SCAT DPI and Hydra – integration of DPI, BRAS and billing for subscriber charging
What is a billing system and why does a telecom operator need it?
It’s an information system that charges subscribers for services rendered and stores information on the status of these calculations. Every operator must have it.
What are the advantages of Hydra over other billing systems?
A large number of opportunities for telco provisioning platform, automation of marketing actions, flexibility, reliability, openness, as well as quality implementation and support services.
What nodes does the billing interact with (DPI, core, SORM, etc.)?
Usually, billing interacts with BRAS. In some cases it can control DPI hardware/software. Integration with SORM-3 module is also necessary, as it is required to provide FSS with subscribers’ personal data, which are available in billing.
Which DPIs can Hydra be integrated with?
All major systems available on the market: SCAT DPI, RDP, Allot, Sandvine and Procera. The latter two are now under the same brand name, but integration is also possible with previous versions.
What is the scheme and features of integration of Hydra with SCAT DPI?
It is more correct to talk about the BRAS module, which is also part of SCAT DPI software. This is what Hydra is integrated with. Our customers use SCAT in different configurations: PPPoE and IPoE (L2 and L3). Many of them use the scheme of redirecting subscribers blocked for non-payment to the captive portal. Interaction is done via RADIUS with account and CoA packet support. You can find more information on how to set up authorization using a Radius server in our knowledge base.
SCAT DPI Integration
What DPI system do your customers choose when purchasing billing? What are the criteria?
Most of our clients are Russian operators who use SCAT DPI. They are mostly attracted by the fact that the solution is fully software and has SORM module. Probably, the price is also important, but we do not dive into this question, we only give our clients a confirmation that Hydra is already integrated with this or that solution.
What advice would you give to Internet service providers who are building or upgrading a network to avoid making serious mistakes and going bankrupt?
Don’t try to develop software for internal use on your own. If 15 years ago this approach still had the right to life, now it is too expensive (and still is). The speed of introduction of new features also matters: self-written solution must be elaborated every time, while mass-produced system probably has the necessary “feature” already available with 90% probability and the only thing left is to configure it.
