ORACLE DATA SHEET

ORACLE COMMUNICATIONS
IPSA 5.1

Oracle Communications IPSA (IP Service Activator) enables rapid

and efficient provisioning of complex IP services, including layer 2
(L2) and layer 3 (L3) multiprotocol label switching (MPLS)–based
KEY ENHANCEMENTS TO virtual private networks (VPNs), Ethernet virtual LANs (VLANs),
ORACLE COMMUNICATIONS virtual private LAN service (VPLS), traffic engineering paths and IP
IPSA 5.1:
quality of service over large-scale, multivendor, and multi-
• Improved security with SNMP
V3 discovery support operating-system IP networks. Oracle Communications IPSA
• Visual confirmation of policy
deletion/disablement with two-
delivers high-reliability activation through stateful service
stage delete management; network autodiscovery and synchronization; and
• Interface configuration
management GUI support sophisticated, policy-based service management.
• Improved maintenance
capability with device offline
maintenance mode New Core Features
• Improved device testing Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1 delivers several new core features that improve
capability with device offline
the functionality, usability, and quality of the product.
test mode
• Device configuration audit
SNMP Version 3 Discovery Support
feature
Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1 provides support for simple network management
• Internet name-and-address
(INA) management with protocol (SNMP) version 3 as a discovery mechanism for retrieving management
prebuilt Oracle information base (MIB) data from network elements through Oracle
Communications Policy
Services integration
Communications IPSA’s policy service and device drivers.
• EIGRP routing protocol and
This enhancement offers improved security, by allowing secure authentication
SSH support for Cisco IOS
Layer 3 MPLS VPN cartridge between SNMP engines as well as by supporting strong encryption of SNMP data.
• Increased interface and The user-based security model (USM) also provides a well-defined user and group
subinterface support for Cisco model that allows efficient and effective allocation of privileges.
IOS Configuration
Management cartridge Two-Stage Delete
• Ethernet tagged support for
Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1’s two-stage delete feature provides visual
Foundry Ironware L2 PWE
cartridge feedback through the GUI on the success or failure of a policy deletion/disablement,
• New Foundry Ironware VPLS enabling you to quickly determine the success of the operation without having to
cartridge
check the Oracle Communications IPSA log files.
• New Huawei VRP MPLS LSP
cartridge Policy deletion is a two-step process. The first step is disabling the concrete(s),
• New Huawei Eudomon IPsec
which then appears in the Oracle Communications IPSA GUI as uninstalled. The
cartridge
• New Juniper M-Series L3
second step is deleting the concrete(s) from the system. With two-stage delete, if
VPN cartridge removal of a policy fails on a device, you have the option of re-enabling the
concrete(s) so the system model will match the device model.

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Interface Configuration Management GUI Support

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1’s Interface Configuration Management GUI
support allows you to create and configure interfaces and subinterfaces on
multivendor devices in the Oracle Communications IPSA GUI. This capability is
part of the Interface Configuration Management module and offers seamless
integration with the Oracle Communications IPSA object model and expert GUI.
The configurable context-aware launch of interface management policies against an
interface target enables you to create new interfaces or subinterfaces in a single
operation.

With this feature, you can activate new logical interfaces on a device from the
Oracle Communications IPSA GUI and from APIs. This allows service providers to
define new logical subinterfaces—such as frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode
(ATM), or Ethernet VLANs—that are dedicated to a customer service. Other
scenarios include the configuration of serial controllers to define subordinate
interfaces, such as T3/T1/E3/E1 configurations, as well as the creation of loopback
interfaces. For other deployment scenarios, you can preallocate and predefine
interfaces on the device.

Device Offline Maintenance Mode

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1 provides support for individual device
maintenance through the Oracle Communications IPSA GUI. The device’s offline
maintenance mode, also called file interface mode, gives you the flexibility to
update concretes and persisted device models, with no commands actually being
delivered to the device.

You can access offline maintenance mode through the Oracle Communications
IPSA GUI in the Device Properties window or by using the Operations Support
System (OSS) Integration Manager (OIM), OSS Java Development Library (OJDL),
or J2EE adapter. Offline maintenance mode is supported for devices managed by
Oracle Communications IPSA cartridges.

In the Device Properties window, a new field called Command Delivery displays
three options: Online, Offline Maintenance, and Offline Test, as shown here.

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If the device is in Offline Maintenance mode, the color of the device icon changes
to yellow, as shown in the following screen shot.

Device Offline Test Mode

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1’s offline test mode, also called no-command-
delivery mode, provides you with the flexibility to test configurations on individual
devices in the GUI without actually sending the commands to the device.

You can access offline test mode through the Oracle Communications IPSA GUI in
the Device Properties window, where the Command Delivery field displays the
Online, Offline Maintenance, and Offline Test options. You can also access
offline test mode by using the OIM, OJDL, or J2EE Adapter. Offline test mode is
supported for devices managed by Oracle Communications IPSA cartridges.

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The right-click menu contains a submenu called Command Delivery Mode that has
three values: Online, Offline Maintenance, and Offline Test. The currently
selected item will have a check mark next to it, as shown below.

The current setting for Command Delivery will also appear in the device details
line item, as shown below.

Device Configuration Audit

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1’s device configuration audit feature allows you to
trigger an audit in the GUI and view audit files that identify discrepancies between
the actual router configuration and the configuration shown in Oracle
Communications IPSA.

