Carrier Ethernet services are already rolling out, delivering faster installations, massive bandwidth increases, and the benefits of VoIP, multimedia and other mission critical business applications. . . all at reduced capital and operating cost.

This session reviews Carrier Ethernet's architecture, terminology and five key attributes — standardized services, service management, reliability, quality of service (QoS), and scalability. A key focus throughout is how to test Carrier Ethernet, for performance, and conformance to key Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) Specifications.

Effective prioritization of traffic by application type is key to enabling customers to choose the service (and price!) levels they desire. QOS and Deep Packet Inspection mechanisms are the means to achieve these ends, for key networking equipment including Carrier Ethernet.

This session examines QOS and Deep Packet Inspection mechanisms, the need to simulate realistic application traffic, and the key issues your testing methodology should address.

Many organizations are still testing applications with a limited number of simulated users and a simple network. Will your applications perform as expected with the actual number of users you anticipate? With the loss and delays of the Internet? While under attack? Until you've tested Applications, Security and your Network Infrastructure together, your success remains at risk. This session explores the need for a correlated approach to testing your applications, security and network infrastructure, that simultaneously stresses the application itself, the supporting network infrastructure, and the various security mechanisms involved. Only then can you be certain your applications will deliver the true End-User Experience your users demand, securely and reliably.

IMS – The IP Multimedia Subsystem, the architecture for Next-Generation Networks as developed by communications standards bodies – is here. Designed for carriers to offer unified services around voice, data and other circuit-switched and packet-based traffic, IMS will enable for wireless and wireline carriers to add value for their enterprise customers, and stay competitive against pure Internet-based services. This session presents a brief introduction to IMS, and discusses testing issues that are relevant and important to equipment makers are developing carrier infrastructure products, and Service Providers rolling out IMS-based services.

This session introduces the core technologies of IPTV, and examine key considerations for the ‘core’ and the ‘edge’ of the network infrastructure, that play a role in Video Quality, and in overall Quality of Experience, from the end-user perspective. Throughout, the focus will be on key characteristics and metrics of performance, the latest testing techniques, and how to ensure success.

Media Gateway: Signaling Protocols Functionality and Capacity, verifies interoperability of a media gateway with existng PSTN signaling protocols and the translation into IP signaling.

Trunking Gateway: Media Gateway Control verifies the capacity, functionality and quality of voice processing of a trunking gateway in two common scenarios.

Signaling Gateway: SIGTRAN and SIP-T test analyzes the functionality and performance of a signaling gateway when processing incoming messages from an SS7 or IP network, when using SIGTRAN and SIP-T.

Converged Networks: Voice Quality Measurement in the Presense of Data, measures voice quality in a converged voice and data network.

This white paper expains a) how load is generated, b) why there may be discrepancies between the desired load and actual load you test, and c) what you can do to eliminate these issues and take full advantage of Avalanche's rich set of customizable tests.

Layer 2 switches are simple compared with sophisticated switches and routers operating at Layer 3 and higher. But even Layer 3+ switches usually have a “Layer 2 mode.” In fact, it is often preferable to assure that switches and networks operate at lower layers before testing at upper layers of the OSI stack.

In contrast to Layer 2 switches, routing is associated with the Network Layer (Layer 3) in the standard
model of network programming, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. A router may create or
maintain a table of available routes and their conditions and use this information along with distance and cost algorithms to determine the best route for a packet. Typically, a packet may travel through many network points with routers before arriving at its destination.

This test measures the number of PPPoX sessions that the device under test (DUT) is capable of establishing (capacity) and maintaining.

This test measures the rate at which PPPOX sessions can be established without error to the device under test (DUT). Please refer to the PPPOX Session Capacity test methodology for additional information on PPPOX.

This white paper discusses IPv6 testing and the future of the Internet and provides an overview of the protocol.

Spirent Communications is a worldwide provider of integrated performance analysis and service assurance systems for next generation network technologies. Spirent is also the leader in comprehensive test methodologies.

Testing is the only way to understand the diverse conditions that networks and their components will accept and continue to operate efficiently. By testing early and often, your technical staff can monitor the pulse of equipment and determine why systems behave or fail under load.

Besides testing, only a few methods partially support decision-making for network deployment.
But these methods — vendor marketing literature, word of mouth, and personal experiences — aren’t enough.

Vendors typically publish performance results using best-case scenarios with little relevance to enterprise configurations. Poor test results can be tailored to create an impressive performance result. Then comes word of mouth, which offers varied success since someone else’s advice may not be relevant to your installation. Word of mouth also can stem from ulterior motives that are not easily recognized.

This volume contains 20 vital test methodologies for router testing. These involve such protocols as
BGP, OSPF, LDP, CR-LDP and RSVP-TE. They provide valuable information when checking devices or
networks under test. Special applications and extensions are also covered such as MPLS-VPN and LDP
extensions for Martini signaling.

This volume contains a collection of vital test methodologies for Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). These tests include LDP and RSVP-TE signaling protocols. Special applications and extensions are also covered, such as RFC 2547bis and Martini VPNs.

The Edge Router Edition provides suggested test methodologies for edge routers. Popular protocols such as OSPF and BGP are included. Additionally, test methodologies for emerging protocols such as MPLS (RSVP-TE and LDP) and MPLS VPNs are also provided. And finally, basic IP performance and QoS test methodologies are offered for IPv4 and IPv6.

Spirent Communications is a worldwide provider of integrated performance analysis and service assurance systems for next generation network technologies. Spirent is also the leader in comprehensive test methodologies. In this edition, you will find valuable IPSec test methodologies to use in the lab or with deployed networks.

IPv6 is also supported by multicast and is covered in depth by this Multicast Edition of Spirent's test methodology journal series. Instead of using the Internet Group Management Protocol, IPv6 has its own registration protocol called Multicast Listener Discovery. As contained in RFC 2710, MLD supports the multicast join and leave functions.

As a worldwide provider of integrated performance analysis and service assurance systems for next
generation network technologies, Spirent Communications is also the leader in comprehensive test
methodologies.

The range of tests in this journal parallels the intricacy of the Internet, with its multitude of protocols,
standards, systems and applications that are further complicated by peaks and valleys in network use. Testing every step of the way is the only sure-fire method to understand the diversity of conditions that networks and their components will accept and still continue to operate efficiently.

This edition contains a several tests that provide information on how to measure the dwindling
performance of optical network systems. The test order listed in the Table of Contents reflects an
increasing level of network failure. Tests early on the list influence the results of tests at the
lower portion of the list.