Open Core System Technical White Paper

8/11/2019 Open Core System Technical White Paper

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Nokia Siemens Networks Open Core System

White Paper

Software continuity with existing deployments and latest

commercial-off-the-shelf hardware brings unique benefits

to communication service providers core networks


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2 Open Core System White Paper

Executive summary

What it is

The Nokia Siemens Networks Open

Core System is the suite of products

enabled by the Nokia Siemens

Networks Open Core Applications and

Software Architecture where all

common components of a Core

Network including Packet Switched

(PS), Circuit Switched (CS) and IP

Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) domains

can be installed and scaled up at a

single and synergic Commercial off the

shelf (COTS) ATCA HW environment.


Core System is fully compliant

with all defined Core Network

standard interfaces, therefore it is a

perfect evolutionary step towards

simplification, modernization and

environmentally sustainable

telecommunication business.

How it affects

The telecommunications applications

market including services such as

Voice, SMS and data is currently under

a major transformation where the

majority of Communications Service

Providers (CSPs) are reconsidering

their long term platform strategy.

Communications market development

is now pushing CSPs to require more

open and flexible platforms for its most

valued applications. Such platforms

must also provide a secure evolution

path and guarantee further value

creation.

The Open Core Software Architectureoffers strategic benefits to CSPs as

it is HW agnostic, enabling the same

software to run on both legacy and

latest state-of-the-art platforms. The

Open Core Software Architecture

offers flexibility and scalability in case

of changing and evolving networks.

Moreover it helps achieving economies

of scale for new applications, thus

enabling optimized OPEX and smooth

and efficient CAPEX.

Finally, the Open Core Systemarchitecture promotes faster

innovation, enables acquiring best

practices without proprietary vendor

lock-ins, reduces engineering time and

simplifies network building practices,

thus offering faster time to market.

The Open Core System is a powerful

tool to enable a fast and smooth core

network evolution and ensure superior

operational efficiency compared

to traditional proprietary platform

approaches. Combined with NokiaSiemens Networks strong global

customer services capabilities and

common NetActTMOSS for voice and

data, significant acquisition

and operating cost savings can be

achieved over the system life cycle,

leading to a positive financial impact for

the CSPs.

Table of Contents

Executive summary 2

Introduction 3

Increasing Prots via 3

Renewal and Simplication

Major Benets from 3

Commercial off-the-shelf ATCA

Open Core Platform 4

Architecture

Commercial off-the-shelf 4

ATCA Hardware

Open Core Software 5

Architecture

Open Core System 6

Investment and Efciency 6

Protection

Evolution and Revolution 7

CS voice network 7modernization and expansion

Managing a cost efcient 8

voice transformation to VoIP

Interconnect transformation 8

with future proof technology

Mobile broadband with 9

modernized Packet Core

network

Conclusions 10

References 10

Abbreviations 11

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3Open Core System White Paper

Introduction

The core network consists of CircuitSwitched (CS) Domain, Packet

Switched (PS) Domain and IP

Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). The

basic applications market including

services such as Voice, SMS and data

is currently at a point where majority of

Communications Service Providers

(CSPs) are reconsidering their long

term platform strategy. Several factors

are now pushing CSPs to require more

open and flexible platforms for the

current applications that can offer a

secure and smooth evolution path intothe future beyond the basic services.

Simplification and renewal of fixed and

mobile networks is a major opportunity

to drive total cost of ownership

down, while promoting new features

for growth and improving energy

efficiency. Harmonization of hardware

and software platforms is the key

starting point for such an evolution.

Increasing Profits via

Renewal and Simplification

Networks have evolved from fixed to

mobile and from GPRS to 3G and LTE.

In the process new network elements

have been added leading to extremely

complex hardware and software

environments that need to bemaintained and expanded with new

functionalities.

A typical network consists of multiple

platforms and applications that have

strong dependencies to underlying

hardware and software. This

dependency needs to be removed to

simplify the network. This is done by

harmonizing platforms while enabling

re-use of existing software, co-location

of different application functionality and

overall flexibility in network design.Platform evolution is vital also in

achieving lower footprint both

physically and environmentally.

