MARCH 20, 2008 -- THUS plc, a UK-focused business telecommunications company, has deployed Ixia's (search for Ixia) IxRave IP service verification platform to provide service verification of its enterprise Layer 3 VPN (L3 VPN) networks and services. The company says it uses IxRave to verify that end-customers are receiving services that perform as expected, both at initial provisioning and on a continuing basis.
"IxRave helps us to satisfy our customers' needs by proactively demonstrating end-to-end service verification," reports Richard McCallum, development director of THUS plc. "IxRave helps us achieve our customer service goals while significantly reducing costs, which is a tremendous advantage in today's ultra-competitive market."
Ixia says its IxRave enables THUS to quickly and remotely verify that its new network services perform to service level agreements (SLAs) before turning up those services. Until IxRave, no remote tool existed for the customer care staff to use for measuring complex SLA metrics or verifying SLA commitments on demand, note company representatives. IxRave differs from legacy network monitoring platforms through its ability to send active user-centric traffic over a customer's end-to-end path. IxRave is integrated into its customers' operational support system (OSS) to provide an easy-to-use tool for tier-one support personnel. Ixia claims the IxRave's payback versus standard network monitoring systems is substantial and immediate, with ROI typically measured in months.
IxRave also permits THUS to remotely perform end-to-end application testing to verify its customers' QoS and QoE (quality of experience). Inexpensive probes and virtual endpoints downloaded from the Web enable THUS to quickly identify issues throughout a network and determine if a fault is in the network (edge and core) or in the access segment (edge to customer desktop).
"IxRave draws upon Ixia's ten years of proven IP test and measurement expertise that enables THUS to conduct segment testing within the network, identify the device and interface where the performance issue is occurring, and resolve it fast," adds Neal Roche, vice president of Ixia Converged Service Verification.
Learn more about the test and measurement industry at Lightwave's Test & Measurement Resource Center.