White Paper

Understanding DSLAM
and BRAS Access
Devices

This whitepaper discusses the functional and

architectural evolution of Next Generation
Broadband Access Devices required to deliver
triple play services.
Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

Introduction DSL Technology Overview

DSL is the prevailing broadband Internet access technology DSL overview
1
today featuring over 100 million subscribers worldwide.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a broadband access
The modern broadband market requires service providers technology that enables high-speed data transmissions
to offer more than traditional data Internet access to DSL over the existing copper telephone wires (“local loops”)
subscribers. Supporting delivery of combined voice, data that connect subscriber’s homes or offices to their local
and video services - or Triple Play over the same DSL telephone company Central Offices (COs). Contrary to the
connection has become an absolute necessity to stay analog modem network access that uses up to 4kHz signal
competitive in the broadband access market. frequencies on the telephone wires and is limited to 56Kbps
data rates, DSL is able to achieve up to 52Mbps data
Delivery of Triple Play services places a spectrum of transmission rates by using advanced signal modulation
new functional, performance and quality of service technologies in the 25kHz and 1.1Mhz frequency range.
requirements on the broadband DSL networks and devices
such as DSLAMs and B-RASs that make up DSL networks DSL flavors
infrastructure. Multicast & IGMP Snooping support along
There are a number of different DSL standards defined
with multi-megabit bandwidth per subscriber are required
by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and
for IPTV service delivery. VoD service takes the bandwidth
European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
requirements even further. Fragile VoIP traffic is extremely
and embraced by the industry. These DSL technology
sensitive to delay and jitter, while IPTV traffic is particularly
variants are typically characterized by different upstream
sensitive to packet loss. Both video and VoIP traffic need
and downstream data rates, maximum wire lengths and
to be prioritized against the data services with uneven and
designated customer applications – residential, small office
unpredictable bandwidth utilization. The list can go on and
or business oriented. Collectively, the DSL standards are
on.
referred to as xDSL.
Considering these trends, it is natural that testing and
Roughly, xDSL standards can be divided into the following
validating the performance and quality of service of Triple-
three groups:
Play capable DSL access networks and devices has become
an issue of strategic importance for service providers and
I. Symmetric DSL – provides the same data rate for
equipment manufacturers alike.
upstream and downstream transmissions and includes the
following types:
Responding to this trend, test equipment manufacturers
develop new testing tools that generate realistic Triple-Play
traffic and measure its performance characteristics as it is DSL Variant Max Up/ Max local loop
processed by the DSL network components. Benchmarking Downstream Rate wire length
tools are complemented with the new comprehensive test HDSL - High 1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps 3.7 km
methodologies that describe real-world Triple-Play traffic data rate Digital
models, identify key Triple-Play performance metrics and Subscriber Line
analyze them under variety of stress and saturation network
SDSL - Symmetric 2.3Mbps/2.3Mbps 3 km
conditions.
Digital Subscriber
Line
Developing effective testing methodologies for Triple-
Play DSL networks requires deep understanding of the SHDSL - 4.6Mbps/4.6Mbps 5 km
DSL technology as well as functionality and architecture Symmetric High
of the devices that form DSL network. The purpose of bit rate Digital
this whitepaper is to provide insight into architecture, Subscriber Line
functionality and performance characteristics of the
DSLAM and B-RAS devices that make up DSL network II. Asymmetric DSL – provides higher downstream then
infrastructure and deliver broadband access connectivity to upstream data transmission rates and includes the
DSL service subscriber. following types:

1. Windsor Oaks Group LLC. “Broadband Trends Report 1Q05: Global Broadband Subscribers Exceed 166 million”, June 2005

Copyright © Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006 2 www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

 Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

DSL Variant Max Up/ Max local loop DSL alternatives

Downstream Rate wire length DSL is not the only broadband access technology on the
ADSL 1Mbps/10Mbps 5.5km market capable of delivering multi-megabit data rates to
– Asymmetric service subscribers. The notable alternatives are cable
Digital Subscriber network access via television conduits, satellite network
Line solutions like High Earth Orbit Satellite or Direct TV, other
ADSL Lite 384Kbps/1.5Mbps 5.5km wireless technologies such as WiMax and of course the
- Asymmetric legacy T1/T3 leased lines.
Digital Subscriber
Line Lite Among the alternative broadband technologies cable
networks & operators present the fiercest competition for
ADSL 2 - 1Mbps/12Mbps 5.5km DSL networks and service providers (which are traditionally
Asymmetric Telcos). Cable access networks provide up to 10Mbps
ADSL 2+ 1Mbps/20Mbps 5.5km downstream bandwidth and are often Triple-Play-ready
- Asymmetric with their traditional broadcast video and Internet access
Digital Subscriber services.
Line 2+
ADSL 2++ 52Mbps over short Developing Although all alternative broadband technologies have their
or ADSL 4 distances technology advantages, DSL is the most cost effective option due to it’s
- Asymmetric ability to utilize nearly 700 million telephone lines installed
Digital Subscriber worldwide for multi-megabit data access without extensive
Line 2++ and expensive infrastructure upgrades.

III. Symmetric and Asymmetric DSL – can transmit data Consequently DSL is the most popular and widespread
both symmetrically and asymmetrically and includes the broadband access technology to date, accounting for appr
following type: 66% of the worldwide 166.4 million subscriber base:

3
DSL Variant Max Up/ Max local loop
Downstream Rate wire length
VDSL – Very High 10Mbps/10Mbps 0.3km – 1.3km
bit rate Digital symmetric
Subscriber Line
1.5Mbps/52Mbps
VDSL 2 – Very 100Mbps/ .5 km
High bit rate 100Mbps
Digital Subscriber symmetric Future growth analysis by the same body forecasts the
Line worldwide subscriber volume to reach 422 million by 2010,
of which DSL is expected to account for 70%.
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) variants are by
far the most popular DSL implementations mostly due to its Competing for the enormous revenues in the broadband
suitability for Internet browsing applications that are heavily access market, DSL network operators are using bandwidth,
geared towards downstream data transmission (download): performance and reliability of their networks as well as
2 value added services such as VoIP, IPTV, VoD and online
games (often bundled in attractive Triple-Play service
packages) as key differentiating factors against their
respective competitors – DSL and otherwise. It is thus
critical for those operators to extensively test their network
infrastructure and Triple-Play services to ensure the
compliance with their marketing claims.

2&3. Windsor Oaks Group LLC. “Broadband Trends Report 1Q05: Global Broadband Subscribers Exceed 166 million”, June 2005

Copyright © Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006 3 www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

DSL infrastructure building blocks DSLAM Architecture, Functionality and

– DSLAM and B-RAS devices Performance
When digital data is sent from a DSL subscriber’s premises,
it travels from subscriber’s computer or network through DSLAMs overview
a DSL modem and on to the other end of the line at the The Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer or DSLAM
phone company’s Central Office (CO). At the CO end of is the equipment that really allows the DSL to happen. The
the line (local loop) the data is received by the Digital DSLAM handles the high-speed digital data streams coming
Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM). The DSLAM from numerous subscribers’ DSL modems and aggregates
aggregates the digital data streams coming from a number it onto a single high-capacity uplink – ATM or Gigabit
of subscribers onto a single high-capacity uplink (ATM or Ethernet to the Internet Service Provider.
Gigabit Ethernet backhaul) to the Internet Service Provider.
At the ISP the aggregated data from multiple subscribers Contemporary DSLAMs typically support multiple DSL
is processed by the Broadband Remote Access Server transmission types – ADSL, SDSL, etc as well as different
(B-RAS) which authenticates the subscriber’s credentials, protocol and modulation technologies within the same DSL
validates the users access policies and routes the data to type.
its respective destinations on the Internet.
Responding to the requirements posed by broadband
9HABdYZbh network evolution towards provision of value added
9HA6Bh services such as VoDSL and IPTV, modern DSLAMs, in
addition to DSL aggregation functions, begin to provide
advanced functionality such as traffic management, QoS,
authentication via DHCP Relay, IGMP Snooping as well as
7"G6H in some cases IP routing and security enforcement.
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Following rapid growth in DSL broadband network
access popularity and subscriber base, revenues from
DSLAM equipment sales are on the rise as well and have
reached record $5 billion in 2004, according to Infonetics.
Considering this growing market, DSLAM equipment
development has become an extremely hot area in which
many leading vendors compete for leadership and market
This is an extremely simplistic outline of the DSL access share. Along with advanced functionality aspects, capacity,
network flow but it carries the message that what really performance and scalability of a DSLAM have become key
makes DSL happen are the DSL modems and DSLAM and differentiating factors on which purchasing and deployment
B-RAS devices. decisions are often cast.

