Overview

CounterPath’s Client Configuration Server (CCS) is a carrier-grade platform specifically designed for service operators who have or intend to deploy softphone end-points. CounterPath’s Client Configuration Server enables enterprises and service providers to deploy their own CCS solution and manage the CCS platform in their network, which is a critical solution for any softphone or SIP endpoint deployment.

The CCS provides the ability to automatically apply the proper configuration to an end user’s softphone device, perform configuration updates over time and upgrade client softphone software. With the technology based on CounterPath’s Network Convergence Gateway (NCG), the CCS platform inherently provides service operators with the reliability and scalability that is required for this critical network service.

Client Configuration Server

Hosted CCS

The Hosted CCS is a fully hosted service from CounterPath that enables service operators to deploy softphone endpoints with ease and efficiency with no investment in hardware, space, power or bandwidth. CounterPath manages all of the complexities involved in a CCS deployment, enabling customers to simply set up their CCS on the hosted CCS cloud. When customers require adds or changes to their Bria softphone clients or client groups, they can now use the CCSs’ API or web interface to make those changes. Bria softphone clients check in with the hosted infrastructure to receive their initial configuration and updates, as well as receive notifications of any available upgrades.

Enjoy all of the benefits of the CCS without having to manage the CCS hardware or software directly – CounterPath manages it all for you!

Multi-Tenanted Capability

The Hosted CCS offers multi-tenanted capabilities to CounterPath customers with the ability to create sub-groups and assign administrators. Sub-groups can be created for production users, QA or IT departments, and various test groups that might be needed, and can also be used for resellers or corporate customers. Different administrators can also be created for each group, or across various groups within a customers’ hosted CCS.

Web and API Access

Each administrator for a customer’s Hosted CCS has both web-based access and API access to the CCS for machine to machine operations. This enables staff to use the web interface to setup the structure of the profiles and templates, while a customer’s provisioning and other systems can use the API to add, modify, and delete users as they are provisioned in the operator or enterprise's own systems.

Features

The Client Configuration Server (CCS) is available as a customer deployment or as a hosted product.

 New!   CCS 1.3

• Device Tracking and Management – Administrators can set limits for maximum number of devices per user based on Profile and/or User level attributes as well as track mobile and desktop device usage by user.
  
  
• Geographic Redundancy – The CCS now supports manual configuration of geographic redundancy in addition to the normal CCS installer process.
  
  
• HTML Notification Emails – As an enhancement to the user notification email feature, HTML support and improved formatting for user notification emails has been added.
  
  
• Additional Template Functions – The "New Template" function now includes predefined templates for desktop, mobile, and notifications. Administrators can also create blank templates with no requirement for initial content as well as utilize a new "Save As" function to edit and save templates as new templates.
  
  
• Additional User Functions – For better usability, Administrators can now sort records by clicking any column on the Users screen and see how many pages of records have been returned.
  
  
• Additional Group Functions – Groups can now be moved by cutting and pasting to a new parent or moved to a new root group by selecting "Move to Root".
  
  

Standard Features

The Client Configuration Server (CCS) provides the follow key features and functionality:

1. Initial Client Configuration - Performs the initial configuration and provisioning of CounterPath softphone clients (Bria Desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux) softphone, Bria iPad Edition, Bria iPhone Edition, and Bria Android Edition) based upon the profiles and subscriber accounts of CounterPath customers.
   
   
2. Ongoing Configuration Management - Provides an update service that allows softphone clients to check for configuration changes and updates upon startup and/or based upon an internal timer mechanism.
   
   
3. Ongoing Version Management - As operators roll out new softphone client versions, they can push these changes out to their existing customer base using the CCS. Operators can also set these upgrades as optional or mandatory to their end users.
   
   
4. License Management - Operators and IT managers can build pools of license keys which can be drawn upon as part of the end user provisioning process. Support for individual and group licenses is provided.
   
   
5. End User Notifications - Operators can generate fully customizable emails to their end users with specific client login information through the CCS web interface.
   
   
6. Multi-Group Management - Provides provisioning group functionality which allows customers to manage distinct groups of subscribers with different settings, client versions, etc.
   
