How to Migrate to Kron AAA? Cisco CPAR is EOL

Key points in replacing your existing AAA solution

As Cisco CPAR approaches its end-of-life, organizations relying on its capabilities face critical decisions to ensure continued efficiency and service availability. Transitioning to Kron AAA offers an opportunity to modernize AAA services with enhanced scalability, flexibility, and performance. However, the migration process is complex and requires thorough planning, detailed documentation, and an understanding of technical dependencies. This paper outlines a comprehensive roadmap, from pre-migration preparation to phased execution, to support a seamless transition with minimal service disruption.

Pre-Migration Analysis

Preparation is the foundation of a successful migration. The first step is the creation of a Method of Procedure (MoP), which serves as a detailed guide for each phase of the migration.

An Impact Analysis is equally critical, as it identifies potential risks, service disruptions, and performance bottlenecks. For instance, understanding the effect on active subscriber sessions and system scaling during the transition helps mitigate adverse outcomes. This analysis should also account for dependencies such as CRM integrations, database structures, and network configurations.

To complement the MoP and impact analysis, the migration process requires both a High-Level Design (HLD) and a Low-Level Design (LLD).

Database Migration

Database migration is one of the most critical components of the transition, involving the transfer of user IDs, service profiles, and accounting data. The migration approach depends on the database's management model—whether it is customer-managed or vendor-managed.

Multiple migration methods are available, each suited to different scenarios. For instance, direct database-to-database replication is efficient for structured migrations with minimal schema changes. Alternatively, file-based methods, such as XML file parsing, offer flexibility but require custom scripting. Advanced DB migration tools that support SQL read and write operations can automate and streamline the process, reducing manual effort and errors.

Before executing the migration, it is essential to validate data integrity and ensure schema compatibility between the legacy system and Kron AAA. This preparation minimizes data loss and ensures a smooth transition.

Network Migration

Network migration introduces challenges around session continuity and scaling. Maintaining service availability during the transition requires careful planning of AAA server configurations. A dual-server setup, with both primary and secondary servers operational, allows for a smoother switchover.

Two key approaches are available for network migration. The longer approach retains active subscriber sessions, ensuring minimal disruption. This method is ideal for preserving user experience but requires robust session synchronization mechanisms. This shorter approach can be identified as a big-bang migration.

The shorter approach involves terminating active sessions and initiating fresh authentications on the new system. While quicker, it demands careful scaling considerations, especially for Access Point Name (APN) and context-specific configurations. This shorter approach can be identified as a phased migration.

CRM Migration

CRM systems play a vital role in managing customer interactions and must be integrated seamlessly with Kron AAA. Migration often involves transitioning between SOAP and REST-based APIs, depending on the legacy and new system architectures. Compatibility testing is crucial to avoid disruptions in CRM functionality during and after the migration.

Middleware solutions may be necessary to bridge format and protocol differences between systems. Additionally, rigorous testing of API interactions ensures smooth data exchange and maintains service quality. Custom middleware solutions might be necessary for parallel provisioning of subscribers both into the new and the legacy system.

Migration Methods

Organizations can choose between two primary migration strategies: Big Bang and Phased Migration.

The Big Bang approach involves transitioning all components simultaneously. While this method minimizes overall migration time, it requires exhaustive pre-migration testing and a high tolerance for risk, as any failure impacts the entire system.

Phased migration, on the other hand, offers greater flexibility and lower risk. By migrating in stages—whether by region, service type, or user segment—organizations can monitor and address issues incrementally. This approach is particularly suited to large-scale environments where minimizing service disruption is a priority.

Kron's Proven Expertise in AAA Migrations

In terms of a smooth migrating and adapting itself to the requirements of the customer environment Kron has experience with every single migration method named in this document from database-to-database replication to phased network migrations. This ensures that only the AAA product itself, but also the project flow from kick-start meeting until the deployment satisfies all requirements of a big scale deployments.

In terms of competition against other players in the market, Kron has an extensive track record of successfully migrating AAA systems for diverse clients, showcasing its ability to handle complex transitions across industries. For instance, Kron replaced Ericsson NetOP at a Tier-1 scale fixed operator, seamlessly migrating over 10 million subscribers—a monumental achievement in the telecommunications sector.

Similarly, a migration for another huge scale fixed operator, involved the successful transition of 3 million subscribers.

In addition to large-scale telecom migrations, Kron has demonstrated its versatility with targeted transitions. At a mobile operator use case, Kron replaced Cisco CPAR for enterprise Radius operations across APN circuits.

Kron also migrated Juniper Steel-Belted Radius at a finance institution, facilitating a smooth transition for ATM and POS machine authentication, a critical function in the banking industry.

Furthermore, Kron replaced Alcatel Bridgewaters at one other example, successfully migrating 300.000 fixed operator subscribers.

These projects underscore Kron's capability to manage migrations of varying scales and complexities, positioning it as a trusted partner for organizations transitioning from legacy AAA systems.