Pushing SBC Functions to the Customer Premises with the Intelligent Edge
Most session border controllers live in the cloud or at the core of a service provider’s network, managing traffic alongside a softswitch. Every call from every site travels to that central point before routing decisions, security policy, and traffic management are applied. The core carries all the load and all the intelligence, while the edge is passive.
For customers with high call volumes, that centralized model means traffic is backhauled to the core just to make a routing decision, unwanted calls consume core capacity before they can be filtered, and every site gets the same policy regardless of its specific needs. The load the core has to absorb is the load you have to size for.
How the Intelligent Edge Works
The intelligent edge inverts the centralized assumption. Instead of waiting for every call to reach the core before any policy is applied, it pushes routing logic, traffic management, and filtering out to the branch office or the subscriber’s own premises, so decisions happen close to where the traffic originates.
The SBC functionality is virtualized and runs at the customer’s site, which is why this model is closely tied to virtual customer premises equipment (vCPE). This is a deployment pattern rather than a different product. The same session border controller capabilities that would run centrally are instead placed at the edge, made possible because a software SBC can run wherever it is deployed rather than being locked to a box in one location.
The intelligent edge: a virtualized SBC runs at each branch or subscriber premises, applying routing, traffic management, and filtering locally before traffic reaches the provider core. Click to enlarge.
What an Edge SBC Does Locally
Local Routing and Traffic Management
The edge SBC applies routing logic at the site, directing calls and managing capacity before anything reaches the core. Call rate management controls the pace and volume of traffic a busy site generates so downstream systems are not overwhelmed.
Early Filtering and Protection
Because it sees traffic first, the edge SBC screens and blocks unwanted calls at the point of origin. Filtering a call flood at the edge means it never travels to the core and never consumes central capacity, pairing naturally with SIP DoS protection.
Virtualized Deployment on Customer Equipment
A software SBC can be virtualized onto universal CPE or a small server at the customer site, giving each location core-grade SBC capability without shipping dedicated appliances everywhere. It runs on VMware, KVM, or bare metal.
Deploy It Your Way
Edge deployments can still be operated centrally even though the software runs at the customer site:
Self-Managed Fleet
An operator with its own engineering team manages its fleet of edge SBCs directly, deploying ProSBC instances to each customer site with centralized configuration and monitoring.
Managed Service
Hand fleet operation to TelcoBridges through the ProSBC managed service. Edge instances are deployed, hardened, and monitored centrally while running locally at each premises.
Fully Hosted
TelcoBridges hosts the management layer and handles the lifecycle of edge instances. The operator points each customer site at a managed SBC with no per-site engineering overhead.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the intelligent edge in an SBC context?
It is a deployment model that pushes SBC functions, including routing, traffic management, and filtering, out to the branch office or subscriber’s premises instead of handling everything at the network core. Each site handles its traffic locally and filters unwanted calls early.
How is the intelligent edge different from a core SBC deployment?
A core deployment routes every call to a central SBC before applying policy. The intelligent edge applies routing and filtering at the customer site first, so traffic is handled locally and only reaches the core when it needs to.
Who uses the intelligent edge model?
It suits customers with high call volumes, and it has been adopted by universal CPE equipment makers who bundle virtualized SBC functionality into their devices, and by TDoS protection vendors who want to stop call floods close to their source.
Does the intelligent edge require special hardware?
No. It depends on the SBC being software rather than a fixed appliance, so it can be virtualized onto universal CPE or a small server already at the customer site.
Bring SBC Intelligence to the Edge with ProSBC
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