SAFARI C3 TM Media Switching System For Enterprises
The SAFARI C³™ Media Switching System removes the business and technical obstacles that have impeded the deployment of VoIP technology in campuses by greatly simplifying operations and reducing the cost of delivering VoIP services. It provides the foundation for powerful, multimedia-capable, holistic personal communications experiences via a single chassis that can scale to support up to 100,000 lines.
SAFARI C³ delivers carrier-class voice networking services and is built to support future multimedia services to address the telecommunications needs of Information Technology (IT) departments. Enterprises can replace multiple PBX platforms with a single SAFARI C³, and they can evolve from carrier-based Centrex services to their own private VoIP service, reducing both capital and operational expenses while enabling new services across one-or-more buildings and campuses.
Enterprises can deploy the carrier-class SAFARI C³ platform to deliver highly reliable services to dormitories, administrative offices, and other campus facilities, and they can create peering relationships with other campuses to deliver features like abbreviated dialing and hunt groups. They can also reduce bandwidth costs and support disaster recovery efforts.
Cedar Point Communications, Inc. has created and commercialized SAFARI C³, an entirely new category of VoIP-based equipment ideal for IT departments offering primary line telephony services. SAFARI C³ relies on patented technology that combines a host of currently distributed elements into one single system to deliver superior reliability and performance while simplifying VoIP implementations. It greatly reduces on-going support and administration costs, and creates improved economics for campuses while offering tremendous deployment flexibility.
Telecommunications services can potentially be one of the largest line items in the budget of an IT department. SAFARI C³ removes the complexity of deploying and managing VoIP infrastructure and reduces the capital and operational costs dramatically when compared to alternative solutions that rely on multiple gateways, softswitching elements, and hardware platforms. All IT departments face tremendous pressure to manage costs, and SAFARI C³ offers a compelling solution for reducing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for VoIP infrastructure.
SAFARI C³ costs much less than purchasing discrete IP-PBX solutions and minimizes—or in some cases eliminates—the need for additional IT or telecommunications personnel for VoIP deployments. SAFARI C³ requires a fraction of the resources needed for deployment, support, and maintenance of solutions that rely on complex, distributed softswitching technology.
This solution avoids the operational complexities of existing discrete IP-PBX solutions, making enterprise wide VoIP services easy to operate and economical to deploy and manage. SAFARI C³ is a highly scalable solution that supports from 2,500 to 100,000 lines on a single platform, allowing IT departments to expand VoIP services to neighboring institutions and the community without compromising service quality. It simplifies operations by offering a single platform that eliminates the need to purchase, deploy, and manage many separate network elements.
SAFARI C³ provides superior performance and reliability, and significantly reduces capital expenditures, system integration requirements, and operations costs while increasing network integrity and security.
Integrated Architecture
In a distributed IP-PBX architecture model, there are many network elements that must be deployed and managed. Often these network elements are provided by multiple vendors, so IT or telecommunications organizations must make major investments in integration and must carefully manage each new software release or upgrade to ensure ongoing operations.
But SAFARI C³ is the only totally integrated carrier class switch that incorporates most of the functions of the voice switching infrastructure, eliminating the need to purchase, maintain, upgrade, and regression test separate call management servers, media gateways, record keeping servers, announcement servers, signaling gateways, Ethernet switches, and Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) servers.
SAFARI C³ is future-architected to allow enterprises to leverage their initial equipment investments in voice technology as they introduce services such as video telephony and fixed-mobile applications. New applications can be integrated into SAFARI C³ or can be accessed via third-party application servers.
Avoiding the cost and complexity of discrete IP/PBX systems
SAFARI C³ integrates various functional components like the call server, media gateway and controller, tones and announcements server, and CALEA server with native GR-1100-compliant Call Detail Record (CDR) generation
High Availability and Reliability
The integrated architecture of SAFARI C³ allows the system to deliver the availability and reliability levels needed for voice services. SAFARI C³ is designed as a fully redundant and highly available fault-tolerant system. Each card type in the switch is protected by a standby card either in a 1:1 or a 1:N protection scheme, and the operator can specify the frequency with which the internal real-time database is backed up onto an external server. SAFARI C³ relies on a proven operating system designed for carrier-grade switching, and it delivers the same reliability, stability, and security of a Class 5 switch and offers hot upgrade functionality for software updates without service disruption.
