EASP Overview
The SDX software enables service providers to establish a customized EASP for business customers of the provider. One or more enterprise IT managers at the business can control the services to which the business subscribes (such as VoIP, tiered access, low latency, and so on). The enterprise IT manager does not have to rely solely on the service provider to manage and provision the desired services.
We provide several EASPs on the SDX software CD in the folder called webapp. Some of the EASPs we provide are intended for demonstration purposes or as a basis for developing a customized EASP for your SDX implementation. Other EASPs are intended to serve a specific purpose and require little customization. The WAR files for the EASPs contain all required libraries and Web contents. For detailed information on EASPs (see SDX Components Guide, Vol. 2, Chapter 3, Overview of Enterprise Portals).
The service provider defines access services that associate enterprise customer access lines with interfaces on the provider's router. You can think of this as the binding or attachment point between services and access lines.
When service providers deploy an SSP to a residential subscriber, the subscribers can manage only their own directly connected links to the provider's router. In contrast, an EASP deployment enables enterprise IT managers to control links anywhere within the enterprise or within a specified subset of the enterprise. These enterprise IT managers do not need a direct connection to the service provider's router, because the management is accomplished via the Web to the EASP.
The service provider initially specifies a primary enterprise IT manager to control how network services are provided to the enterprise. The service provider can designate more than one enterprise IT manager if that is what the customer desires. The enterprise IT manager can delegate authority by designating secondary or subordinate managers. For each subordinate manager, the primary enterprise IT manager specifies what the subordinate can do (privileges) and where it can be done (sphere of control within the enterprise).
Though similar to the SSP, the EASP is a different tool in the SDX software toolkit, with different capabilities than are available to the SSP. The service provider loads and configures the directory, Policy Editor, and subscriber management tool as for a residential implementation, but creates enterprise-specific portal pages.
When implementing the EASP for an enterprise customer, the service provider provisions its router and configures the initial directory structure for the customer based on information provided by the customer, typically the enterprise IT manager. That is, the enterprise IT manager tells the service provider how the enterprise is organized in terms of sites and access lines, so that the service provider can customize the EASP for the needs of the enterprise.