The following chapters will concentrate on the DSLAM

and B-RAS architecture, functionality and classification as
DSLAM functionality evolution
well as mention the performance and scalability challenges ATM DSLAMs
these devices face in modern Triple-Play networks.
As the ATM was the main high-speed data backbone
transport used in Telecommunications networks during
the initial DSL rollout (1999-2001), the typical DSL network
access architecture deployed at that time used ATM
Permanent Virtual Circuits (PVCs) from the subscriber via
DSLAM to B-RAS, at which point the PPP sessions were
terminated and the traffic was routed to core network. In
this architecture the first generation DSLAMs with ATM
uplink port or ATM DSLAMs were designed as simple
Layer-2 ATM multiplexers or concentrators that provided
seamless integration of the “last mile” ATM over DSL links
into the ATM access network.

Copyright © Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006 4 www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

 Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

Ethernet or IP-DSLAMs
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Further quest for more profitable value-added services such
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as VoIP, IPTV, VoD and HDTV in addition to high-speed
6IB$m9HAh Internet access (combination known as Triple-Play) has
6IB placed new bandwidth, scalability and QoS requirements
7"G6H 6IB 9HA6B before the DSL network providers. While existing ATM
based networks had the required QoS capabilities, their
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high deployment and maintenance cost (cost of ownership)
has caused the DSL network providers to look at Ethernet
and IP-based architectures as an alternative to ATM
backhaul. As Ethernet standards such as Metro Ethernet
have evolved to provide the resilience and quality required
Second Generation ATM DSLAMs for carrier network backbones, and with advent of Gigabit
The first generation ATM DSLAMs, were perfectly and 10-Gigabit Ethernet delivering the superior to ATM
adequate for aggregating “best effort” services – typically bandwidth, the Ethernet has become a transport of choice
Internet surfing, and used a single level of QoS over its for both carrier backbone and access network segments.
PVC connection – usually Unspecified Bit Rate or UBR. As
service providers expanded their DSL networks to business Following this trend the new generation of DSLAMs
customers and began offering SLA-based value-added has appeared that used Ethernet uplinks for DSL traffic
services such as FRoDSL (Frame Relay over DSL), VPN aggregation. These devices have become known as
(Virtual Private Networks) and VoDSL (Voice over DSL), Ethernet DSLAMs or IP-DSLAMs. In it’s simplest
the single “best effort” QoS level of first generation ATM implementation IP-DSLAMs function as Layer-2 switches
DSLAMs has become insufficient. that backhaul subscriber traffic to Metro B-RASs or
Broadband Network Gateways (BBNGs) using Ethernet
In response to this trend, the second generation ATM VLANs in combination with Ethernet Multicast capability.
DSLAMs were built to incorporate the ATM switching HjWhXg^WZgh
fabric and fully utilize the Switched Virtual Circuits (SVCs)
and all of the class of service, traffic shaping and traffic >EEEE$
prioritization capabilities inherent with ATM. The ATM 6IB$m9HAh

DSLAMs with ATM switching capability thus enabled >E"9HA6B

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service providers to offer business customers prioritized
SVCs for voice traffic, frame relay or VPN services and >ciZgcZi
low-priority “best effort” SVCs for Internet surfing to home
users.
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While already using Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet uplinks,

>EEEE$ IP-DSLAMs still typically use ATM on the local loop as an
6IB$m9HAh intermediate layer between Ethernet and DSL – mostly for
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Copyright © Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006 5 www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

