February 9, 2010

EXFO Unveils Carrier Ethernet Test

EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering has implemented an Ethernet service testing methodology based on the ITU-T Y.156sam standard into its Ethernet testing products.

Working with the ITU-T standard body, EXFO is pioneering a test methodology, dubbed EtherSAM, that recognizes the need for Ethernet networks to support advanced services, such as voice, video, e-mail, online trading and others.

Due to their distinct nature, each service reacts differently to network characteristics. 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.
 
EtherSAM supports new multiservice 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. It can validate the QoS mechanisms provisioned in the network to prioritize the different service types, resulting in more accurate validation.

EXFO’s EtherSAM approach executes the complete ITU-T Y.156sam test with bidirectional measurements. Key SLA parameters are measured independently in each test direction, thus providing 100 percent first-time-right service activation.