spectrum.

• Low data transfer latencies (sub-5ms latency for small IP packets in optimal conditions), lower latencies for handover and connection setup time.

• Support for terminals moving at up to 350 km/h or 500 km/h depending on the frequency band.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-UTRA



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Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)

Integrated Services Digital Network is a set of communications standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the traditional circuits of the public switched telephone network. It was first defined in 1988 in the CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee). The key feature of ISDN is that it integrates speech and data on the same lines, adding features that were not available in the classic telephone system.




ISDN is a circuit-switched telephone network system, which also provides access to packet switched networks, designed to allow digital transmission of voice and data over ordinary telephone copper wires, resulting in potentially better voice quality than an analog phone can provide. It offers circuit-switched connections (for either voice or data), and packet-switched connections (for data), in increments of 64 kilobit/s. In a VIDEOCONFERENCE, ISDN provides simultaneous voice, video, and text transmission between individual desktop videoconferencing systems and group videoconferencing systems.



There are two levels of service: the Basic Rate Interface (BRI), intended for the home and small enterprise, and the Primary Rate Interface (PRI), for larger users. Both rates include a number of B-channels and D-channels. Each B-channel carries data, voice, and other services. Each D-channel carries control and signaling information.



• Basic Rate Interface: The entry level interface to ISDN is the Basic(s) Rate Interface (BRI), a 128 kbit/s service delivered over a pair of standard telephone copper wires. The 144 kbit/s payload rate is broken down into two 64 kbit/s bearer channels ('B' channels) and one 16 kbit/s signaling channel ('D' channel or delta channel). This is sometimes referred to as 2B+D.



• Primary Rate Interface: The other ISDN access available is the Primary Rate Interface (PRI), which is carried over an E1 (2048 kbit/s) in most parts of the world. An E1 is 30 'B' channels of 64 kbit/s, one 'D' channel of 64 kbit/s and a timing and alarm channel of 64 kbit/s.



Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_Services_Digital_Network

http://searchenterprisewan.techtarget.com/definition/ISDN

Network Management Overview

Network management is a mission critical factor in successfully operating a network and the business. It ensures all networking equipment and other resources deployed effectively. It increases the availability of network and the proper quality of services. It ensures the security of information and the network. In the case of a service provider, it also provides accurate accounting information for billing.


There are many different reference models, technologies, systems and tools to cover the various functions of network management. In terms of the reference models, the most well known models include the ISO FCAPS: Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance and Security. ITU-T proposed the model called the Telecom Management Network (TMN). The newer one proposed by the TeleManagement Forum is called TOM: Telecoms Operations Map or eTOM: enhanced Telecom Operations Map. The most popular traditional model deployed by many Service Providers is called OAM&P: Operation, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning.

There are many network management technologies and protocols which address some of the network management functions. The most popular technology deployed in the TCP/IP data communication network is the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) defined by IETF. Another popular protocol is the Common Management Information Protocol (CMIP) and Common Management Information Service (CMIS) defined by ISO.

There are many types of systems available for various purposes of network management, which help network management professionals to manage and operate the network and services daily. However, there is no single solution available to address all the network management requirements. Each system may cover one or several functions.

A Typical Network Management Architecture





Reference:

http://www.networkdictionary.com/Telecom/Network-Management-Overview.php

Average revenue per user (ARPU)

Average revenue per user (sometimes average revenue per unit) usually abbreviated to ARPU is a measure used primarily by consumer communications and networking companies, defined as the total revenue divided by the number of subscribers. This term is used by companies that offer subscription services to clients for example, telephone carriers, Internet service providers, and hosts. It is a measure of the revenue generated by one customer phone, pager, etc., per unit time, typically per year or month. In mobile telephony, ARPU includes not only the revenues billed to the customer each month for usage, but also the revenue generated from incoming calls, payable within the regulatory interconnection regime.




There is a trend by telecommunications and internet companies and their suppliers to sell extra services to users and a lot of the promotion that is used by these companies talk of increased ARPU for these operators. It typically manifests in the form of value-added services such as entertainment being sold to customers especially in markets where the primary service offered to the customer, such as the telephony or Internet service, is sold at a commodity rate.



