The key feature of the DPI solution is independence from the server platform.
Thus, the choice of the solution would finally depend on the two following components.
- Estimate the in+out traffic amount and its future growth.
- It is essential for determining the platform performance ranging from 6 Gbps to 100 Gbps. Examples and requirements for the platforms are listed in the documentation. We recommend keeping in mind the possibility of traffic growth in the future. For example, choosing 40 Gbps with traffic at 20 Gbps.
- DPI Platform license also depends on bandwidth.
Using inline mode
SSG-6 corresponds to 3 Gbps of incoming and 3 Gbps of outgoing traffic
SSG-100 corresponds to 50 Gbps of incoming и 50 Gbps of outgoing traffic
Using port mirroring mode
SSG-6 corresponds to 6 Gbps of incoming total traffic
SSG-100 corresponds to 100 Gbps of incoming total traffic
- Choose the SSG license depending on the task.
Licenses advantages
Licensing, independent from the equipment, allows the operators to protect their investments and plan the increase in solution budget in the future. Actions that can be carried out with a license through technical support: upgrade, merge, split, transfer.
For the convenience of obtaining a license and working with it, a license server in the VAS Cloud is implemented, which offers the operator the following advantages:
- Getting a backup license
- Getting a test version and prolongate it
- Downloading the virtual version of Stingray Service Gateway
- Adding VAS (additional services).
BRAS license
The new version of BNG/BRAS has its special aspects:
- Includes basic options for BRAS L3 IPoE implementation
- Bypass mode support
- Statistics gathering and its subsequent analysis depending on protocols and AS
- Subscribers notification and marketing campaigns
- Whitelist and Captive Portal
- Access channel allocation between IPv4 and IPv6 subscribers
- BRAS L3 (IPoE), Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6, Radius with CoA function support
- Supports expanding the functionality by adding additional options:
- Filtering by the blacklisted Internet sites
- BRAS L2 (PPPoE, DHCP), Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6
- CG-NAT — Network Address Translation and NetFlow unload
- mini-Firewall for blocking on certain ports
- Ads blocking and replacing
- Protection against DOS and DDOS attacks
- Traffic prioritization depending on a protocol
- Optimization of the external access channels usage
The price is lower than the Base and Complete versions, which gives an optimal start for any budget and size of the operator’s network.
QoE module in Base option – for free
Let us turn to the QoE module, which operates on statistics exported from the DPI Platform. It consists of three main elements:
- Flow collector – accepts NetFlow with support of re-exporting to an external collector.
- QoE Store is a ClickHouse database where raw logs are converted to the aggregated ones and then accumulated for a specified period of time.
- GUI is the interface responsible for visualizing and reporting, creating triggers and events using custom filters. It supports the creation of authorization roles and the Stingray Service Gateway and QoE Store database configuration.
Metrics
The core defined metrics are:
- Round-trip-time (RTT)
- Indicators of the number of retries
- The number of sessions, devices, agents
- IP addresses per subscriber
- Traffic distribution by application and transport protocols
- Traffic distribution by autonomous system (AS) numbers
- Clickstream for each subscriber
Licensing
Product licensing depends on bandwidth of DPI platform.
- DPI-6 QoE option is needed for DPI-6 version.
- DPI-100 QoE option is needed for DPI-100 version.
QoE module is available in two options: Base and Standard. Users can install the Base version for free and familiarize themselves with the basic features. There is a trial period for exploring the Standard version.
Use Cases for QoE module
Sales and Marketing
Quality of Experience module helps:
- to sale new services, Wi-Fi equipment, billing plans
- to find ways to increase clients’ loyalty, resist and analyse the reasons of customer churn
- to manage targeted advertising using subscribers profiles
Technical and Support departments
Quality of Experience module provides:
- Deep troubleshooting and network monitoring using Round Trip Time and TCP retransmitting
- Search for problems with client equipment, Wi-Fi routers, access and aggregation switches
- Determination of optimal peering and connectivity points via Uplink
VAS cloud – ready-to-use service for operators
One of our latest innovations is the implementation of a turnkey-ready service for DPI monetization.
Embedding banners for web resources in automatic mode
The service is built using VAS Cloud, GUI and advertising options in DPI platform.
The principle of operation: java scripts for HTTP resources and a set of banners that can be used for this site are generated in the VAS Cloud. Once the service is activated in the automatic mode, this data is imported to the Stingray Service Gateway and is applied only to those subscribers whose advertising service has been activated. Banner display and transition are paid by the advertising aggregator; the operator receives their interest via VAS Cloud personal account.
These services will be available by subscription through the operator’s personal account.
Web resources categories for black and white lists
The list of categories can be used to form parental control services for the operator’s end users or to filter traffic for schools in accordance with legal requirements.
In the following articles we will provide a more detailed VAS Cloud services description and consider their practical application.