Profile: Acme Packet, Inc. (APKT.O)

Acme Packet, Inc., incorporated on August 3, 2000, is engaged in providing session border controllers (SBCs) that enable service providers, enterprises, and contact centers to deliver interactive communications voice, video and other real-time multimedia sessions, across Internet Protocol network borders. The service providers include wireline, wireless, cable and Internet telephony service providers. The Net-Net products, which consist of the hardware and software, serve as a central element in unifying the separate Internet protocol (IP) networks. SBCs are deployed at the borders between IP networks, such as between two service providers or between a service provider and its enterprise, residential or mobile customers. The Net-Net products support a range of communications applications at multiple network border points, providing control functions in the areas of security. In April 2009, Acme Packet, Inc. acquired Covergence, Inc., a provider of software-based SBCs for delivering voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)/IP telephony, unified communications and service-oriented architecture (SOA) applications within global 1,000 enterprises.

SBCs have been deployed globally to deliver the VoIP services, or the routing of voice conversations over both private IP networks and the public Internet. SBCs are deployed at the borders of IP networks, such as between two service providers, referred to as an interconnect border, between a service provider and its enterprise, residential or mobile customers, referred to as an access borders, or between a service provider's network and a data center, referred to as a data center border. Large enterprises also deploy SBC's between their IP network and their service provider's network and between their data centers and their employees. SBCs act as the source and destination for all signaling messages and media streams entering and exiting the network.

SBCs protect themselves, softswitches and other elements of the service delivery infrastructure, as well as customer networks, systems and relationships. SBCs extend the reach of offered services by maximizing the different types of networks and devices supported. Support is provided for enabling sessions to traverse existing data firewall and cross network translation (NAT), devices, bridging private networks using overlapping IP addresses and virtual private networks (VPNs), mediating between different signaling, transport and encryption protocols, converting between incompatible codecs, and translating signaling-layer telephone numbers, addresses and response codes. SBCs perform admission and overload control to ensure that both the network and service infrastructure have the capacity to support a session with quality.

Multiservice security gateways (MSGs) are a specific type of IP network border controller used by mobile service providers. A MSG connects subscribers to their mobile voice and data services over the untrusted Internet and/or untrusted wireless networks. As a gateway they are deployed at the border between the mobile services network and the untrusted wired Internet and/or wireless networks that use public, unlicensed spectrum, such as Wi-Fi. They are multiservice in that they transport both voice and data services. Their security function authenticates mobile endpoints, secures the voice and data traffic within IPsec tunnels to ensure privacy and protect against theft, and defends against denial of service/distributed denial of service ( DoS/DDoS), attacks on the mobile service infrastructure at the TCP/IP and IPsec networking levels to deliver non-stop service. Used in conjunction with Wi-Fi and femtocell access points in homes and businesses, MSGs overcome the poor radio access network coverage found in many geographic areas and inside buildings.

Session routing proxies (SRPs) route SIP-based voice, video, instant messaging and multimedia sessions within and between the mobile, fixed-line and transit networks of service providers. Session routing proxies address scaling problems when session routing decisions become much more complex, requiring a real-time routing decision for each individual session for multiple sources and destinations within a network. These multiple sources and destinations are other SIP signaling elements such as session border controllers, wireless Mobile Switching Centers (MSC), IMS subscriber call control elements, CLASS 5 softswitches, Cable Modem Termination Systems (CMTS) and softswitches controlling media gateways.

Acme Packet's Open Session Routing (OSR) architecture features its session routing proxy using ENUM, SIP, extensible markup language (XML), or domain name system (DNS), protocols to access industry-leading routing database products and services from Acme Packet's OSR partners. This solution provides deployment flexibility and facilitates network evolution from small to large numbers of border points and from public switched telephone network (PSTN) to IP network-focused connectivity.