Major Benefits from

Commercial off-the-shelf

ATCA

Telecommunications networks are

often based on proprietary platforms

that have been developed by the

Network Equipment Providersthemselves. The drawback of such

proprietary platforms is that there is no

innovation outside the supply chain for

a given platform. In recent history,

many proprietary technologies have

been replaced by those based on open

specification due to this reason.

COTS approach have been used fora long time by various industries in

building complex systems. Some

COTS systems are based on open

specifications and some are closed or

tightly controlled by a single company

(e.g. IT server platforms). The use of

COTS hardware that is based on open

standards is a great way to boost

innovation and improve time to market

while reducing workload and overall risk

level in the development. Use of COTS

will also allow network equipment

providers like Nokia Siemens Networksto put ever more focus on platform

software and application software.

While proprietary platforms offer

great flexibility and can be justified

for specialized and high volume

applications, all core network elements

are such that they can be easily built

using open standards based platform

such as Advanced Telecommunications

Computing Architecture (ATCA). ATCA

is based on open specifications, can

be sourced as COTS and takes intoaccount telecom specific requirements

such as long life cycle and high

availability. Commercial off-the-shelf

ATCA is the best choice for both

Network Equipment Providers and

Network Service Providers to simplify

and harmonize the core network.

SS7

Interworking

Support Systems

Charging OAM Provisioning/

Subscriber data

PLMN

PSTN

xSP

Core Network

Serving GW

CS-MGW IMS-MGW

MME GGSN

VoIP Server

MSS, NVS,

MGCF

PDN GW

IMS

HLR

STP

SGSN

HSS

PCRF

Wireless and Wired

Access Networks

3G

LTE

GSM

RNC

BSC

IP DSLAN

MSAN

Picture 1 Multiple core platforms makes consolidation and co-location difficult

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Nokia Siemens Networks Open CoreSystem supports all core networks

domains from circuit switched voice to

IMS and from 2G to LTE. The Open

Core Platform Architecture offers

strategic benefits to Communications

Service Providers as it enables

leveraging the existing installed base

using Nokia Siemens Networks

products and offers evolution path to

state-of-the-art ATCA built using COTS

principle.

Commercial off-the-shelf

ATCA Hardware

In the past, many applications in the

core network selected specialized

proprietary hardware as there was

no one-size-fits-all hardware

platform available. As the Advanced

Telecommunications Hardware

Architecture (ATCA) designs havematured in recent years and now offer

the kind of functionalities and quality

expected from a future proof telecom

platform, Nokia Siemens Networks

have selected ATCA to be in a central

role in Open Core Platform Architecture.

ATCA is the most advanced open

standard specification available for

telecommunications products. It is

seen widely as a future proof and

main stream approach in building or

upgrading core networks. Since ATCAecosystem is built first and foremost

around network equipment providers,

the telecom specific requirements such

as long lifecycle for hardware, high

availability and regulatory compliance

are taken into account fully.

By using ATCA as the common

platform for the Open Core System,

Nokia Siemens Networks is able tosignificantly simplify the network in

terms of operability and number of

physical elements. This is possible

because ATCA, combined with the

latest Ethernet technology, offers

a future proof platform with small

footprint and high capacity. In

addition it enables co-locating more

applications into a single network

element and even multiple network

elements into a single equipment shelf.

The COTS ATCA ecosystem(Picture 2) consists of over 50

companies and has synergies with

other industries, using standard

embedded designs such as industry

automation. Therefore, Nokia Siemens

Networks is able to leverage

innovations of some of the best

embedded design teams in the world

Open Core Platform Architecture

Commercial off-the-shelf ATCA Ecosystem


Carrier Blade AMC

ATCA Shelf

DSP Blade

NPU Blade

HUB Blade

CPU Blade

AMC

AMC

AMC

AMC

Picture 2 Open Core Platform Architecture leveraging COTS ATCA Ecosystem

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Proprietary

Compliancyto openstandards

Open Core System

COTS ATCA Designed for:

Environment

Higher processingCapacity

Lower powerconsumption andfootprint

ATCACompetitor 2

ProprietaryDesignCompetitor 1

In-house development Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)

Picture 3. Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) ATCA in comparison to alternatives

By definition, a platform that is partiallycompliant with ATCA is not ATCA

it is a proprietary platform (Picture 3).