In recent times though, native IP (or IP over PPP) DiffServ Layer 3 IP QoS protocol that utilizes
over Ethernet over DSL - or Ethernet in the First Mile IP TOS packet field for carrying QoS
implementations are increasingly being adopted by DSL information
service providers. Without the ATM layer overhead, local
loop segments become more efficient and cost-effective. IGMP Technology that allows Layer 2 devices
Snooping to examine IGMP messages (Query,
:i]ZgcZidc;^ghiB^aZ:B;m9HAegdidXdahiVX` Report & Leave) exchanged by hosts
and multicast routers and configure
relevant multicast forwarding table
IGMP Issues IGMP host messages on behalf
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Proxy of hosts that are not directly connected
to downstream multicast router
:I=:GC:I IGMP Protocol widely used in IPTV
protocol applications for establishing subscriber
m9HA connections to TV broadcasting
channels
In some cases, advanced functionality ranging from
local PPP and RFC1483 session termination (B-RAS off- DSLAM architecture
load capability) to full IP routing, AAA, security, 802.1p From the high-level perspective ATM DSLAMs, Ethernet
prioritization and DiffServ QoS is incorporated into Ethernet DSLAMs and IP-DSLAMs architecture typically includes a
DSLAMs, resulting in truly IP-enabled IP-DSLAMs. number of xDSL line cards that terminate the subscriber
local loops and one or more ATM OC-3/12/48 or Ethernet/
However, as various industry surveys indicate (such as Gigabit Ethernet uplink cards for traffic backhaul. The
Heavy Reading 2005 Next-Generation DSL Equipment: line cards and uplink cards are interconnected by a high-
The Path to Profitability Report), those truly IP-enabled capacity aggregation backplane that can take form of an
IP-DSLAMs or IP-DSLAM/B-RAS hybrid devices are still a ATM or Ethernet bridge or switch. Majority of modern
minority and most of IP-DSLAMs being deployed today are DSLAMs are multiservice and support multiple DSL
really Ethernet DSLAMs with basic multicast and IGMP technologies – i.e. ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+, SDSL and VDSL,
Snooping or IGMP Proxy support. etc and therefore these devices accommodate for multiple
xDSL line card types.
The same surveys agree that the current killer configuration
for advanced DSL service deployment consists of Ethernet =^\]"aZkZa9HA6B6gX]^iZXijgZ9^V\gVb
DSLAMs with limited Layer-3 capability (i.e. mentioned
multicast and IGMP support) and high-capacity Metro B-
RASs. 7VX`eaVcZ

Nevertheless it is important to note that the industry trend

is definitely towards more advanced Layer-3 IP functionality
on the DSLAMs and possibly towards the DSLAM/B-RAS
convergence in the future high-capacity DSL network
implementations.
Jea^c`XVgY
A^cZ8VgY

A^cZ8VgY

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RFC1483 Defines two encapsulation methods

for carrying network traffic over ATM:
routed protocol data units (PDUs) and
bridged PDUs.
AAA Authentication, Authorization and
Accounting Services m9HAedgih m9HAedgih m9HAedgih Jea^c`edgi
802.1p Layer 2 QoS protocol that provides
for traffic prioritization and dynamic
multicast filtering at MAC layer

Copyright © Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006 6 www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

 Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

From the traffic processing perspective, two distinct As mentioned in the previous chapter, majority of high-end
architecture models have emerged – centralized and modern DSLAMs have distributed architecture.
distributed.
By deployment location – CO (Central Office) deployed and
In the centralized model all complex traffic processing (e.g. OSP (Outside Plant) deployed. CO DSLAMs typically have
classification, filtering, QoS, etc) is performed on a single distributed shelf architecture and a much larger subscriber
central uplink card. The line cards in centralized model are capacity – of up to 10,000 lines, that is justified considering
“dumb” and cheap and contain only the basic components large number of served customers. They also tend to be
required for traffic hand-off to the uplink card. Centralized more functionally sophisticated providing Layer-3 and
architecture is considered best suited for high-density other advanced functionality. OSP DSLAMs are deployed
large-scale aggregation-centered DSLAMs with moderate in remote locations closer to subscribers largely in order to
complex traffic processing requirements. Example of shorten the local loop wire lengths and thus achieve higher
centralized DSLAM implementations are products based on bandwidths and service quality. OSP DSLAMs typically have
Intel IXP2400 NP design. smaller subscriber capacity (usually in dozens of lines),
smaller footprint and are hardened for protection against
In the distributed model some or all complex traffic elements. OSP DSLAMs can nevertheless have very high
processing is off-loaded to the smart line cards based performance characteristics due to the high bandwidth
on programmable network processors (Linecard Traffic xDSL technologies such as ADSL2++ that it may use on the
Processors or LTPs). The uplink card in such architecture local loop.
can be as simple as an Ethernet switch in case of Ethernet
backhaul, or still require a full-featured network processor By hardware model and form factor – DSLAMs hardware
for more complex scenarios such as IPoMPLS backhaul. implementations range from chassis based high-capacity
DSLAMs with pluggable line cards and uplink modules to
The distributed model is prevalent in DSLAMs with complex standalone pizza box devices with limited number of ports
traffic processing capabilities – such as IP-DSLAMs and a single T1 ATM or 10/100Base Ethernet uplinks.
with Layer-3 IP functionality, AAA, QoS and security
enforcement. DSLAM capacity, performance and
scalability metrics
The distributed DSLAM architecture model has a number
of important advantages over the centralized model – such Although performance characteristics and performance
as local traffic processing capability on the line cards (local analysis of DSLAMs are complex issues and a central topic
multicasting and local peer-to-peer traffic switching) and of a dedicated Agilent whitepaper, it is still worthwhile to
linear DSLAM shelf expansion costs (i.e. sparsely populated mention the key metrics that typically characterize DSLAM
DSLAM shelves with inexpensive uplinks can provide low devices from their performance and scalability standpoints:
entry cost and its capacity can be expanded in “pay as you
grow” fashion as additional line cards are installed). Subscriber capacity
As DSLAMs provide services for multiple subscribers via
DSLAM classification DSL ports the most basic DSLAM capacity metrics are
Although no established formal classification exists, line density, subscriber and session capacity. Depending
DSLAMs can be divided into distinct classes or types by a on the type of DSLAM and functionality provided, these
variety of criteria: metrics can have one-to-one or one-to-many ratios. As
mentioned in the architecture section, DSLAMs can have
By supported xDSL service type – single service DSLAMs line, subscriber and session capacities ranging from single
and multiservice DSLAMs. Majority of modern DSLAMs digits for standalone devices to tens of thousands for high-
are multiservice. Single service DSLAMs are typically small capacity CO DSLAMs.
devices deployed in apartment complexes or university
campuses and serving relatively limited number of Along with maximal capacity metrics, scalability and
homogenous subscribers. performance parameters such as line or session ramp-up
and shutdown rates are extremely important for DSLAM
By architecture – centralized or driven by central sizing and performance assessment.
processing unit typically embedded in the uplink module
and distributed where some or all traffic processing is
done on the line cards each equipped with powerful NP.

Copyright © Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006 7 www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

Throughput DSLAM market - major players

As DSLAMs must provide committed to bandwidth to all Considering the growing DSL broadband networks
served subscribers, bandwidth or throughput characteristics deployment and DSL hardware revenue statistics, DSLAM
of a DSLAM play key role in sizing and performance and IP-DSLAM equipment market is an extremely hot and
analysis. Typically DSLAMs are measured for their competitive area, with dozens of North American, European
aggregate sustainable throughput using all line interfaces and Asian vendors competing for technological superiority
using different types of traffic (packet sizes, session and market share.
volumes) and in various subscriber traffic processing
scenarios (with IGMP Snooping, QoS, AAA, etc – depending Although the complete list 4of DSLAM manufacturers would
on the DSLAM capabilities). be too long to include, the leading positions are clearly
occupied by very few manufacturers who represent the
Packet loss, latency and jitter de-facto industry standards. Specifically, Alcatel holds
first place at appr. 32.5% of the market with Huawei being
As modern Triple-Play services such as VoDSL, VoIP, IPTV distant second at appr. 17% and Lucent and Siemens
and VoD supported by DSLAMs are extremely sensitive to battling for the third place.
packet loss, latency and jitter network parameters, these
characteristics as exhibited by DSLAMs while processing
subscriber traffic play extremely important role in DSLAM
B-RAS Architecture, Functionality and
performance assessment. Typically loss, latency and jitter
Performance
parameters are measured under traffic load at various B-RAS overview
degrees of device capacity saturation, with different types
of traffic and in variety of traffic processing scenarios. The Broadband Remote Access Server (B-RAS) is a key
component of DSL broadband access networks that
serves as an aggregation point for subscriber traffic (IP,
Functionality or service specific performance PPP and ATM) and provides session termination (PPPoX,
metrics RFC 1483) and subscriber management functions such as
As modern DSLAMs (IP-DSLAMs) often provide capabilities authentication, authorization, accounting (AAA), and IP
beyond traffic aggregation – such as QoS, AAA, B-RAS off- address assignment.
loading (session termination), security, etc – performance
characteristics specific to these capabilities (such as PPP Triggered by the new functional requirements that
session capacity, session establishment and termination Triple-Play service delivery imposed on the DSL network
rates, authentication rates or QoS quality under load) need infrastructure and devices, modern B-RASs started to
to be measured and analyzed in course of relevant DSLAM provide advanced services beyond traffic aggregation
type performance evaluation. – such as subscriber policy management (e.g. Web login or
differentiated access management based on factors such as
Additionally, specific types of provided service – such traffic volume or time of day), IP and Layer-2 QoS, security
as VoDSL, VoIP and IPTV impose distinct and specific enforcement and VPN capabilities, as well as full IP routing
performance criteria on the devices along the path and and MPLS support.
have distinct performance metrics typical for these services
– such as voice call clarity scores or TV channel switching As the complexity of B-RAS devices increased significantly,
latencies. In this context, DSLAMs supporting these in order to streamline the B-RAS evolution and ensure
services functionally or as a matter of being present on inter-vendor interoperability, the DSL Forum has released
the delivery path are typically evaluated for those service the Technical Report 092 (TR-092), which defined functional
specific performance metrics using specially designed test requirements towards B-RAS devices in modern Triple-
methodologies. Play enabled DSL network environment (which in turn is
analyzed in DSL Forum Technical Report 059 – TR-059).
B-RAS vendors are now using the TR-092 and TR-059 as
guidelines for product development and feature roadmap
planning to ensure their platforms competitiveness and
compatibility with the next-generation DSL broadband
network architectures.

