IMS/SIP support in the new release of WLNG

BEA released a new version of WebLogic Network Gatekeeper, version 3.0, on July 16th. One of the new features found in that release is support for IMS ISC interface in particular and SIP in general. Why is this good?



It is good for several reasons. It allows WLNG to protect not only legacy enablers but also IMS enablers such as presence, location, and call-control. When WLNG exposes a ParlayX interface like CallControl's setupCall it can go through either legacy IN/SS7, Parlay gateway or IMS network. BEA WLNG now supports all three methods hidden from the end user. WLNG determines through the advanced policy check that the right network is used for each leg in a call. How does it work?



In the policy engine a decision is taken on which network plug-in to use depending on factors like load of that plug-in, numbering plan, which numbers are handled by which part of the network. For example if it's a SIP URI then the policy engine return a SIP plug-in. The plug-in basically forwards the message to an embedded WLSS instance that comes with WLNG. It sends the SIP message and handles all interaction with the SIP based network and then returning the result to the plug-in. How can it connect to SS7 then?



The nice story here is to use Convergin Accolade WCS SIP based SCIM and IM-SCF. Then the SIP based call gets transformed immediately to SS7 by Convergin Accolade WCS. WLNG thus makes real use of WLSS and Convergin providing the needed functionality in a future safe and migratable manner. All this is totally hidden from the application. It just invokes the ParlayX call-control interface and which network that is invoked is irrelevant to the application. Utilizing Convergin Accolade WCS in this environment allows it to be used as SCIM, IM-SSF and IM-SCF in pure SIP application execution from WLSS. Thus using a combination of BEA WLNG and Convergin Accolade WCS enables operators to at the same time protect their network and also expose these services through telecom web services and get a cohesive management of the complete solution.



Not to forget is the importance of continued protection of the IMS/SIP based services through applying advanced policy control, partner management and monitoring. It is easy to forget such important parts just out of pure pleasure working with WLNG ;-).