Even full compliancy to ATCA

specification is not enough to

guarantee interoperability inside the

ATCA ecosystem, especially if

development of ATCA is largely done

by the Network Element Provider. To

fully leverage the benefits of ATCA, the

platform needs to be fully compliant

with commercial off-the-shelf ATCA

ecosystem implementations.

Nokia Siemens Networks uses a

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) ATCA

platform that is fully compliant with the

ATCA standards and interoperable with

products implemented by the vast

ATCA ecosystem.

Open Core Software

Architecture

The open source Linuxoperating

system plays an increasingly important

role in Nokia Siemens Networks

products. Linuxis also in the heart of

the Open Core Software Architecture

(Picture 4), which

Provides hardware independence

for applications via virtualization

infrastructure

Enables applications to leverage

both open source Linux and legacy

software at the same time. This

allows CSPs to leverage the

existing install base and software

to the fullest possible extent

Enables the same software release

to be installed into both ATCA and

legacy hardware

Using a Virtualization infrastructure

between operating systems and the

hardware, Nokia Siemens Networks

is able to create hardware agnostic

software, leverage efficiently the ever

increasing amount of parallelism in

processors and enable co-location

of multiple network elements within

a single hardware enclosure.

Virtualization also helps to speed up

the process of introducing latest state-

of-the art processors with enhanced

energy efficiency features and more

processing capacity.

The Open Core Software Architecture

combined with COTS ATCA enables

Communication Service Providers

to modernize and harmonize their

networks while reducing the complexity.

It enables smooth capacity and

functionality upgrades for the existing

installed base while also enabling the

operator to leverage the state-of-the-art

energy efficient ATCA hardware

platform.

Hardware Platforms


Virtualization Infrastructure

Applications

Picture 4 Open Core Software Architecture

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Investment and Efficiency

Protection

Balancing traffic demand among

different applications of the OpenCore System

Due to the Open Core Software

Architecture, the Open Core System

is flexible enough to be configured

in different setups, with each Core

Network component having own

specific traffic capacity requirements.

On a core network evolution scenario

where CS traffic evolves to IMS traffic,

the Open Core System capacity can

easily and gradually be reconfigured bySW configuration change to allow the

transfer of traffic capacity from the MSS

to the IMS.

Similarly the Packet Core (SGSN,

GGSN) can smoothly be transformed

to an Evolved Packet Core (MME,

S-GW,P-GW).

The Nokia Siemens Networks OpenCore System addresses the complexity

of the current telecommunications

Core Networks. It offers the opportunity

of leveraging the innovations which the

COTS ATCA ecosystem brings to the

whole communications industry.

The Open Core Network SW

applications: MSS, MGW, HLR, VoIP

Server, STP, PCRF, HSS, CSCF,

SGSN, MME, S-GW, P-GW and

GGSN can be scaled up and freely

configured simply by installing therespective application software

to the Open Core System, which is

dimensioned HW and SW wise to the

planned traffic demand (Picture 5).

The Open Core System ensures the

full continuity of all Core Network voice

and data services, since it is access

technology agnostic, i.e. it is able

connect to any wireless, mobile or fixed

access technology.

Design for Environment (DfE)principles were integrated to the Open

Core System development processes.

The main objectives were:

to minimize material and energy

use

to minimize the use of

environmentally hazardous

materials

to design the equipments to be

easily or remotely maintainable or

maintenance free

to maximize reuse and recycling

Reducing the Total Cost of

Ownership

The Open Core System addresses

both CAPEX and OPEX. OnCAPEX rationalization for a network

modernization, the Open Core

System decreases the need of

telecommunication infrastructure HW

due to its HW consolidation and

extended SW assets utilization.

