Authors include: - Connect-World

IP communications assurance
Getting ready for IP communications assurance
by William Burns, President, Service Assurance-Broadband, Spirent Communications
WiththewidespreadrolloutofIPcommunications,operatorsmustfacetheincreased
complexityofmanagingIP-basedservices.Theseservices,whetherresidentialtripleplay
orbusinesssystems,presentclearoperationalandtechnicalchallenges.Today’stechnician,andtherearefewwhoarequalified,faceschallengesthatdwarfthoseofyesterday.
Fortunately,softwaresolutionsandnetworkappliancesareavailabletoautomatetheIP
troubleshooting process. To provide high-quality competitive services, operators need
systemsthatletlowertiertechniciansquicklyresolveIPplatformproblems.
The IP communications business is
bornofcompetition.Withtraditional
voice subscriptions lost to wireless
andVoIPprovidersandtheDSLver-
suscablebattleraging,traditionaltel-
WilliamBurnsisthePresidentofServiceAssurance-Broadband,SpirentCommunications.Heisresponsiblefortheglobalisation,growthandstrategicdirectionoftheServiceAssurancedivisionofSpirent
Communications.BeforejoiningSpirent,hewastheSeniorVicePresidentofGlobalMarketing,Strategy
andBusinessDevelopmentofTellabs,whereheheldseveralseniorsalesmanagementandsalesengineeringpositions.
Willian Burns holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with a specialisation in
Engineering, from College Misericordia, Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Temple University,
Pennsylvania.
Ready or not, IP-based communicationsarehere,promisingnewservice
rollouts, revenue opportunities and
operational efficiencies. The dawn of
IP communications was inevitable.
However, what may be a surprise is
the increased complexity associated
with managing IP-based services.
Theseservices,whetherthenewrage
of residential triple play or powerful
new business services, present some
clear and daunting challenges, many
of which will rest squarely on the
shouldersofoperationstechnicians.
Challenges such as reducing costs to
deliver services, managing competitive
service offerings and scaling to
meet growth, all trickle down to an
operation’sabilitytodeliverandmanage
services that meet subscriber
expectations.
It’sacomplexIPworld
Today’s technician faces technical
challengesthatdwarfthoseofyesterday.
New IP services are more complex
and difficult to troubleshoot.
Techniciansmustbeabletolocateand
verifyIPservicetroubles,rapidlydiagnoseproblemsandformulatearesolution.
This is not unlike yesterday’s
technician,butadditionalexpertiseis
required to address multiple services
with variable service level requirements,
multiple OSI (open systems
interconnection) layers and a host of
new routing and switch technologies.
These requirements change the picturesignificantly.
Theskillleveloftheoperationsgroups
of a few years ago simply does not
measureuptotoday’sIPservicemanagementrequirements.Theincreased
complexityandsubsequentimpacton
operations poses significant risks to
theoperationalexpensesavingsservice
providers are counting on.
Operationsmusthavetechniciansthat
can address not only voice problems,
butvideoanddataissuesaswell,and
the skills to troubleshoot these problemsacrossmultipleOSIlayers.
For example, when a customer calls
with a VoIP problem, the technician
must ask several questions. Is the
problemaLayer7applicationissue,a
problemofrouteflappingatLayer3,
an Ethernet Layer 2 issue or a DSL
physical Layer problem If the VoIP
call is destined for a PSTN (analog)
phone, they must determine whether
thesourceofthetroubleisintheIPor
PSTNportionofthenetwork.
How many of your technicians have
fiveyearsexperiencesupportingVoIP
networksandunderstandingthenew
signalling protocols or network elements
required to deliver video over
IPTheservicesthemselvesarenewto
technicians.Ifyouthrowinthetransient
nature of IP troubles, and the
continuousneedforserviceproviders
to expand the subscriber base, you
quickly realise that you cannot hire,
train and deploy enough technicians
tomeetthedemand.
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