CHICAGO--Ixia said this week that Tekelec will use its IxVoice test application to verify fixed/mobile convergence voice and messaging solutions implemented on its IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture. Ixia also launched a test solution that converges stateful real-world application and network testing capability on a single test platform.

Tekelec is using IxVoice for interoperability field trials with a Tier 1 carrier and cited support for the dynamic architecture requirements inherent in large-scale IMS networks, its distributed architecture supporting central results correlation and its flexible protocol library as key drivers in its purchasing decision on Ixia.

Tekelec also is using Ixia's IxVoice in field trials to simulate IMS subscribers and verify the functionality and performance of SMS messages to other simulated subscribers and real SIP-enabled devices within an IMS environment.

IxVoice is a hardware and software test framework that provides unified voice-over-IP and PSTN test solutions for network equipment manufacturers and service providers. It addresses all major VoIP protocols, such as SIP, SCCP (Skinny), H.323, MGCP and H.248 (MEGACO).

“We’ve really moved up the stack over the last two years,” said Errol Ginsberg, president and CEO of Ixia.

Ixia’s new converged multi-service testing solutions for network and application performace allows test engineers to direct real-world application traffic and traditional packet-based traffic over realistic internet-scale emulated IP/MPLS network topologies to determine subscribers' quality of experience using triple-play services. It is based on the Aptixia IxLoad and IxNetwork applications running on the Optixia hardware platform.

Ginsberg said the new capabilities are unique in the industry and represents a new area of in-service testing. "Traditional testing methods do not hold up with today's service-oriented network gear performing functions requiring deep packet inspection,” he said.

Available in the third quarter, the Ixia converged multi-services solution assesses triple-play service delivery in part by testing application response in the presence of network instabilities like flapping and failover, measuring the impact of network congestion on application performance, optimizing quality-of-service policy settings and validating the delivery of service level agreements for different application types.

Last but not least, Ixia introduced a new release of its IxLoad solution that assesses the quality-of-experience for IPTV subcribers.

As part of Ixia's converged multi-services test offerings, IxLoad determines video quality as perceived by the IPTV subscriber, verifies the scalability of video servers to deliver multicast and on-demand content, assess the performance of multicast routers for broadcast IPTV delivery and validates transport and access network capacity.

Bell Canada us using this solution in conjunction with its own innovation that allows it to re-route individual DSLAM ports to the Ixia test box for in-service testing. Bell Canada also build a Web interface that allows multiple users to see the results.

“We needed a technology that could quickly isolate, sectionalize and diagnose problems in Layers two through seven,” said Dave Burns, director of IP Service Delivery Testing at Bell Canada. “And everyone from the help desk to Tier III support casn use this to diagnose trouble.”

Burns said that by using Ixia’s test gear and his company’s adaptations, Bell Canada’s escalating numbers of repeat trouble calls and call durations were cut by 20% and saved the company about $825,000.

“Plus, we were able to recoup 86% of the product cost for $1.2 million in capital expense savings, $750,000 within the first year,” Burns said.

The new product release includes support for perceptual-based metrics, one of two emerging metrics for assessing video quality. Perceptual-based metrics represent the subscribers' true video viewing experience. The other network-based metric reflects the impact on video by the transport network.

“We used to look at packet loss and CRC errors, but where does that begin to affect applications? This lets us tell if the application will be affected,” said Cliff Hannel, vice president of acquisition sand strategy for Ixia. “Putting packets over routes doesn’t cut it anymore so we send real triple play traffic over those routes.”

Ixia's perceptural-based metrics include VQS and V-factor, which consider how video frame types can be correlated to actual video content. The also added support for key IPTV testing features, including: MPEG over RTP for both VoD and Broadcast IPTV, MPEG4 over MPEG2 transport, MPEG level frame statistics and PPP, IPSec and DHCP for subscriber access protocol emulation.