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When you execute an audit, an audit file displays text in different colors to indicate
configuration discrepancies. Black text indicates that there are no discrepancies, blue
text indicates a manual device configuration, and red text means that a configuration
executed from Oracle Communications IPSA is no longer present on the device. In
the audit file for XML-based devices such as Juniper devices, red text can also
indicate a changed configuration and the text will show the actual value on the
device and the value that Oracle Communications IPSA calculates should be present
on the device.

INA Management with Prebuilt Oracle Communications Policy

Services Integration
Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1 integrates with Oracle Communications Policy
Services to enable effective management of IP address pools for their MPLS VPN
sites. This capability enables you to configure automatic or manual allocation of IP
addresses to MPLS VPN sites from a managed IP address pool. It also allows you to
easily access various IP address pools and logically group IP addresses, such as by
region or city.

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1’s new internet name-and-address (INA) proxy

server provides connectivity to Oracle Communications Policy Services, allowing
you to leverage Oracle Communications Policy Services’ core functionality. This
includes the ability to

• Configure IP address pools and ranges

• Allocate IP addresses to and deallocate them from a pool

• Ensure that IP addresses and subnets are not allocated more than once

• Assign unique subnets to provider edge-customer edge (PE-CE) links

In the Oracle Communications IPSA GUI, you can set IP addresses on the
Addressing page, in the Site Properties dialog box, as shown.

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By clicking the Allocate button, you can access the new Site Addresses dialog box,
shown below, which displays a list of available IP address pools. The address pools
can be filtered by the customer name listed in the external internet name and address
application and configured in Oracle Communications IPSA.

You can select an interface and allocate an available /30 subnet to the site from a list
of available subnets in an address group—setting the first IP address from the /30
subnet to the PE interface and the second IP address to the CE interface (External
Border Gateway Protocol [EBGP] neighbor).

Using Oracle Communications Policy Services (formerly called MetaSolv Policy

Services), you can effectively manage your IP address pools: in the Address
Browser window (shown below), for example, you can search on customer and
static range. Then in the Address Tree, click the appropriate IP address pool entry.

In the Static Range Details window, you can modify your IP address pool.

IP Domain Features
Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1 delivers several new IP domain features.

Cisco IOS IPsec Cartridge: VRF-Aware IPsec Feature

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1 introduces a VRF-aware IP security (IPsec)
feature in the Cisco IOS IPsec cartridge.

This feature introduces IP security tunnel mapping to MPLS VPNs and enables you

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to provide secure VPN access to users not directly reachable via dedicated wide area
network (WAN) links. Using the VRF-aware IPsec feature, you can map IPsec
tunnels’ virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instances, using a single public-facing
address. This allows you to extend customer VPN access to users not directly
reachable via dedicated WAN links.

On the provider edge (PE), each IPsec tunnel is associated with two VRF instances:
the front door VRF (F-VRF) at the front door site and customer VRF (C-VRF) at the
customer IPsec site. One or more IPsec tunnels can terminate on a single public
interface on the PE. Only one F-VRF, configured on the public interface, is required
for all the tunnels. The F-VRF isolates the shared public interface from the service
provider’s MPLS network. The C-VRF for each of the IPsec tunnels may be
different, depending on the VRF referenced from the customer-specific IPsec
configuration.

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1’s VRF-aware IPsec support includes

• IPsec: provisioning and activation of IPsec configuration policies and their

association with the front door site and specific customer MPLS VPN sites

• MPLS: provisioning and activation of customer VPN sites and their association
with an F-VRF

Cisco IOS Layer 3 MPLS VPN Cartridge: EIGRP Routing Protocol and SSH
Support
Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1’s release of the Cisco IOS Layer 3 MPLS VPN
cartridge includes support for EIGRP and SSH. (Note: EIGRP is not currently
supported by the Cisco device driver).

Cisco IOS Configuration Management Cartridge: Support for New Interfaces

and Subinterfaces
Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1’s release of the Cisco IOS Configuration
Management cartridge includes support for multilevel precedence and preemption
(MLPP), the SDH controller, and the E1 controller. This release provides support for
the following interfaces and subinterfaces:

• Ethernet interface

• Ethernet subinterface
• Frame-relay interface

• Frame-relay subinterface

• ATM interface
• ATM subinterface

• PPP interface

• Gigabit Ethernet interface

• Gigabit Ethernet subinterface

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Foundry Ironware L2 PWE Cartridge: Ethernet Tagged Support

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1’s release of the Foundry Ironware L2 PWE
cartridge provides L2/PWE Ethernet tagged support for VLAN traffic.

Foundry Ironware VPLS Cartridge

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1 introduces a new Foundry Ironware VPLS
cartridge. This cartridge supports Ethernet and VLAN traffic.

Huawei VRP MPLS LSP Cartridge

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1 introduces a new Huawei Versatile Routing
Platform (VRP) MPLS LSP cartridge. This cartridge provides MPLS LSP support
for Huawei VRP equipment.

Huawei Eudomon IPsec Cartridge

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1 introduces a new Huawei Eudomon IPsec
cartridge. This cartridge provides IPsec support for Huawei Eudomon equipment.

Juniper M-Series L3 VPN Cartridge

Oracle Communications IPSA 5.1 introduces a new Juniper M-Series L3 VPN
(static routing) cartridge. This cartridge supports Juniper M thresholding and Juniper
configuration system groups.

Contact Us
For more information on Oracle Communications IPSA, call +1.800.ORACLE1 to
speak to an Oracle representative or visit oracle.com.

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