Installing MATRIXX Network Enabler

Topics below provide information about how to install the Network Enabler software.

The number of Network Enablers you deploy will depend on the number of engines or engine chains (if multiple customer sub-domains are implemented) in your MATRIXX environment. Network Enablers are deployed as active-active clusters and are used for routing SIGTRAN based traffic.

A Network Enabler supports deployments for multiple or single customer sub-domains:

  • Multiple customer sub-domains

    In a MATRIXX environment where multiple customer sub-domains are implemented, the role of the Network Enabler is to route SIGTRAN based traffic to the correct customer sub-domain (engine chain) in the environment. The Network Enabler communicates with the Route Cache to look up information for identifying the customer sub-domain to which the network request will apply.

    If your subscriber base will not be partitioned into multiple customer sub-domains, then a Route Cache is not required.

  • Single customer sub-domains

    The role of the Network Enabler is to route SIGTRAN based traffic to the active engine at whichever site the active engine is currently running.

The following diagram illustrates a Network Enabler deployment in a MATRIXX environment that has two customer sub-domains. The Network Enabler routes requests to the correct sub-domain, identifying the sub-domain by querying the Route Cache, and also handles any disaster-recovery (engine shutdown) scenario by routing traffic to the newly active engine at whichever site it is running.

Figure 1 illustrates a Network Enabler deployment in a MATRIXX environment that has two customer sub-domains. Both Network Enablers connect to the Signalling Transfer Point (STP) and to the MATRIXX Engines. These connections are shown for only one Network Enabler (NE).
Figure 1. Network Enabler Deployment Example
Note the following points about installing Network Enablers:
  • For high availability, Network Enablers are deployed as active-active clusters where the Network Enabler node resides on its own server located outside of the MATRIXX Engine.
  • A Network Enabler can be installed on the same physical hardware as the TRA-SI/DR or TRA-RT-(SI/DR) (when Traffic Routing Agent and Network Enabler are both installed in an environment).
  • For a standard deployment, the same M3UA signalling point code is used for all Network Enablers and processing blades in an engine.
You must configure Network Enablers after installation. If multiple customer sub-domains are implemented, you must also enable the Route Cache Controller service and ensure that the TRA-RT-(SI/DR) configuration file contains the required Route Cache Controller configuration settings.

For information about configuring Network Enablers, see the discussion of configuring MATRIXX Network Enabler in Installation and Configuration.

For information about configuring the route cache and the Route Cache Controller, see the discussion about configuring sub-domain routing in Installation and Configuration.