SAFARI C³ Highlights
- Single chassis architecture
- Simple to maintain
- Enables personal communications services for all types of users
- Simple to upgrade
- Easy to administer
- Cost-effective scalability
- Built-in CALEA compliance
Leveraging SIP
IT departments can meet both the availability and reliability expectations of voice services, and they can offer innovative new services. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) end points can be deployed in single buildings or across multiple buildings with the opportunity to take advantage of new telecommunications services. SAFARI C³ also supports SIP peering, so enterprises can bypass the PSTN and interconnect multiple campuses over the same phone network and reduce equipment and PSTN costs while offering integrated, easy-to-use services such as abbreviated dialing across multiple campuses.
SAFARI C³ replaces multiple call servers, reducing costs, and enabling enhanced personal communication services
SAFARI simplifies network operations and enables the efficient delivery of enhanced telecommunications services to all types of users.
Fixed-Mobile Convergence
Users can also access advanced telecommunications services over campus wireless networks. SAFARI C³ is architected to support seamless roaming and handoffs between Wi-Fi and mobile cellular networks through a SIP interface to an external application server. IT departments can provide additional value to users by providing them with one phone number and allowing them to save money on cellular minutes by making calls from any on-campus wireless hotspot. With SAFARI C³, enterprises can embrace—not compete with—cellular services.
Multimedia Services
Powerful and efficient voice switching is essential today, but enterprises also need the ability to support emerging multimedia demands. SAFARI C³ has a full-duplex, 80 Gbps redundant switching fabric with an optical backplane that provides the capacity and performance needed for multimedia applications. In fact, for 100,000 lines of VoIP traffic SAFARI C³ will use less than 6% of the 80 Gbps switching fabric.
Flexibility
SAFARI C³ is a flexible solution that supports regulatory requirements and integrates smoothly with existing infrastructure. Native support for industry standards allows SAFARI C³ to provide smooth connectivity with the PSTN. Native support for Channel Associated Signaling (CAS) trunks in SAFARI C³ enables simple implementation of all regulatory features, such as E-911 emergency services.
Disaster Recovery
In the event of a disaster that disrupts telecommunications services, an active SAFARI C³ platform can be backed up by an inactive SAFARI C³ potentially located in another building or campus. This allows subscribers to be administratively re-homed to the inactive SAFARI C³ and allows enterprises to quickly and seamlessly restore telecommunication services.
Security
SAFARI provides a single point for firewalling. Using SAFARI C³ it is possible to hide user addresses from each other. SAFARI C³ supports lawful intercept standards such as CALEA so law enforcement agencies can place legal wiretaps when necessary.
Management
Operations staff can centrally manage SAFARI C³. The SafariView™ Element Management System (EMS) supports the full FCAPS suite of management functions (fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security) and integrates them into a feature-rich GUI platform for complete management of Cedar Point’s SAFARI C³ Media Switching System.
SafariView EMS allows for a single point of command and control for one-or-more SAFARI C³ platforms. Using a simple web browser, an operator can set up a simple SOAP/XML based client-server HTTP(s) session with the SafariView server, that in turn, has access to the individual SAFARI C³ switches. The easy-to-use, intuitive interface allows operators to swiftly learn how to effectively administer and operate SAFARI C³.
A Proven Solution
Designed to accommodate not only current voice switching needs but also the anticipated migration to video telephony, multimedia services, and fixed-mobile convergence, SAFARI C³ provides superior performance and reliability and significantly reduces capital expenditures as well as system integration and operational costs for enterprises.
The SAFARI C³ totally integrated voice and multimedia switch from Cedar Point Communications provides enterprises with a cost-efficient, less complex VoIP softswitching solution. For more information, please visit www.cedarpointcom.com.
Specifications
SAFARI C³ is comprised of a powerful and complete set of data and telephony technologies which form a well-integrated, cohesive media switching solution for the enterprise. SAFARI C³ specifications are flexible, well-recognized standards, making VoIP services easy and economical to deploy and manage.