CSP F – TIER 1 EUROPEAN CABLE / FIXED OPERATOR
RADIUS-to-SQL Mediation for Migration to Central CGN
CSP F, a major Tier 1 European cable and fixed-line operator, leveraged the intelligent protocol mediation capabilities of the Enea AAA Server to consolidate its infrastructure. By providing a high-performance bridge between RADIUS-based signaling and SQL-based database environments, the Enea solution enabled a seamless migration to a centralized Carrier-Grade NAT (CGN) platform.
Explore seven additional case studies by downloading the full Why Intellegent AAA is the Swiss Army Knife of Telecom paper below. You can also go here to learn more about the Enea AAA Server.
The Enea AAA Server now acts as a high-performance mediation layer that seamlessly transforms RADIUS accounting records into SQL inserts, regardless of the originating access technology (DSL, Cable, or FTTH).
Key Capabilities:
- High-Throughput Mapping: All RADIUS Accounting-Requests (Start, Interim-Update, and Stop) are converted into SQL INSERT statements in near real-time. The system maintains a 1:1 mapping, ensuring each accounting event is accurately reflected as a database record in the Oracle Exadata cluster.
- Resilient Data Logging: To ensure no accounting data is lost during database maintenance or network timeouts, the Enea AAA includes an internal caching mechanism. If the Oracle DB is temporarily unavailable, records are cached with a configurable expiration time (defaulting to two hours). The system automatically retries the SQL inserts once connectivity is restored.
- Multi-Node Support: Beyond the central CGN, the Enea AAA provides this same transformation logic for other network elements, including mBNGs and Central BNG nodes. The solution is highly configurable, allowing data to be written into separate tables for each node type such as mBNG and Central BNG or consolidated into a unified table based on CSP F’s operational requirements.
Bridging the SQL Compatibility Gap
Dual-Stack Lite (DS-Lite) is a critical transition technology for operators like CSP F as they migrate from IPv4 to IPv6 across xDSL, Cable, and FTTH networks. DS-Lite allows an operator to run an IPv6-only core while maintaining IPv4 internet access for subscribers by having the Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) wrap IPv4 packets within IPv6. The Carrier-Grade NAT (CGN) at the operator’s core then unwraps these packets and assigns them a public IPv4 address for internet routing.
Following several acquisitions, CSP F sought to consolidate three independent CGN platforms into a single, centralized CGN solution. However, a significant technical ‘showstopper’ emerged: while the CGN systems at the acquired operators were capable of writing accounting data directly to the central Oracle Exadata database via SQL, the new centralized CGN platform—intended to harmonize the entire network—supported only the RADIUS protocol and lacked native SQL support.
Without a mechanism to transform RADIUS accounting data into SQL inserts, CSP F could not maintain the required session logging within its Oracle Exadata environment, effectively stalling the entire migration.
Intelligent RADIUS-to-SQL Mediation
CSP F turned to the Enea AAA Server to serve as an intelligent RADIUS-to-SQL translator. Already serving as the central AAA platform for the operator, the Enea solution leveraged its flexible Business Logic Engine to perform real-time protocol transformation.
The Enea AAA Server now acts as a high-performance mediation layer that seamlessly transforms RADIUS accounting records into SQL inserts, regardless of the originating access technology (DSL, Cable, or FTTH).
Key Capabilities:
- High-Throughput Mapping: All RADIUS Accounting-Requests (Start, Interim-Update, and Stop) are converted into SQL INSERT statements in near real-time. The system maintains a 1:1 mapping, ensuring each accounting event is accurately reflected as a database record in the Oracle Exadata cluster.
- Resilient Data Logging: To ensure no accounting data is lost during database maintenance or network timeouts, the Enea AAA includes an internal caching mechanism. If the Oracle DB is temporarily unavailable, records are cached with a configurable expiration time (defaulting to two hours). The system automatically retries the SQL inserts once connectivity is restored.
- Multi-Node Support: Beyond the central CGN, the Enea AAA provides this same transformation logic for other network elements, including mBNGs and Central BNG nodes. The solution is highly configurable, allowing data to be written into separate tables for each node type such as mBNG and Central BNG or consolidated into a unified table based on CSP F’s operational requirements.
Strategic Impact
By implementing this intelligent mediation layer, CSP F successfully overcame the technical limitations of its new CGN platform. The Enea AAA Server enabled the operator to unify its core network signaling by integrating the new centralized CGN alongside its existing Nokia Mediation, IPSIS (IP Subscriber Information Service), and Policy Box (PBox) environments. This unified approach ensured a risk-free migration to a modernized, consolidated architecture while maintaining full continuity for critical downstream auditing and policy systems.
A Strategic Guide to AAA Replacement
Legacy AAA systems are struggling to keep up with increasing data volumes, cloud-native architectures, rising complexity, and ever-increasing operational costs. This white paper gives CSPs practical insights on when and how to modernize their AAA infrastructure – delivering higher performance, greater flexibility, lower TCO, and a future-proof foundation for next-generation services.
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Why Intelligent AAA is the Swiss Army Knife of Telecom
The AAA server is no longer a static gatekeeper. It's now a Programmable Core capable of intelligent mediation, multi-generation interworking, and policy-driven orchestration at the network edge. Drawing on 8 Tier 1 operator case studies, this white paper shows how the Enea AAA Server turns operational complexity into scalable, revenue-generating services.
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