EXFO, RAD expand network monitoring collaboration

Test and measurement company EXFO Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFO) (TSX: EXF) and Carrier Ethernet equipment vendor RAD Data Communications have extended their network monitoring partnership to include more RAD network elements. The two companies say that EXFO’s Brix Service Assurance network provisioning, troubleshooting, and maintenance product will now support RAD’s new MiNID Miniature Carrier Ethernet Demarcation SFP (see "RAD offers Ethernet demarcation in SFP form factor").

The news follows an earlier announcement that covered EXFO’s Brix and RAD’s ETX network interface devices (NIDs) (see “EXFO, RAD pair for Carrier Ethernet data network monitoring”).

The collaboration enables operators to employ a complete network monitoring approach on existing networks without replacing existing equipment, the companies say. BrixWorx now can leverage the intelligence in a wider range of RAD’s network demarcation devices and applications to enable greater visibility of the service and circuit performance at the customer handoff or within the core.

“The Brix solution allows operators to monitor their networks from end to end and correlates all the relevant metrics in one integrated system,” said Claudio Mazzuca, vice-president of EXFO’s Service Assurance Division. “In 2012, we developed the initial integration with RAD NIDs into the Brix System. That integration allows operators to leverage their embedded RAD devices with their existing or new Brix System to streamline operations and reduce both their OPEX and CAPEX. Today, we are adding RAD’s new MiNID SFPs to our integrated solution, further expanding the interoperability of the Brix System.”

“With RAD’s Service Assured Access solution, service providers can now build an entire access network or enhance specific segments of their network with MEF CE 2.0-certified functionality, lowering their total cost of ownership while increasing revenues from SLA-based services,” explained Amir Karo, RAD’s vice-president of business development and marketing. “The combined RAD-EXFO solution offers a superior platform for service providers to reduce their operating expenses using a comprehensive and integrated demarcation and monitoring system.”

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