A Cost-effective Ultra-Reliable Fault-tolerant Switching Software Architecture for Next Generation Networks

Abstract

Next Generation Network (NGN) applications such as voice and data convergence, voice over packets and emerging new 3G mobile and WiFi/WiMax Wireless services demand fast time to market. A successful NGN switching software architecture must be able to quickly absorb new technologies and respond to new market needs. This presents a new challenge to switching software architects because a switching platform must also be able to meet very stringent reliability requirements. One such requirement is no more than 0.5 minute per year of total downtime (namely. better than six 9’s) as specified in Telcordia’s GR-929-CORE. Based on Markov modeling and reliability analysis, this paper demonstrates that judicious applications of software redundancy can cost-effectively transform a worse than five 9’s simplex software system into a better than six 9’s system and thus establishes an ultra-reliable cost-effective software architectural framework for NGN switching platform while meeting the needs of fast-time-to-market