On OPEX reduction, the Open Core

System addresses the simplification

of configuration, maintenance and

operability of the Core Network, since

it is composed of a common and

small set of different ATCA blades,which share common procedures

for configuration, maintenance and

operability besides being fully integrated

to Nokia Siemens Network NetAct,

which in its side manages the complete

network, from services delivered across

radio, transport and core.

Open Core System

MSS

MGW

STP

GGSN

CSCF

HSS

VoIP Server

PCRF

S-GW

Open Core System

Open Core SW Applications

HLR

SGSN

MME

P-GW

Interworking

Support Systems

Charging OAMProvisioning/Subscriber data

PLMN

PSTN

xSP

SS7

Wireless and Wired

Access Networks

3G

LTE

GSM

RNC

BSC

IP DSLAN

MSAN

The Open CoreSystem simplifiesCore Networkinfrastructure andoperations

Picture 5 Open Core System simplifies Core Network infrastructure and operations

Around 300 mobile operators

who have deployed core products

from Nokia Siemens Networks

can now easily take the

advantages of the flexibility, cost

efficiency and environmental

sustainability offered through our

Open Core system.

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Also, the management of spare parts

stock and additional traffic capacity

parts are greatly simplified, due to the

dramatic reduction of the number of

different HW blade variants at the

Open Core System.

The Open Core System also allows

many simplifications to the setup and

maintenance procedures of the core

network elements, such as: self

configuration, self optimization, self

healing and energy saving, which

reduces its TCO.

Evolution and Revolution

Replacing all the existing equipment

could be the most revolutionary way

to simplify the network and to drive

energy efficiency, however it is also

very expensive and risky. The best

approach is a smooth evolution,

meaning a renewal of the network in

phases. The key for a smooth evolution

is a software package that makes

applications HW agnostic and thus

enables same software to run on both

legacy and latest state-of-the-art

platforms.

The introduction of the Open Core

System to any Core Network is

an evolutionary step towards:

simplification, modernization

and environmentally sustainable

telecommunications business for

the CSP.

As well, some revolutionizinginnovations are made available by the

Open Core System approach, for

instance to list a few:

All common components of a

modern Core Network in a single

and synergic COTS ATCA HW

environment.

Possibility to balance traffic capacity

between legacy traffic demand and

new technologies traffic demand

within the same Open Core System.

CS voice network

modernization and expansion

Ensuring end-user satisfaction

while reducing cost

The three most important requirements

to the Circuit Switched voice networks

of today are:

Cost efficient and reliable delivery

of CS services

A rich set of standard and tailored

features developed over manyyears

Enabling a smooth evolution to the

future access and core technologies


Core System delivers on all three of

these requirements with a unique

and unbeatable advantage on top:

Operators can smoothly modernize or

expand the capacity of their existing

network by adding new cost efficient

technology while fully maintaining the

same end-user service experiencethroughout the network. Due to the

long development history of the CS

core network features the application

software is especially valuable in this

part of the network. With the Nokia

Siemens Networks Open Core System

this value is well protected and thus

CSPs need to wait no longer to start

saving cost.

Taking flexibility to the next level

The 3GPP Rel-4 network architecturewas developed in order to provide

CSPs the flexibility to place and scale

user plane and control plane capacityPicture 6: Complete Core Network in a single and synergic Open Core System.

Going Nokia Siemens Networks Open Core System enables OPEX

optimization and smooth and efficient CAPEX:

Footprint reduction : up to 80%

Plug-in units number reduction : up to 80%

Energy reduction : up to 40%

Source: Nokia Siemens Networks Open Core System TCO calculator.

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separately achieving great costefficiency. Nokia Siemens Networks

takes this flexibility and cost efficiency

to a whole new level when offering the

same HW platform for both the MSC

Server and the Media Gateway.

Initial network deployment can be

optimized using minimum floor space

as even the same cabinet can be

used for both MSC Server and Media

Gateway. This makes it possible to fully

utilize every cabinet according to the

exact traffic profile and if needed evenre-balance user plane and control plane

resources within existing cabinets when

traffic requirements change.

