Ixia has announced an combination of wireless and wireline test tools. In June 2009, Ixia acquired Catapult Communications with its suite of platforms for testing wireless edge and core networks. In combination with Ixia's Internet core network test solutions, Ixia now offers a broad portfolio of products to test wireless and core networks. Ixia covers the range of next-generation wireless networks with the addition of large-scale LTE (long term evolution) to products for UMTS, IMS and GPRS/EDGE testing.
"The combination of Catapult and Ixia technology is a case where 1+1 = 3," said Atul Bhatnagar, President and CEO of Ixia. "For the first time, telecom equipment manufacturers and service providers can test their LTE products end-to-end- from the wireless edge through the Internet core- using high call volumes and high-bandwidth multiplay traffic."
Two Ixia products test wireless edge, wireless core and Internet core networks used in LTE deployments: IxCatapult and IxLoad. Unlike earlier wireless technologies, LTE includes the eNode B, a high-performance device that implements most of the functionality of a central controller and vastly increases its complexity. IxCatapult tests high throughput, low latency eNode Bs by emulating the wireless and core network devices around them – performing a wraparound test at all stack layers.
"Bouyges Telecom has been using both Ixia and Catapult for several years now to test both core and edge of our 3G network," said Jean-Marc Pascal at Bouyges Telecom, a France-based mobile carrier with nearly 9 million subscribers. "We're glad to see the combined companies working diligently to deliver new and innovative solutions to help us roll out services faster with higher success rates."
Ixia's IxLoad product tests the wireless edge and core networks that handle high multiplay traffic volumes, and performs the performance testing required by LTE core networks. Wireless core networks must handle the difficult task of delivering content that is sensitive to latency, jitter and loss to a variable number of users over inherently limited bandwidth. Such devices use very sophisticated techniques, including deep packet inspection (DPI), to shape traffic. IxLoad uses subscriber modeling to generate multiplay traffic that realistically imitates the behavior of mobile user communities. Ixia's test platform, featuring Acceleron load modules, generates, analyses and measures traffic at the volumes required, says the company.