Whether you're a large operator serving millions of devices or a growing operator with thousands of subscribers; whether you're considering a complete DOCSIS migration or an extension/upgrade of your current set-up, this guide from Incognito highlights critical areas to address along the OSS migration journey.
We provide proven tactics for successfully managing these transitions and smart checklists to support successful change. We'll also identify opportunities for improved performance. With over 30 years of experience working with global cable MSOs, Incognito knows migrations!
As you plan your DOCSIS transformation, keep Incognito's migration best practices in mind to maximize your use of maintenance windows, minimize service outages, and lay the foundation for your continued network growth.
Migration Considerations
1. Software versions and systems you're transitioning from
Whether you're moving from an in-house built system, open-source, or a third-party software vendor for DOCSIS provisioning, it's essential to understand the software versions, configurations, and data mapping needs for all modules and components in play and whether any scripting is required.
2. Network devices
It's crucial to know the volumes of devices in the DOCSIS network, the number of subscribers, and the number of device models per cable modem, CPE (customer premise equipment), and eMTA (embedded multimedia terminal adapter).
3. IP services in scope
To help determine your needs, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you migrating data services only?
- Are you considering voice and video for PacketCable?
- Is authoritative DNS applicable?
4. IPv6 support
If you're introducing IPv6 to your network or already have a dual-stack IP network configuration (where IPv4 and IPv6 coexist), is DHCPv6 prefix delegation part of your plan (ex., using IPv6 for business services)? Are you seeking IPv6 prefix stability in your network architecture?
5. Deployment infrastructure
How many DHCP leases do you have, and what clusters, servers, and hardware do you need to support the implementation? What regional and geo-redundant requirements do you have to support your data center infrastructure? What are the lease times per device type, and what do you need in terms of networking, subnets, and routing? Should you migrate one cluster per maintenance window or several? This will depend on the size of the clusters (number of devices), regional needs, and CMTS.
6. Documentation and maintenance window strategy
Depending on the size of your network, leases, clusters, etc., it may take multiple maintenance windows to complete a full migration to a new DOCSIS provisioning system. Therefore, you should work with your OSS vendor to plan the target number of devices to migrate within each allotted period. Other things to collaborate on include:
- Documentation spanning testing (sanity, user acceptance)
- Implementation
- Method of procedure (MOP) for migration during maintenance windows
- Migration checklists with clearly defined and mutually agreed-to criteria for rollback / restore to point devices back to the original system if needed
Working with a Trusted Partner
By adopting a lateral thinking approach and considering all hidden costs, you can better understand your current network environment.
In addition to the crucial consideration of avoiding outages, working with a vendor who can provide complete infrastructure-wide visibility will help you report accurately on utilization rates and adoption metrics. Incognito's expertise, offered through our Broadband Command Centre (BCC), provides peace of mind against outages as well as valuable insights. The ability to calculate ROI on technology changes or new set-ups will let you analyze expense management during migration periods. By identifying successes alongside setbacks, you can eliminate the unknown.
The Benefits of Migrating to Incognito Broadband Command Center
Leading operators such as Breezeline (formerly Atlantic Broadband), Orange, Claro, and Cox have chosen Incognito BCC because of our ability to deliver on the best practices highlighted above. You can also benefit from our BCC solution and the services expertise we offer to support it, with specific advantages including:
Deployment infrastructure
Incognito can optimize your implementation by assessing your network architecture, offering support including:
- Making recommendations on clusters, servers, and hardware based on the number of DHCP leases
- Determining appropriate regional and geo-redundant measures to support your data center infrastructure
- Assessing lease times per device type to determine the required networking, subnets, and routing
- Advising whether you should migrate one cluster per maintenance window or several, taking into account the size of the clusters (number of devices), regional needs, and CMTS
Incognito benefits include:
- Optimized use of resources, improved performance, and scalable architecture with centralized IPv4/IPv6 configuration
- Reduced hardware footprint, resulting in lower cost expenditure
- Minimized service outages and downtime – protecting not only back-office work and customer satisfaction but also safeguarding network operations and network engineering teams
OSS/BSS integrations
Incognito will consider API impacts of service activation/order management, billing, and LDAP as part of the overall provisioning process and plan for regression testing to keep services running smoothly.
With Incognito's solution, you can avoid service disruptions by evaluating and testing integration points to/from the DOCSIS provisioning system.
DOCSIS provisioning vendor track record and project resources
Incognito BCC is a DOCSIS provisioning platform deployed and operational at leading global Tier 1 service providers. We have a track record of successfully migrating OSS solutions while minimizing service outages. We'll ensure your key stakeholders are involved from the start and can provide collaborative support, including:
- Technical leads, such as DOCSIS device experts and network engineers, along with a project manager
- Professional services delivery managers and implementation consultants
- Product training before testing
Benefit from Incognito's proven experience conducting successful migrations. You and your customers will experience a smooth and seamless process based on:
- Transparency in our preparation and approach
- Proven methodology
- A long history of customer trust
Summary
We hope this article has demonstrated that a successful DOCSIS migration depends on planning, testing, monitoring, and choosing the right vendor who can decrease your total cost of ownership (TCO) and be responsive to your distinct business strategy and unique requirements.
If you're ready to enjoy a simple migration process with Incognito, let's connect to help you move to the next level of DOCSIS provisioning.
To learn more about Incognito's Broadband Command Center product, visit our product page. Conversely, you can request a meeting with Incognito by submitting a request through our contact us page.
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