P-Cube - Global Leader in Service Control & Bandwidth Management for Service Providers

Service Control Platforms

The Service Engine family of programmable network devices are capable of performing stateful flow inspection of IP traffic, and controlling that traffic based on configurable rules. The Service Engine is a purpose built network device making use of ASIC components and RISC processors to go beyond packet counting and delve deeper into the contents of network traffic. Providing programmable stateful inspection of bi-direction traffic flows and mapping these flows with user ownership, the Service Engine platforms provide a real-time classification of network usage. This information provides the basis of the Service Engine’s advanced traffic control and bandwidth shaping functionality. Where most bandwidth shapers’ functionality ends, the Service Engine provides more control and shaping options including:

Layer 7-3 stateful wire-speed packet inspection and classification
Robust support for over 600 protocol/applications including:

General: HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, TELNET, NNTP, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, WAP, & others…
P2P: FastTrack-KazaA, Gnutella, WinMX, Winny, Hotline, eDonkey, DirectConnect, Piolet, and others….
Streaming & Multimedia: RTSP, SIP, HTTP-STREAMING, RTP/RTCP, etc…etc.

Programmable system core for flexible reporting & bandwidth control
Transparent network and BSS/OSS integration into existing networks
Subscriber awareness for relating traffic and usage to specific customers
Traffic redirection for HTTP and RTSP applications

Stateful

Full stateful inspection from Layer 7-3 allows the Service Engine to understand more about network traffic as it relates to applications and their specific consumption of bandwidth. This added intelligence makes the Service Engine capable of more than just simple packet counting and aggregation.

Programmability

Key to the Service Engine’s flexibility in so many metering and control roles is its ability to be programmed for specific tasks. Static protocol identification and fixed bandwidth control limitations that plague conventional solutions are not an issue for the Service Engine due to its ability to be rapidly re-programmed. The Service Engine makes use of a high level programming language called SML (Service Management Language), that allows for the rapid creation of traffic detection and control algorithms. The SML application is then compiled and downloaded to the Service Engine to instantly update the behavior of the device with little or no change to customer specific configuration of the system.

Protocol changes, new protocols and applications types, as well as session recognition information is easily updated in the Service Engine. The service provider is assured of the fact that a P-Cube Service Engine will effectively operate in today’s networks and will adapt to the provider’s networking needs of tomorrow.

Performance

Multi-Gigabit performance is realized due to the fact that a patented hardware architecture forms the basis of the Service Engine. Complex environments with high speed links require a service control platform that can scale with network growth and the providers demands for traffic inspection and control. The Service Engine’s architecture uses a mix of RISC processing chips and a patented 5-level ASIC packet processing design to achieve unprecedented speed vs. functionality performance figures.

Integration

Integration flexibility is a design philosophy of the Service Engine, as it operates within existing network infrastructures. As a transparent overlay to existing network equipment and topologies, the Service Engine can be rapidly deployed by virtually any type of service provider. The Service Engine provides API’s and simple reporting interfaces to get network usage information into the OSS. SNMP management of the Service Engine allows for the centralized monitoring of the system via a NOC or IT department. Configuration of the Service Engine can be done through GUI’s and/or uploading XML-based configurations files. With easy and rapid integration abilities, the Service Engine rapidly becomes a part of the service providers core infrastructure.

Carrier Grade Reliability

When deployed in the most demanding applications and networks, the Service Engine is configured for reliability and carrier grade operation. The system is designed for “6 – 9’s” of reliability (99.9999% uptime), providing networks with the assurance that service control and metering functions will always be available, via bypass and failover capabilities. The system supports redundant configurations in which a primary SE device failure will cause atransparent failover to a stand-by SE device to ensure no service outage.