Enabling Adaptive Service Access Management for Next Generation Multi-Service Networks Monique Calisti and Dominic Greenwood Whitestein Technologies AG Pestalozzistrasse 24 CH-8032, Zurich, Switzerland {mca,dgr}@whitestein.com Abstract—This paper describes the Living Systems Adap- tive Service Management, LS/ASM, Suite, an innovative and comprehensive middleware solution that assists operators with effectively delivering next-generation converged services by dy- namically combining end-users and service-centric requirements with network-facing management and control functionality. The main goal is to discuss how a comprehensive policy-driven and autonomic solution such as the LS/ASM Suite, spanning basic infrastructures and end-user devices and building adaptive control functionality directly into the corresponding elements, enables the shift of focus from technology to value-added services. I. I NTRODUCTION The pervasive use of IP and the increasing availability of ubiquitous broadband access in combination with advanced wireless technologies are making network convergence a re- ality. In this way operators aim to empower Telecom end- users with the means to access a growing mix of value-added services and applications that are made available to them at any time, from any location and using any available access tech- nology. This demands a common multi-access aware service delivery platform able to seamlessly offer a reliable, secure, easy-to-use and personalized service experience. With this objective in mind, operators are expected to migrate towards a new kind of service management approach since most of the traditional client/server solutions turn out not to be neither very effective or entirely appropriate due to a lack of ability to handle the increasing dynamicity and diver- sity of multi-service networks. In this perspective, emerging solutions need to become increasingly “autonomic”, meaning that their components should be able to self-configure thereby dynamically optimizing their own operations according to the way their environment and usage model changes [17]. LS/ASM, the Living Systems Adaptive Service Manage- ment Suite, is a comprehensive and innovative solution that enables effective delivery of next-generation converged ser- vices by dynamically combining end user requirements and service provisioning policies with network-facing management and control functionality. Published in the Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on Universal Multiservice Networks (ECUMN’2007), Febru- ary 14-16, 2007, Toulouse, France. By automating selected low-level processes on both the users and operators sides and bringing more “personal intel- ligence” - users context and behavior awareness - and “net- work intelligence” - network services, content and resources awareness - throughout the whole service delivery chain, the LS/ASM solution realizes Adaptive Service Access Manage- ment, ASAM. The central idea behind the ASAM vision is to use autonomic techniques that enable operators to efficiently manage and optimize resource utilization, performance and end user experience. This is achieved by transparently tuning service parameters while taking into account changes in both the client and network context. This paper first introduces the complex multi-service net- work context and highlights the main challenges associated with effective management of services and resources. The Adaptive Service Access Management, ASAM, approach is proposed as a means to address these challenges by integrating a set of features contributing to a more efficient and flexible usage of network resources and delivery of services. The LS/ASM Suite is then described in terms of its conceptual foundation as a means to realise the ASAM vision, its archi- tectural design, key features and benefits, and several example deployment scenarios. II. A CHALLENGING CONTEXT In today’s competitive and converging Telecom markets, the increasingly ubiquitous and heterogeneous communication and computing environments offer attractive business opportunities to operators, but also pose significant new challenges in many areas of network and service management. Telecom users are much more demanding. They request new services to support a seamless and consistent experience across multiple access technologies, devices and locations. They expect to be always best-connected, i.e., they expect anywhere and anytime access to the best available technology with the maximum capacity on offer, plus easy-to-use and problem-free services, all at ever lower prices. The availability of new advanced end users devices enables a variety of multimodal deployment scenarios, as depicted in Figure 1, but also poses significant challenges in terms of ser- vice usability and personalization. In parallel, the widespread proliferation of multiple broadband access technologies such as cable, DSL, powerline, satellite, and wireless, is facilitating