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MetroScope™ Service Provider Assistant
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| ProVision Testing |
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ProVision is the first test designed to be compatible with Carrier Ethernet SLA’s and MEF specifications. Like RFC 2544, it measures the critical parameters of throughput, loss, delay, and jitter. But it goes beyond this to offer easier set-up and operation, more complete testing, easy-to-understand results, and powerful troubleshooting.
One Test for Easier Set Up and Faster Results
ProVision performs the critical measurements of throughput, loss, delay and jitter in a single process. This means that it can run at least four times as fast as an RFC 2544 test. Since all parameters are measured together, you can be sure that you didn’t miss degradation in one parameter while measuring another.
A single test also means simplified test set-up.
Faster, More Relevant Throughput Testing
ProVision measures loss and throughput together, similar to most SLA’s and MEF specifications. This is significantly different than RFC 2544 tests which measure throughput using a “lossless” approach, which tests at progressively lower rates until no frames are lost. While appropriate for bench testing a switch, this approach is ill-suited to a real-world circuit where a small amount of loss is tolerable. For example, the RFC-2544 “lossless” test on a 100MBps link with 0.01% loss will result in a throughput measurement of less than 2.5MBps – certainly not the result the carrier or the customer expects.
In this example, ProVison would provide a more appropriate result of 99.99MBps and 0.01% loss. And since ProVision doesn’t keep trying to find the “lossless” rate, it would provide the result at least five times faster than RFC 2544.
Tests Asymmetric Links
According to RFC2544, “test series should be run with the same data rate being offered from each direction”. This is inappropriate for technologies where there are different rates for upstream and downstream. ProVision lets you set separate throughput test rates for upstream and downstream testing. This lets you test the performance of links based, for example, on DSL technologies.
MultiStream Testing
ProVision lets you configure multiple streams to test data flows to different sites, different VLANs and different classes of service in parallel. A total of eight streams may be measured simultaneously using from one to four MetroScope devices or four streams using from one to four reflectors. Individual limits on throughput, loss, delay, and jitter may be set for each stream. This not only allows for testing complex SLA’s and circuits, but also reduces test time.
One Results Display
MetroScope’s full VGA display shows the set up and all four measurements for up to three streams on one screen. More than three streams can be compared by using a simple scroll bar on the bottom of the display. And with color coding of pass/fail results, you can see at-a-glance which tests are passing and which are failing. No more scrolling through screen after screen to examine results.
Trending Up to 24 Hours
ProVision can also solve problems by measuring performance of throughput, loss, delay, and jitter over time. This allows you to see not only if the circuit performance degraded, but how much and when. Compare results between parameters, VLANs, priorities and different sites. Loss results also display a bit-error-rate as well as errored-intervals and severely-errored-intervals to help quickly determine the scope of the problem.
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