Net-Net 3820 vs.

Cisco CUBE 3945E

competitive brief
Feature and price comparison This document provides both a succinct and detailed feature comparison between the Acme Packet Net-Net 3820 E-SBC and the Cisco CUBE software running on a Cisco 3945E router. At a glance The most obvious differences between the Net-Net 3820 E-SBC and the CUBE software running on a Cisco 3945E router are: Scalability The Net-Net 3820 scales up to 8,000 sessions in a 1U form factor. The CUBE 3945E comes in a 3U form factor, and while Cisco advertises to it to reach 2,500 sessions, lab tests reveal that it only reaches 2,000 sessions reliably. In addition, the Net-Net 3820 handles up to 84 calls per second (CPS) compared to the CUBEs 8 CPS, a 10.5x difference. High availability The CUBE 3945Es high availability mode does not preserve state or CDR information in case of system failure, resulting in loss of hold transfer, and conference call functionality and setting the stage for a customer service nightmare. The Net-Net 3820 provides full media and signaling stateful failover and maintains CDR records, making system failures unnoticeable to business operations and callers. Interoperability The Net-Net 3820 delivers vendor agnostic interoperability, protecting existing network investments and maximizing infrastructure and service provider selection. The CUBE 3945E offers only limited infrastructure and service provider interoperability. Cost For the same functionality, the Net-Net 3820 is 35% less expensive than the CUBE 3945E. Whats more, the Net-Net 3820 scales easily to higher capacities of up to 8,000 sessions with simple license upgrades, while the CUBE requires new hardware platforms and additional servers to scale above 2,000 sessions. Lab tests show that, compared to the CUBE 3945E, the Net-Net 3820 is 4x more scalable, manages 10.5x more calls per second, and delivers hitless high availability failover all at 35% lower cost.

Acme Packet delivers 4x more concurrent session capacity and consumes 66% less rack space.

Net-Net 3820 provides complete hitless fail-over, while the CUBE 3945E loses ability to control and log existing calls.

Compared to the CUBE 3945E, the Net-Net 3820 maximizes enterprise choice in real time IP communications infrastructure and service providers. The Net-Net 3820 provides an easy software upgrade path to 8,000 sessions, while the CUBE 3945E requires multiple hardware installations to reach 8,000 sessions. For a detailed comparison, please examine the table on the other side of this document.

Detailed feature comparison

Cisco CUBE 3945E Hardware architecture Voice gateway with add-on software Scalability Data sheet session count Session capacity w/ simple call flows (13 SIP messages / call)* Session capacity with complex flows (48 SIP messages / call) Calls Per Second (call setup)* TLS / SRTP session capacity Transcoding session capacity Rack Space for typical HA deployment Interoperability Extensive field deployments in multiple PBX vendor environments Session signaling manipulation language and tools Multiple service provider support Delayed Offer to Early Offer conversion High availability Stateful system failover (media and signaling) Call Detail Records (CDRs) preserved during failover Load balancing Hardware modules Application specific VPN support for mobile applications QoS module for calculating MOS score and R-factor Call routing Complex routing support Stateful trunk failover Route calls based on QoS (R-factor) Contact center enhancements Session replication for call recording Management Call detail records with embedded MOS score and R-factor Service assurance High call volume performance* SIP invite floods* TCP, UDP, ICMP floods* Retail pricing 2,000 sessions with high availability (2 units) Software upgrade past 2,000 sessions 4,000 sessions with high availability (2 units) 25-2,500 2,000 850 Approximately. 8 cps 360 (with DSP) 768 (with DSP) 6U-20U+ YES (Limited) YES (Limited) YES (Limited) YES (With DSP) NO NO YES (Limited) NO (Requires additional server) NO NO (Requires separate server) NO NO NO (Uses port mirroring) NO Becomes processor bound and drops or retransmits packets Causes reboot. In an HA system, both systems reboot Causes reboot. In an HA system, backup tries to become master, then both reboot after attack Approximately $215K NO Approx. $480K (requires ASR 1004) SBC appliance with hardware optimization 150-8,000 8,000 8,000 Approx. 84 cps 8,000 (with IPSec NIU) 7,200 (with transcoding NIU) 2U YES YES YES (No limit) YES YES YES YES YES (ETC NIU) YES (QoS NIU) YES (1M routes) YES (Service provider proven) YES YES YES No performance impact No performance impact No performance impact Acme Packet Net-Net 3820

$138K** YES $181K**

*Source: Acme Packet lab test **North America list price for HA SBC pair and base functionality. For more information ask your local Acme Packet contact.
100 Crosby Drive Bedford, MA 01730 USA
2011 Acme Packet, Inc. All rights reserved. Acme Packet, Session-Aware Networking, Net-Net and related marks are trademarks of Acme Packet. All other brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. The content in this document is for informational purposes only and is subject to change by Acme Packet without notice. While reasonable efforts have been made in the preparation of this publication to assure its accuracy, Acme Packet assumes no liability resulting from technical or editorial errors or omissions, or for any damages resulting from the use of this information. Unless specifically included in a written agreement with Acme Packet, Acme Packet has no obligation to develop or deliver any future release or upgrade or any feature, enhancement or function.

t +1.781.328.4400 f +1.781.425.5077 www.acmepacket.com 11/15/11