Another aspect of the flexibility of the

Open Core System, enabled by the

Open Core Software Architecture, is

the guaranteed functional equivalence

between the ATCA based and the Nokia

Siemens Networks proprietary HW

MSC Servers and Media Gateways

allowing operators to, for example,

modernize first the control plane layerand only later the user plane layer.

Managing a cost efficient

voice transformation to VoIP

In mobile history, the voice service

has been the major focus for network

design and is thus inherently part of

the entire system. The possibility to

gradually migrate all operators voice

services from 2G and 3G to a single

Voice over LTE (VoLTE) networkwill drive down network operating

expenditure (OPEX), justifying the

required technology investments.

Nokia Siemens Networks award

winning approach to introduce VoIP/

VoLTE services by a simple software

upgrade to an MSS system allows

re-using the full CS infrastructure,

including the voice service engine and

OSS/BSS integration.

Operators interested in introducing newservices such as Rich Communication

Suite and full Multimedia telephony for

all accesses (fixed, cable, mobile) can

easily implement the IMS functionality

into an already installed Open Core

System via software update. New

hardware needs to be added on

blade or shelf level only if required by

forecasted traffic volumes. When, over

time, more IMS traffic needs to be

handled, the Open Core capacity can

also easily be reconfigured by SW

update to allow the transfer of capacityfrom the Open MSS to the Open IMS

application.

Interconnect transformation

with future proof technology

The industry is in a transformation

process from TDM based voice

interconnections to IP based voice

interconnections. Cost savings is one

of the very important targets of this

transformation and the Open CoreSystem is fully designed to bring the

needed efficiency.

Already today the Nokia Siemens

Networks MSC Server System and

Signaling Transfer Point support a

rich set of national and international

gateway features. This proven legacy,

combined with the ATCA HW benefits

provides a compelling reason to deploy

the Open Transit Routing Server and

Signaling Application Manager to take

care of the interconnect traffic even ifstill on TDM for a while.

With all the required capabilities for

IP based interconnections already

supported in the first phase, the

investment is safe when moving to IP,

as the main functionalities such as

transcoding resources can be fully

re-used. Furthermore, the evolution of

the Open Core System will bring even

more benefits as the integration of

Interconnect Border Control and Border

Gateway functions required for IP basedinterconnects will be possible resulting

in a simple network architecture, the

lowest expenditure and maximum

protection of investments.

Nokia Siemens Networks also

foresees that a common interconnect

architecture for traditional CS voice,

VoIP, VoLTE, RCS and multimedia will

be the most cost efficient, especially

when this will be possible using the

Nokia Siemens Networks Open Core

system.

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Packet

Core

Internet &

Content and

Service

Networks

BTS

NodeB RNC

BSC

2G/3G

2G/3G & LTE

BTS

NodeB RNC

BSC

Internet &Content and

Service

Networks

Smartphones,

LaptopseNodeB

Operators can reuse themodernized Packet Core forLTE by software upgrade.

Smartphones,

Laptops

PCRF

GGSN

SGSN

HSS

PCRF

GGSN

S/P-GW

SGSN

MME

Picture 7: Modernized Packet Core and the Path to Evolved Packet Core

ensure superior end user experienceand manage network resource usage

to maximize their revenues.

Operators who want to modernize their

mobile packet core networks to be

prepared for future traffic growth by

deploying Nokia Siemens Networks

EPC products can introduce the LTE

functionality (MME and S/P-GW) by a

simple software upgrade onto the

existing hardware including OSS/BSS

integration and additional core

functionality like HSS and PCRF.

In case of increasing traffic and more

and more subscribers being migrated

from 2G/3G to LTE, Nokia Siemens

Networks EPC can be flexibly

reconfigured by software to meet the

changing demand in capacity and

signaling traffic.

Mobile broadband withmodernized Packet Core

network

The Nokia Siemens Networks

solution for Mobile Packet Core

addresses increased traffic and

smartphone signaling demand, while

lowering the operators Total Cost of

Ownership (TCO). The Nokia Siemens

Networks products for modernized

2G/3G PS Core and new Evolved

Packet Core (EPC) use a unique

design based on the open AdvancedTelecommunications Computing

Architecture (ATCA) platform toachieve lower cost, higher performance

and superior flexibility.

