FEBRUARY 9, 2010 -- EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFO, TSX: EXF) has announced the implementation of EtherSAM, a new Ethernet service testing methodology based on the ITU-T Y.156sam standard, into its Ethernet testing products. The new methodology enables network operators to optimize the quality of service and reduce operational costs, EXFO says.
Ethernet networks must support new and more advanced services that come with next-generation network technologies, namely voice, video, e-mail, online trading and others, says EXFO. Due to their distinct nature, each service reacts differently to network characteristics such as latency, packet jitter, and frame loss. Service providers must therefore know how each service behaves in every traffic prioritization scenario to properly configure their networks and ensure a consistent quality of service.
With this evolution of Ethernet services already well underway, widely used standards such as RFC 2544 are no longer adequate to fully validate service-level agreements (SLA), according to EXFO. To address the limitations of current test methods, the ITU has introduced a new draft test standard, the ITU-T Y.156sam.
EtherSAM leverages ITU-T Y.156sam to support new multiservice Ethernet offerings. It can simulate “all types” of services that will run on the network and simultaneously qualify all key SLA parameters for each of these services in a single test, EXFO asserts. It can validate the QoS mechanisms provisioned in the network to prioritize the different service types, resulting in more accurate validation, and 8X faster deployment and troubleshooting, the company adds.
EXFO says EtherSAM executes the complete ITU-T Y.156sam test with bidirectional measurements. Key SLA parameters are measured independently in each test direction, thus providing 100% first-time-right service activation, the company asserts.
Said Etienne Gagnon, EXFO's vice-president of product management and marketing, “This new methodology will revolutionize how our customers will execute their Ethernet testing by saving time when turning up services and by providing 100% first-time-right results, therefore directly optimizing the quality of service and reducing the operational costs of our customers.”
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