   
7. Dynamic Configuration File Generation - Client provisioning files are generated on demand to ensure real-time content accuracy in the configuration database.
   
   
8. Configuration Framework - The CCS provides a framework for IT and operations staff to both customize and standardize softphone configurations based upon a flexible structure of profiles, templates and attributes.
   
   
9. Analytics & Reports - Provides analytics and reporting to customers to review their subscriber base with respect to the scope of softphone configuration and usage.
   
   
10. Security Settings - Client communications are facilitated via HTTPS so that softphone client configuration files are secure as they are transferred between the CCS and the client.
    
    
11. User List Download and Upload Capability - Administrators can make bulk moves, adds or changes using a CSV file containing data for all of their users and the attributes set on a user level. They can also download CSV files for archive or editing purposes.
    
    

Key Benefits to Service Operators

• Five-Nines (99.999 percent) Reliability - The CCS is based on CounterPath's Network Convergence Gateway (NCG) technology, ensuring carrier class reliability.
  
• Security - All client communications are done via HTTPS so that softphone client configuration files are secure as they are transferred between the CCS and the client.
• Scalability - With a minimal capital hardware investment, customers can support millions of softphone/SIP endpoints under configuration management.
• Flexibility – The CCS's profile and template structure supports a wide variety of client types and end-user configurations.
• Multi-Tenanted Capabilities – Allows for a hierarchy of groups to be created, and within each of those groups multiple profiles and configuration templates are supported. Sub-groups can have their own administrator so that control of configuration can be passed to these administrators.
• Multiple Configuration Interfaces – The CCS is designed for both programmatic back-end systems and operations staff for configuration access on a per-tenant basis.

Specifications

Configuration Management

• Configuration of clients over HTTPS
• Freeform template infrastructure for client configuration
• Group and Profile structure for user group management
• Profile selection based upon device type for single user – multiple device support
• Freeform attribute infrastructure for both profile and user level configuration customization.

Management Interfaces

• RFC 2616: Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1
• RFC 2818: HTTP over TLS
• Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 Specification from w3c.org
• XML based REST API for group and end user provisioning
• Administrative web interface for group and end user provisioning
• CLI for system configuration, group, and end user provisioning

OSS/BSS

• Event Detail Record Generation
• OS Resource Monitoring / High Availability
• SNMP v 2C Alarm Monitoring, Statistical Gathering
• MIB II (RFC 1213)
• Subscriber Trace

Operating System

• Redhat Linux Redhat Enterprise Linux 5 Update 5

Standard System Configurations

• Small Configuration
  • 2 IBM X Series Servers or 2 Blade Servers
• Scalable 2/2/2/4 Redundant Configuration
  • 2 IBM Blade Center T or E Chassis
  • 2 Convergence Database (CDB) blades
  • 2 Network Signaling Handler (NSH) blades
  • 4 Convergence Services Gateway (CSG) blades

Hardware (Minimum Specifications)

• IBM Blade Server (T or E Chassis)
  • 4 Power Supplies/Chassis
  • 2 Management Modules/Chassis
  • 2 1 Gigabit Ethernet Switch/Chassis
  • NEBS 3 and ETSI certified for T Chassis
  • 19” rack width Chassis
  • Either AC or DC power
  • No single point of failure
  • Hold up to eight (8 or 14) blades
• IBM Blade Servers or 1U X Series Servers
  • 2.6 6C GHz CPU
  • 12G RAM
  • 80G Hard Disk: Two 80G SCSI drives in RAID1 configuration
  • Dual Gigabit Ethernet ports per server

System Performance

• 3.5M clients under management in 'Small Configuration' above.

Pricing

To inquire about the CCS solution, please complete and submit the Sales Request Form and a CounterPath sales representative will contact you with more information.

Client Configuration Server Resources

Client Configurations Server (CCS) Data Sheet [1 MB]

Videos

Jim O'Brien, Director of Customer Engineering for CounterPath, hosts a one-hour session detailing the features and benefits of CounterPath’s Client Configuration Server (CCS). Learn how to streamline your softphone deployments and manage endpoints with ease and efficiency in this informative recorded webinar.