Diameter Routing Agent (DRA)
SDC Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) for the Core Network
Handle Traffic Growth and Network Complexity Challenges
Tiered charging, converged billing, policy control – great services, magnified complexity. To enable all the promised services and functionality, 4G networks include a growing number of Diameter based functionalities such as PCRFs, PCEFs, HSS, etc – to support complex user-service connections. This requires real-time routing capabilities to ensure messages arrive from one element to the correct one in the network.
Understanding this problem, 3GPP introduced a new entity into the network architecture, the Diameter Routing Agent (DRA).
The DRA is a functional element that ensures all Diameter sessions established over Diameter interfaces such as the Gx, S9, S6a and Ro reference points for a certain session reach the same network functionality when multiple and separately addressable network functionalities have been deployed in a Diameter realm.
To address network complexity, operators the world over have been deploying F5 Traffix’s SDC Diameter Router.
It allows them to comprehensively control signaling according to business oriented decisions.
The SDC Diameter Router fully complies with 3GPP Diameter Router Agent (DRA) standards for session binding and core network Diameter routing, 3GPP Interworking Function (IWF) requirements for SS7/Diameter connectivity and GSMA Diameter Edge Agent (DEA) guidelines for roaming and inter-connect, plus many more for further simplification and better control. The SDC serves as a smart Diameter-hub, connecting between various network entities, preventing the need for complex integration and customization, cutting costs, reducing time of implementation and increasing reliability and scalability.
Find out more by right clicking and choosing save as (or save link as / save file as) to download our brief DRA overview (PDF) or the more detailed SDC product brochure (PDF) & SDC data sheet (PDF). You can also open the PDFs in your browser by clicking the links. Another useful piece of content: our new whitepaper (top right).
Large networks with complex network architectures and multiple Diameter nodes require an advanced Diameter contextual routing engine which provides the flexibility to implement a wide range of routing rules and policies required to satisfy all business and operational requirements.
Traffix SDC Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) complies with all the specifications of today’s standards bodies:
- 3GPP Diameter Router Agent (DRA) standards
- 3GPP Interworking Function (IWF) requirements
- IETF Diameter specifications
- GSMA Diameter Edge Agent (DEA) guidelines for roaming
- Many more specs for further simplification and better control
The Traffix SDC Diameter Router (DRA) is the market’s most mature Diameter solution with dozens of live deployments.
Operator Benefits:
- Central maintenance and management of routing and failover
- Routing based on any combination of AVP content (Host, Realm, Rating, Service, Q&S, Location) and dynamic parameter like network conditions and time
- Support for session stickiness and multiple levels of session correlation and binding
- Context-awareness for network and subscriber analytics for better network and business intelligence
- Reduced time of implementation
- Topology hiding
- Network visibility for real-time troubleshooting and capacity planning
- Full IETF, 3GPP and GSMA compliant Diameter Relay, Proxy and Redirect agent
- Minimal risk in deployment of a field proven product