The Net-Net family of products consists of the Net-Net OS software platform, the 4000 and 9000 series platforms, 4000 Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture blade (ATCA) blade, and EMS and SAS management applications. The brand name Net-Net reflects the role of these products in interconnecting IP networks for voice, video and multimedia services. The Net-Net products serve as a central element in unifying the separate IP networks that comprise wireline, wireless and cable networks. The products include the hardware platforms and software. The Net-Net OS software platform would only operate on the Net-Net hardware platforms and, accordingly, the Net-Net hardware platforms would only operate with the embedded software.

Acme Packet Net-Net OS

The Acme Packet Net-Net OS is the software platform that supports SBC, MSG, and SRP, configurations. It operates on the Net-Net 4000 and 9000 series platforms, and Net-Net 4000 ATCA blade. The Net-SAFE, the security framework, protects the service delivery infrastructure and customer/subscriber networks, systems and relationships with support for SBC/MSG DoS/DDoS protection, access control, topology hiding, session privacy, virtual private network separation, service infrastructure DoS/DDoS prevention and fraud prevention. The features include NAT traversal, which is the ability to enable communication sessions to be carried over existing data firewall and NAT devices; bridging of private and public IPv4 and IPv6 address spaces, including virtual private networks (VPNs), signaling, encryption and transport protocol interworking; transcoding; and number, address and response code translations.

The product supports a number of features, including admission control based upon signaling element load, bandwidth availability (including policy server interfaces) and observed quality of service; quality of service marking and mapping; and quality of service reporting. Other features include protection against revenue leakage from service theft, including bandwidth policing, quality of service theft protection, accounting, session timers, least-cost routing and load balancing.

Net-Net OS provides support for a range of signaling protocols for interworking, load balancing and routing, and decomposed SBC control. The products support a collection of element management tools and operational support system interfaces. The SBCs can be configured as an integrated solution with signaling service and media control supported on a single hardware platform or a decomposed solution with media control and signaling service supported on two separate hardware platforms.

Acme Packet Net-Net Platforms

The Acme Packet Net-Net 4000 and 9000 series platforms and 4000 ATCA blade address a range of interactive communications requirements for performance, capacity and bandwidth. Acme Packet Net-Net 4000 platform, a set of carrier-class products, including the industry's deployed SBC, satisfies requirements for performance, capacity and availability. Acme Packet Net-Net 4000 ATCA blade, consisting of an ATCA front card and rear transition module, is designed to be easily integrated by wireless and wireline communication systems vendors into their ATCA chassis. The blade supports all Acme Packet Net-Net SBC, MSG and SRP configurations, functions and features supported by Acme Packet's Net-Net OS. The Acme Packet Net-Net 9000 platform offers the performance, capacity and availability in a single hardware platform. The Net-Net 9000, in SBC configurations, also supports transcoding and transrating for a selection of wireline and wireless codecs.

Acme Packet Net-Net EMS

The Acme Packet Net-Net Element Management System (Net-Net EMS) is a network element management application for the Net-Net family of products. Net-Net EMS is designed to deploy and easily manage single or multiple Net-Net SBCs. As a standalone management system, Net-Net EMS is designed to support all required configuration, fault, performance and security management functions through browser-based graphical user interface. Net-Net EMS can integrate into existing and operational support systems, through industry-standard interfaces.

Acme Packet Net-Net SAS

The Acme Packet Net-Net Session Analysis System (Net-Net SAS) provides off-line collection, reporting and analysis of session call detail records (CDRs), for the Net-Net family of SBCs. It enables session/call level troubleshooting, performance analysis and traffic monitoring without the need for third party tools or application development.

Support and Services

The Company offers a range of services to deliver the support to the customers and distribution partners. The services include professional services, technical assistance center and training. The professional services group provides pre-installation services, such as planning and consulting and network engineering and design, as well as installation and network integration services. The Company operates a technical assistance center to provide the customers with post-installation services, such as support and maintenance, informational services, and technical support services. It provides remote assistance to the customers globally, including periodic updates to the software and product documentation. The Company offers a range of training courses to the customers covering product and solutions overview, basic and advanced configuration and administration, and troubleshooting and maintenance.

The Company competes with Cisco Systems, Genband, Ericsson and Sonus Networks.