|
|
|
 mess@ge home
Table of contents
|
Service Programming in Next Generation Networks: Is SIP the solution? Uwe Herzog The EURESCOM workshop on "Service Programming in Next Generation Networks", which took place in Heidelberg on 5-6 June 2002, attracted the record number of 143 attendees. They represented network operators, manufacturers, standardisation bodies and academic institutions from Europe, America and Asia. In an exhibition EURESCOM projects showed their prototypes, and a number of vendors demonstrated their latest developments and products. The objective of this workshop was to give an overview on service creation technologies for Next Generation Networks and to present and discuss how next generation service platforms can provide advanced services. A focal point of the workshop was the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). It was discussed, which benefits could be gained from using SIP and programmable SIP application servers, especially regarding ease of use, flexibility and programmability. A number of presentations were given by experts of EURESCOM projects P1109, P1111 and P1101, who presented project results from their evaluation and experiments of service programming technologies and platforms for Next Generation Networks. Moreover, a number of vendors in the area of service programming for NGN were presenting their view. From the presentations and discussions it became quite obvious that there seems to be no straight and simple answer to the question, whether SIP is the solution. The clearest statement in favour of SIP was given by Microsoft's Ware Designer Kyle Marsh in his presentation: "Obviously we're building on a standard, and [regarding the workshop question: Is SIP the solution? - the editor] Microsoft's response is: We sure hope so, because that's what we're building on". Many of the other presenters remained more tentative, but a quite common view was that SIP will open service programming to a wider community, and it offers the potential for new and innovative services.
A critical issue that often is on the agenda for IP based services is Quality of Service. The workshop panel discussed whether "we always need five nines", meaning 99.999% availability, the standard feature of today's telecom services. The panel discussed as an alternative, if users might be prepared to accept a lower quality. This assumption could be derived from the user acceptance for current Internet services, like web browsing. The discussion showed that most participants believe good service quality will be required for SIP based services, too, but customers will likely be prepared to accept lower quality in return for additional service features. As a good example for this, mobile telephony was mentioned. Other topics at the workshop included the use of XML scripting languages and programming APIs, like OSA/Parlay, migration and inter-working scenarios between SIP and PSTN, and the connection of service platforms to back-office systems. The workshop participants expressed their great satisfaction with the workshop. The best speaker award went to Gaetano Di Caprio from Telecom Italia Lab for his presentation on 'Service scenarios and experiences from implementation'. For those, who missed the event, there is a CD available with audio/video streams of all presentations. Details can be found at http://www.eurescom.de/ngn-workshop. Please send us your comments on this article. |
||||||||
