Wednesday, February 10, 2010

IMS Architecture

The IP-Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) defines the functional architecture for a managed IP-based network. It aims to provide a means for carriers to create an open, standards-based network that delivers integrated multimedia services to increase revenue, while also reducing network CapEx and OpEx.

IMS was originally designed for third-generation mobile phones, but it has already been extended to handle access from WiFi networks, and is continuing to be extended into an access-independent platform for service delivery, including broadband fixed-line access. It promises to provide seamless roaming between mobile, public WiFi and private networks for a wide range of services and devices.

The IMS architecture has been designed to enable operators to provide a wide range of real-time, packet-based services and to track their use in a way that allows both traditional time-based charging as well as packet and service-based charging. It has become increasingly popular both with wireline and wireless service providers as it is designed to increase carrier revenues, deliver integrated multimedia services, and create an open, standards-based network.

IMS provides a wide range of session border control, including call access control, reachability and security. It also provides a framework for the deployment of both basic calling services and enhanced services, including

•multimedia messaging
•web integration
•presence-based services
•push-to-talk.
At the same time, it draws on the traditional telecommunications experience of

•guaranteed QoS
•flexible charging mechanisms (time-based, call-collect, premium rates)
•lawful intercept legislation compliance.
Network operators also hope that IMS will cut their CapEx and OpEx through the use of a converged IP backbone and the open IMS architecture.

•The IMS architecture defines many common components (for example, call control and configuration storage) so less development work is required to create a new service as this existing infrastructure can be reused.
•The use of standardized interfaces should increase competition between suppliers; preventing operators from being locked into a single supplier's proprietary interfaces.
As a result, IMS should enable new services to be rolled out more quickly and cheaply, compared with the traditional monolithic design of telephony services


Source:www.metaswitch.com/sbc-session-border-controller/ims-architecture.aspx

IMS Architecture

The IP-Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) defines the functional architecture for a managed IP-based network. It aims to provide a means for carriers to create an open, standards-based network that delivers integrated multimedia services to increase revenue, while also reducing network CapEx and OpEx.

IMS was originally designed for third-generation mobile phones, but it has already been extended to handle access from WiFi networks, and is continuing to be extended into an access-independent platform for service delivery, including broadband fixed-line access. It promises to provide seamless roaming between mobile, public WiFi and private networks for a wide range of services and devices.

The IMS architecture has been designed to enable operators to provide a wide range of real-time, packet-based services and to track their use in a way that allows both traditional time-based charging as well as packet and service-based charging. It has become increasingly popular both with wireline and wireless service providers as it is designed to increase carrier revenues, deliver integrated multimedia services, and create an open, standards-based network.

IMS provides a wide range of session border control, including call access control, reachability and security. It also provides a framework for the deployment of both basic calling services and enhanced services, including

•multimedia messaging
•web integration
•presence-based services
•push-to-talk.
At the same time, it draws on the traditional telecommunications experience of

•guaranteed QoS
•flexible charging mechanisms (time-based, call-collect, premium rates)
•lawful intercept legislation compliance.
Network operators also hope that IMS will cut their CapEx and OpEx through the use of a converged IP backbone and the open IMS architecture.

•The IMS architecture defines many common components (for example, call control and configuration storage) so less development work is required to create a new service as this existing infrastructure can be reused.
•The use of standardized interfaces should increase competition between suppliers; preventing operators from being locked into a single supplier's proprietary interfaces.
As a result, IMS should enable new services to be rolled out more quickly and cheaply, compared with the traditional monolithic design of telephony services

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a generic architecture for offering multimedia and voice over IP services, defined by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). IMS is access independant as it supports multiple access types including GSM, WCDMA, CDMA2000, WLAN, Wireline broadband and other packet data applications. IMS will make Internet technologies, such as web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging and video conferencing available to everyone from any location. It is also intended to allow operators to introduce new services, such as web browsing, WAP and MMS, at the top level of their packet-switched networks

IP Multimedia Subsystem is standardized reference architecture. IMS consists of session control, connection control and an applications services framework along with subscriber and services data. It enables new converged voice and data services, while allowing for the interoperability of these converged services between internet and cellular subscribers. IMS uses open standard IP protocols, defined by the IETF. So users will be able to execute all their services when roaming as well as from their home networks. So, a multimedia session between two IMS users, between an IMS user and a user on the Internet, and between two users on the Internet is established using exactly the same protocol. Moreover, the interfaces for service developers are also based on IP protocols.

Some of the possible applications where IMS can be used are:

•Presence services

•Full Duplex Video Telephony

•Instant messaging

•Unified messaging

•Multimedia advertising

•Multiparty gaming

•Videostreaming

•Web/Audio/Video Conferencing

•Push-to services, such as push-to-talk, push-to-view, push-to-video



Effectively, IMS provides a unified architecture that supports a wide range of IP-based services over both packet- and circuit-switched networks, employing a range of different wireless and fixed access technologies. A user could, for example, pay for and download a video clip to a chosen mobile or fixed device and subsequently use some of this material to create a multimedia message for delivery to friends on many different networks. A single IMS presence-and-availability engine could track a user's presence and availability across mobile, fixed, and broadband networks, or a user could maintain a single integrated contact list for all types of communications.

A key point of IMS is that it is intended as an open-systems architecture: Services are created and delivered by a wide range of highly distributed systems (real-time and non-real-time, possibly owned by different parties) cooperating with each other. It is a different approach to the more traditional telco architecture of a set of specific network elements implemented as a single telco-controlled infrastructure.


Source:www.telecomspace.com/latesttrends-ims.html