In the fourth of this five-part series on IPX, we will explore how changing network architecture is changing the dynamics and challenges of ensuring IP-based international roaming and connectivity.

As we know, networks constantly evolve – not just to meet new standards but also to adopt new architectures and models. These changes impact not just your own networks but the ways in which you interconnect with others – and how you support new services that are enabled through these interconnections.

IPX carries a diverse and growing range of services across international borders

The portfolio of roaming services you offer is continuing to grow. It covers voice, data, video, VoLTE, RBM, and so on, as well as new services enabled through 5G SA roaming. At the same time, new approaches to deployment and software architectures are driving transformation of existing platforms. So, as an operator, you have two evolution axes to consider at all times for your IPX and roaming interconnection infrastructure:

• The evolution of existing operational systems, such as your core IMS, border gateways and so on
• The introduction of new elements and entities to support new capabilities, such as VoLTE roaming and 5G SA roaming

For example, services that have been deployed for years are being migrated to new, virtualised and cloud-native solutions. Virtualisation is, of course, taking place inside your network and you have probably tacked the process of migration across different operational systems.

This migration must be validated, because new virtual versions of existing systems may not perform in the same way as the ones they replace, or as expected, a subject we have explored, here.

The same may well be true as you transition your IPX solutions to virtualised replacements. You will essentially be acting as an integrator, or alongside an integration partner, as you progress virtualisation and extend new architectures into your IPX infrastructure. You have to be sure that each virtual solution does what it should – and interacts effectively with your underlying virtual environment and other components.

Virtualisation isn’t the only transformation that impacts your roaming infrastructure and connections. Most operators are also introducing automation frameworks to enhance operational efficiencies. This means that many processes and workflows are gradually being interconnected to deliver more efficient, autonomous operations.

One direct impact, here, is that you may seek to extend the implementation of IR.85 and IR.21 changes, issued through the GSMA’s RAEX process. RAEX tells you what changes in each agreement and ensures the distribution of updated IR documents – but it doesn’t actually implement the required changes.

As a result, automating these implementations is highly desirable, but any such changes need to be validated, likely through parallel automations with test and assurance frameworks. Change one parameter or setting and then check that the updated has been effected correctly – now try to accomplish this at scale, dynamically, to keep pace with the likely flow of updates what may be hundreds of roaming agreements, direct or indirect through IPX hubs. As can be imagined, that’s a huge and ongoing task.

Of course, the adoption of new delivery processes, like CI/CD/CT pipelines, as well as DevOps strategies helps accelerate and harmonise update programmes, as well as new service launches, from lab to production network. But, these also depend on the integration of  autonomous testing, release and deployment capabilities.

Similarly, the addition of new services and capabilities may require either upgrade to existing solutions (to take account of variations between different generations of network compatibility – from R15 to R16, for example), or the introduction of new entities that perform entirely new functions (such as 5G SA roaming and the SEPP for control plane interconnection).

In both cases, validation is required before deployment, as well as for ongoing assurance purposes in the live network – and as upgrades and updates are applied to operational systems.

But not only do basic functions need to be considered - you also need to focus on specific requirements that are demanded by SLAs and contracts for your customers – as well as the IR.85 / IR.21 agreements with other operators.

As such, and with multiple services enabled across your infrastructure, variations in given service types must also be validated and assured across their lifecycle.

So, are your partners able to provide the level of performance required over their architecture that you demand? How do changes you introduce impact broader IPX interconnectivity and QoS?

In other words, not only is your IPX infrastructure and tech stack evolving, how you manage and integrate with your overall operational footprint is also changing – and you need to ensure that you adjust your own assurance processes to keep pace and to enable more dynamic and agile operations.

How Emblasoft can help

Emblasoft’s solutions can perform comprehensive functional, load, and stress testing at scale, as well as passive and active monitoring to ensure that your own network and that of your vendor partners deliver as expected and demanded in both lab, pre-production, and live environments. They enable operators to validate and assure individual elements within the architecture, and the overall system, so you know that it can, and is, functioning effectively.

Evolver fully integrates with all frameworks, architectures and protocols, including SS7 and Diameter, providing the test capabilities and reporting to trigger the next action – release or reject for example.

It’s cloud-native, aligned with your automation and orchestration investments, such as Kubernetes, OpenShift, and others. So, as your architecture evolves, you can maximise your ROI, because Evolver’s fully integrated with your other investments – it’s not an isolated silo that will become a cost centre. Rather, the opposite: it’s fully integrated into your automated processes and tech stack.

It’s also compatible with CI/CD/CT strategies, and can enable you to test, validate, and assure your IPX across any service or architecture, while it continues to evolve and to deliver enhanced functionality – protecting your roaming business and supporting the drive towards new opportunities.

So, as IPX architectures and systems evolve, Evolver means your validation and assurance processes can keep pace – while nScan provides passive control and user plane monitoring to provide efficient and rapid identification of problems and service deviations.

To find out more, contact us today.