4. Windsor Oaks Group LLC. “Market Share Snapshot: DSL Port Shipments Reach Record Levels in 1Q05”, May 2005

Copyright © Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006 8 www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

 Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

As in case of DSLAMs, the exponential growth in DSL Second Generation – centralized

broadband access networks deployment for high-speed architecture, hardware-based B-RASs:
Internet access and various value-added services has
caused B-RAS equipment sales to rise exponentially in During 2000 – 2003, DSL service was becoming
recent years. a mainstream broadband access technology with
Although, due to the established trend of B-RAS standardized delivery architectures. With soaring
functionality being incorporated into Edge Routers with a competition and bandwidth serving as the only
much broader range of applications (more on that trend in differentiator, DSL service began to commoditize.
following sections), it is difficult to precisely estimate B- Consequently, providers started looking into value-added
RAS market revenues. However, industry reports indicate services as potential new sources of revenues - Triple-
that B-RAS applications make up 29% of the total IP Edge Play was born. Accommodating for these trends, Second
Router revenue (Infonetics), which is said to have reached generation B-RASs were implemented in hardware and
$2.1B in 2004.
5 had much higher performance specs. At the same time,
functional scalability was limited as B-RAS devices
were still designed around centralized, processor-based
B-RAS functionality evolution architectures and were optimized for single-service
B-RAS device heritage can be traced back to dial-up Remote – Internet access. Attempts to add advanced features such
Access Servers (RASs) that terminated user PPP sessions as filtering or QoS still led to performance degradation.
established over the analog phone lines, authenticated
remote caller credentials and provided connectivity to the Third Generation – Triple-Play and
Internet. As the Internet market continued to explode, application-aware B-RASs:
and with rapid growth of bandwidth-intensive network
applications, dial-up access limited to 56Kbps speeds has
become insufficient and given way to broadband network In 2004 DSL deployment worldwide reached critical mass.
access technologies – primarily DSL. As PPP remained the Severe competition drove down basic service prices.
protocol of choice for tunneling of subscriber connections As a result, DSL broadband access providers turned to
over ATM and DSL lines, Broadband Remote Access alternative revenue sources by offering differentiated
Servers (B-RASs) have replaced RASs as PPP termination services. Advanced services were widely deployed that
devices that authenticated user credentials and routed the included FRoDSL, VPNs, VoIP, IPTV, VoD and interactive
subscriber traffic on to the Service Provider networks and gaming. Triple-Play has become mainstream part of the
the Internet. broadband service portfolio. In order to comply with the
As DSL broadband service delivery continued to evolve from new requirements, Third Generation of B-RAS devices has
high-speed Internet access to a wide variety of Triple-Play undergone a significant shift in functionality to support the
offerings, the fundamental functionality of B-RAS has also complete range of high-bandwidth, multimedia-intensive
changed: Triple-Play services.

