Cisco SCE 2000 4xGBE Installation and Configuration Guide
OL-7824-04 1-1
This chapter provides a general overview of the Cisco Service Control solution. It introduces the
Cisco Service Control concept and the Service Control capabilities. It also briefly describes the
hardware capabilities of the Service Control Engine (SCE) platform, as well as the Cisco specific
applications that together compose the total Cisco Service Control solution.
This chapter contains the following sections:
• The Cisco Service Control Concept 1-1
• Cisco Service Control Capabilities 1-2
• The SCE Platform 1-3
• Management and Collection 1-4
• Service Configuration Management 1-5

The Cisco Service Control Concept

The Cisco Service Control solution is delivered through a combination of purpose-built hardware
and specific software solutions that address various Service Control challenges faced by service
providers. The SCE platform is designed to support classification, analysis, and control of
Internet/IP traffic.
Service Control enables service providers to create profitable new revenue streams while
capitalizing on their existing infrastructure. With the power of Service Control, service providers
have the ability to analyze, charge for, and control IP network traffic at multi-Gigabit wire line
speeds. The Cisco Service Control solution also gives service providers the tools they need to
identify and target high-margin content-based services, and enable their delivery.
As the downturn in the telecommunications industry has shown, IP service providers' business
models need to be reworked to make them profitable. Having spent billions of dollars to build
ever larger data links, providers have incurred massive debts and rising costs. At the same time,
access and bandwidth have become a commodity where prices continually fall and profits
disappear. Service providers have realized that they must offer value-added services to derive
more revenue from the traffic and services running on their networks. However, capturing real
profits from IP services requires more than simply running those services over data links; it
requires detailed monitoring and precise, real-time control and awareness of services as they are
delivered. Cisco provides Service Control solutions that allow the service provider to bridge this
gap.
CHAPTER 1
Overview