The key components playing an

essential role in supporting next-

generation mobile broadband are

Network Server (SGSN / MME) and

Network Gateway (GGSN / S/P-GW).

With convincing capacity in throughput,

subscriber density and signaling,

operators are able to manage the data

traffic explosion and millions of smart

devices. Combined with unparalleledservice intelligence, operators can

Nokia Siemens Networks Open

Core System has been running in

live networks since 2010, with thefirst depolyment, in NTT DoCoMo

Xi LTE network, taken into

commercial use in December of

the same year.

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Communications market is pushing CSPs to require more open and flexibleplatforms to provide secure evolution path and further increase networked value

creation also beyond the basic services.

With Nokia Siemens Networks Open Core System all common components of a Core

Network can be installed and scaled up at a single and synergic COTS ATCA HW

environment.

Open Core Software Architecture is HW agnostic enabling same software to be run on

both legacy and latest state-of-the-art platforms

Open Core Software Architecture offers flexibility and scalability in case of changing

and evolving requirements, has lower TCO and it also helps achieving economies of

scale for new applications.

Nokia Siemens Networks Open Core System is compliant with all defined CoreNetwork standard interfaces. It is a perfect evolutionary step towards simplification,

modernization and environmentally sustainable telecommunication business.

Nokia Siemens Networks approach to the revolution is a smooth evolution - renewing

the network in phases and enabling existing installed base and new equipment

capture value together.

Nokia Siemens Networks whitepaper

Enabling mobile broadband growth Evolved Packet Core

Single RAN made simple - managing site and frequency evolution to tomorrows mobilebroadband world

Conclusions

References

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3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership ProjectAMC Advanced Mezzanine Card

ATCA Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture

BSC Base Station controler

BSS Business Support Systems

CAPEX Capital Expenditure

COTS ATCA Commercial Off the Shelf ATCA

CPU Central Processing Unit

CS Circuit Switched

CSCF Call Session Control Function

CSP Communication Service Provider

DfE Design for Environment

DSLAM Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer

DSP Digital Signal ProcessorEPC Evolved Packet Core

GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node

GPRS General Packet Radio System

HLR Home Location Register

HSS Home Subscriber Server

HW Hardware

IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem

IT Information Technology

LTE Long Term Evolution

MGW Media Gateway

MME Mobility Management Entity

MSAN Multi-service Access Node

MSS Mobile Switching Center ServerNPU Network Processor

NVS NSN Mobile VoIP Server

OAM Operations and Maintenance

OPEX Operational Expenditure

OSS Operations Support Systems

P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway

PCRF Policy and Charging Rules Function

PCS Policy Control Server

RNC Radio Network Controller

PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

PS Packet Switched

PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network

RCS Rich Communication SuiteS-GW Serving Gateway

SAM Signaling Application Manager

SDM Subscriber Data Management

SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node

STP Signaling Transfer Point

TCO Total Cost of Ownership

TDM Time-Division Multiplexing

VoIP Voice over IP

VoLTE Voice over LTE

Abbreviations

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www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

Nokia Siemens Networks

P.O. Box 1

FI-02022 NOKIA SIEMENS NETWORKS

Finland

Visiting address:

Karaportti 3, ESPOO, Finland

Switchboard +358 71 400 4000 (Finland)Switchboard +49 89 5159 01 (Germany)

Product code: B301-00682-WP-201102-1-EN

Copyright 2011 Nokia Siemens Networks.

All rights reserved.

Nokia is a registered trademark of Nokia Corporation,

Siemens is a registered trademark of Siemens AG.

The wave logo is a trademark of Nokia Siemens Networks Oy.

Other company and product names mentioned in this document

may be trademarks of their respective owners, and they are

mentioned for identification purposes only.

This publication is issued to provide information only and is notto form part of any order or contract. The products and services

described herein are subject to availability and change without

notice.

Documents

Open Core System Technical White Paper