In third generation of B-RASs centralized hardware

First Generation – software-based model gave way to modular, highly scalable distributed
B-RASs: architecture that allowed service providers to deliver
As the DSL service was initially introduced in late 1990s, the session capacity and throughput required to support
competition was limited and service was first offered advanced broadband service delivery. At this stage the
to early adopters. Industry acceptance was slow and B-RAS functionality has also begun to be integrated
B-RAS vendors often tailored their products to each into Service Edge Routers that provided the following
service provider’s environment and requirements. The capabilities in one unified platform:
First Generation B-RASs were software-based and
used general-purpose hardware platforms to allow for • ATM and Ethernet aggregation
rapid customization and prototyping – which led to low • Session termination – ATM PVC, PPP
performance specifications. Functionally, first generation • AAA - authentication, authorization, accounting using
B-RASs provided PPP session termination and subscriber PAP/CHAP, RADIUS, DHCP Option 82
management functions such as AAA and IP address • Comprehensive IP routing – BGP, OSPF, RIP
assignment. • IP address management – DHCP server, relay, proxy
services

5. Infonetics. “Service Provider Routers and Switches: Quarterly Report”, August 2005

Copyright © Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006 9 www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

• Integrated layer 2 switching – ATM, Ethernet, MPLS distributed architecture.

• Policy management and dynamic per session QoS
• IP multicast routing – PIM, MBGP, IGMP By deployment scenario, B-RASs can be roughly divided
into the following classes:
In addition to these capabilities, high-end third generation Centrally deployed – in PoPs (Service Provider Points of
B-RASs or Service Edge Routers typically integrate Firewall- Presence) merged with Edge Router functionality and acting
grade security enforcement, intrusion detection and as an aggregation router for multiple DSLAMs located in
prevention mechanisms, and content filtering as well as the COs (Central Offices). Centralized deployment model
fault tolerance provisions such as switch fabric redundancy advantages include operational efficiency (a few high-end
and hot swappable modules to ensure high availability and Metro B-RASs can serve very large numbers of DSLAMs/
near zero downtime. subscribers with relative ease of management), scalability
and versatility (PoP-located B-RASs can also serve non-DSL
PAP/CHAP Authentication protocols defined in customers). As a result, the centralized B-RAS deployment
RFC1334 and used by Point-to-Point model is considered to be more cost effective and better
Protocol (PPP). suited for providing advanced broadband services and thus
the overwhelming majority of B-RASs today are centrally
RADIUS Remote Authentication, authorization and deployed.
6

Authentication accounting protocol defined in 9HA6Bh

Dial In User RFC2865. 6eea^XVi^dc

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Service E8

DHCP option 82 An extension to DHCP protocol IK

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– Relay Agent defined in RFC3046. DHCP option 82,
Information in DSL environments can be used for K^YZd
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Option subscriber line authentication.

B-RAS architecture and deployment

classification >ciZgcZi

From the architecture model standpoint, B-RASs fall into

three distinct categories:

Software-based B-RAS architecture, using general-purpose Distributed to COs, co-located with or within IP-DSLAMs.
hardware platforms was typical for early first-generation The distributed B-RAS deployment model has several
B-RASs. advantages: Uplinks from the COs, which become the IP
B-RAS uplinks, can benefit from IP DiffServ QoS as well the
Centralized hardware-based B-RAS architecture with early filtering of the unauthorized traffic. At the same time,
majority of intelligence placed in the central processing the distributed deployment model has significant drawbacks
unit. Centralized B-RASs were designed and optimized for including potential instability of the resulting large routing
High-Speed Internet (HSI) services, had high performance network and potential RADUIS server overload (since each
characteristics but did not scale well. B-RAS is typically a RADUIS authentication client).