Method of Calculation: To calculate the ARPU, a standard time period must be defined. Most telecommunications carriers operate by the month. The total revenue generated by all units (paying subscribers or communications devices) during that period is determined. Then that figure is divided by the number of units. Because the number of units can vary from day to day, the average number of units must be calculated or estimated for a given month to obtain the most accurate possible ARPU figure for that month



The ARPU can be broken down according to income-producing categories. For example, monthly or annual subscriber fees generate a steady revenue stream but do not take into account short-term changes in customer usage habits. The income generated by "excess minutes," roaming services or incoming calls can be highly variable. New, novel features may temporarily generate higher ARPU figures than established, proven functions. The ARPU can be calculated for each feature to identify sources of the greatest income per unit.



References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_revenue_per_user

http://searchtelecom.techtarget.com/definition/average-revenue-per-user

VDI - Virtual desktop infrastructure

VDI(Virtual desktop infrastructure) is a computing model that adds a layer of virtualization between the server and the desktop PCs. A VDI environment allows your company’s information technology pros to centrally manage thin client machines, leading to a mutually beneficial experience for both end-users and IT admins. VDI Provides Greater Security, Seamless User Experience, and Superior data security. Because VDI hosts the desktop image in the data center, organizations keep sensitive data safe in the corporate data center—not on the end-user’s machine which can be lost, stolen, or even destroyed. VDI effectively reduces the risks inherent in every aspect of the user environment. With VDI, the end-user experience remains familiar. Their desktop looks just like their desktop and their thin client machine perform just like the desktop PC they’ve grown comfortable with and accustomed to.






VDI is not one product, but rather a technology consisting of five separate components:

• Thin Client Computer

o Most leading thin client manufacturers are coming out with new devices geared toward VDI. The only difference between these devices and their standard thin client device offerings is one or more built-in 3rd Party Connection Brokers. Some are also offering local graphics acceleration where MPEG1 & MPEG2 are rendered locally using the thin client’s display adapter, while others are offering VOIP Soft Phone Support. Although any computer could act as a thin client device, true thin client terminal are more often the choice for VDI and companies don’t want to continue to manage the client OS.

• 3rd Party Connection Broker

o The Connection Broker is the brains of the architecture that determines which Remote Desktop Host (XP Pro or Vista) a user is assigned or connected to. The broker is often a full-blown management product allowing for the automatic deployment and provisioning of Remote Desktop Hosts.

• Virtualized Remote Desktop Host

o Single User Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista or Linux Client OS Hosts, Virtualized on VMware. Client computers connect to these hosts via remote display protocols like Microsoft RDP, Citrix ICA or NX.

• VMware Infrastructure 3 Server (VI3)

o VMware ESX Server software allows for hosting of hardware agnostic Virtual Machines. In the case of VDI, ESX is used to host many Virtual Machines of the Remote Desktop Host Operating Systems.

• VMware VirtualCenter

o Software component for managing ESX Server and libraries of Virtual Machines



Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_virtualization

http://searchvirtualdesktop.techtarget.com/feature/What-is-VDI-technology

http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/vdi-articles/general/virtual-desktop-infrastructure-overview.html

Internet Protocol Version 6(IPv6)

Internet operates by transferring data between hosts in packets that are routed across networks as specified by routing protocols. These packets require an addressing scheme, such as IPv4 or IPv6, to specify their source and destination addresses. Each host, computer or other device on the Internet requires an IP address in order to communicate. The growth of the Internet has created a need for more addresses than are possible with IPv4.






Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a version of the Internet Protocol (IP) intended to succeed Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), which currently directs most Internet traffic, but is running out of addresses. IPv6 allows up to 2128 addresses, a massive increase from the 232 (about 4.3 billion) addresses possible with IPv4, and includes several other improvements. To gain the full benefits of IPv6, most hosts on the Internet, as well as the networks connecting them, will need to deploy this protocol—a difficult transition. While deployment of IPv6 is accelerating, especially in the Asia-Pacific region and some European countries, areas such as the Americas and Africa are comparatively lagging in deployment of IPv6.



Advantages:

1) Larger address space

2) Mandatory network-layer security

3) Simplified processing by routers

4) Mobility



Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipv6