1. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 Need of Interoperability “within” an NGN – An approach Rajeshwar Dayal, Director Dept. of Telecommunications, India FORUM ON NEXT GENERATION STANDARDIZATION (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009)

2. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 2 What interoperability means for : ITU – The ability of two or more systems or applications to exchange and mutually use the information that has been exchanged ( Y.101) ETSI – Capability to provide successful communication between end users across a mixed environment of different domains, networks, facilities, equipments etc. ( TR 101 287) - where one component, from one manufacturer, can be replaced with another, and the basic operation of system remains unaffected. (TR 102 136 ) IETF – The ability of software and hardware on multiple machine from multiple vendors to communicate meaningfully. ( RFC 1983)

3. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 3 Context of interoperability No common definition or context Multiple definitions by same SDO  Network  System  Application  Component  Terminal/ CPE  Software & Hardware

4. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 4 Interoperability –Between networks and within a network Operator A Operator B Network A Network B VOIP Gateway SIP Application Server WEB Portal Router Within a network there are various network elements, systems, equipments, Components……

5. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 5 Network Expansion Case 1– Same vendor Network from Vendor A VOIP Gateway SIP Application Server WEB Portal Router Expansion equipments from Vendor A Interoperability is ensured Smooth expansion

6. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 6 Network Expansion Case 2 –Different vendor Network from Vendor A VOIP Gateway SIP Application Server WEB Portal Router Expansion equipments from Vendor B & vendor C Network Expansion ??? Interoperability Missing

7. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 7 Need of interoperability ‘within’ NGN More modularity in the network Comfort of plug-and-play More competition Faster and smooth deployment Eliminate locking up with vendor Need of time Scenario of convergence & merger ITU-T Objective of NGN (Y.2001)-Fair competition Resolution 2- Mandate & responsibility of SG13

8. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 8 Current approach to achieve Interoperability Testing against Conformance and Interoperability Test Suits Interop Events.. Plugtests Plugfest Bake off

9. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 9 Why Interop. is not a natural outcome of conformance to standard ? Misinterpretations : Ambiguity, Not complete ( Normal Expected behavior but what if unexpected happens) Multiple options for implementation Difficult to interpret Flexibility - for consensus or … interests Not comprehensive - cross references

10. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 10 What is specified by ITU for NGN Functional architecture ( Y.2012) NNI UNI ANI For interworking and interoperability at network boundary level.

11. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 11 What is specified for ‘within’ NGN ? “Within” NGN Y.2012 Functional Architecture Q.3030 Signalling Architecture for service control plane

12. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 12 What is required for interoperability ‘within’ an NGN? Standards providing : Architecture identifying interoperable Functional / Physical Entities and their open interfaces. Requirements, spelt out unambiguously & comprehensively, for such open interfaces covering aspects such as its applicable stacks /layers, protocols & their profiles for interoperability, technology specific interfaces / protocols, etc.

13. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 13 From existing architecture to An architecture with open interfaces Multi-vendor equipments VOIP Gateway SIP Application Server WEB Portal Router Interoperability Missing Open interfaces

14. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 14 Conclusion (1/2) Steps to bring interoperability as natural outcome of conformance to standards- Standards / Recommendations need to be categorized e.g. for ‘Protocol’, ‘Network’, ‘Equipment’, ‘Services’. A template & checklist need to defined/ developed for each, to address interoperability. e.g. physical equipment aspect ( and not only functional aspects) in standards related to equipments.

15. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 15 Mechanism need to be worked out for : Testing of Standards - before final approval. - may be those required for developing interoperable equipments or services - testing infrastructure e.g. ITU-ZNIIS ITTC Feedback - from developers, implementers, users, testing / certifying agencies, etc. e.g.Resolution-44, Forums of Interop Events Synergy of related activities at ITU & SDOs. e.g. JCA-CIT, SG-17,SG-11, ITTC, Res. 44 Conclusion (2/2)

16. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April 2009 16 Thank You