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of modern B-RASs or Service Edge Routers have a modular

6. Heavy-Reading. “Next Generation DSL Equipment: The Path to Profitability”, November 2003

Copyright © Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006 10 www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

 Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

B-RAS capacity, performance and Packet loss, latency and jitter

scalability metrics As with DSLAMs, the packet loss, latency and jitter traffic
The B-RASs and Service Edge Routers with integrated introduced by B-RASs during subscriber traffic processing
B-RAS capabilities are intelligent network devices with a play an extremely important role in B-RAS performance
wide spectrum of advanced network functionality. Thus assessment - especially in the context of Triple-Play service
comprehensive analysis of the capacity and performance of delivery. Typically these performance parameters are
these devices is a complex task that requires sophisticated measured under traffic load at various degrees of device
test methodologies and state-of the-art benchmarking tools. capacity saturation, with different types of traffic and in a
variety of traffic-processing scenarios.
Broadband subscriber session capacity and
session handling performance Functionality or service-specific performance
metrics
As the B-RAS’s primary role is subscriber session
aggregation and termination, PPPoX session capacity and B-RASs or Service Edge Routers perform a wide variety of
session-handling performance (such as session ramp- network functions from subscriber management to routing
up and tear-down rate) metrics are critical for B-RAS and MPLS switching. Therefore it is necessary to measure
performance analysis and sizing. Typically, session capacity and analyze performance characteristics specific to these
and session handling performance are measured with capabilities (such as authentication rates using different
various subscriber management functions (such as RADIUS authentication schemes, DHCP maximum session rate and
authentication or DHCP address allocation) enabled for routing protocol performance) as part of comprehensive B-
each session to determine realistic performance limits. RAS or Service Edge Router performance evaluation.

Data plane performance – throughput Additionally, advanced services – such as IPSec VPN, VoIP
and IPTV - impose distinct and specific performance criteria
To accommodate modern bandwidth intensive Triple-Play on the B-RAS devices. These services require the B-RAS to
services, B-RAS devices are typically required to deliver perform complex traffic processing operations (such as data
wire-rate throughput on all aggregation ports with all traffic encryption, QoS and multicast forwarding). Consequently,
services (IP routing, Layer-2 switching, QoS, security, etc) the B-RAS performance characteristics specific to these
enabled on every port and for every session. Consequently, services – such as encrypted data throughput, voice call
throughput and throughput-under-load measurements a clarity scores and TV channel switching latencies need to
play critical role in B-RAS performance analysis and are be measured using specially designed test methodologies.
performed with different traffic types, using the full ranges
of supported interfaces and all supported traffic processing
B-RAS and Service Edge Router market -
features.
major players
Real World Traffic performance The majority of modern B-RAS implementations have been
realized within Service Edge Routers, a single platform
Modern B-RASs are complex devices that perform protocol- that provides DSL traffic aggregation, session termination,
and transaction-dependent processing (user authentication, subscriber management, QoS, Internet routing, MPLS
QoS, security enforcement and URL filtering). Therefore, signaling and other advanced services. As with the DSLAM
the traffic structure or profile of traffic being handled by market, the B-RAS and Service Edge Router market is so
the B-RAS has a significant impact on device performance diverse and competitive that a complete list of vendors
watermarks (such as aggregate goodput, voice or video would likely require a separate volume. Like the DSLAM
quality and other application-layer metrics). In this context, market, the Service Edge Router market is dominated by a
in order to determine real B-RAS performance limits, Real very limited number of vendors – Juniper, Cisco, Redback
World performance tests must be performed using realistic and Nortel. Together, these vendors are responsible for over
traffic profiles containing various duration PPPoX sessions, 90% of the revenues and units shipped.
7

real application transactions (HTTP, VoIP, streaming video)

and in various traffic processing scenarios (including
advanced services such as security enforcement or data
encryption).

7. Gartner. “Market Share: Service Provider Routers, Worldwide, 3Q05”, December 2005

Copyright © Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2006 11 www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

Understanding DSLAM and BRAS Access Devices

Summary
Triple Play service deployment has imposed a plethora of
new functional, performance and capacity requirements on
the key devices that make up DSL networks – IP-DSLAMs
and B-RASs. This has compelled us, as a test equipment
manufacturer, to develop state-of-the-art testing tools and
test methodologies allowing our customers to ensure that
their devices comply with requirements and deliver the
desired performance and quality of service. Understanding
the architecture and functionality of the DSL network
devices is the first and most critical step in recognizing the
test needs and comprehending the new test methodologies.

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www.agilent.com/comms/n2x

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