Test & Measurement: EXFO launches performance monitoring with NFV in mind

Editor’s Note: The ability to test network and device features and functions is an important piece of technology development and deployment. RCR Wireless News looks weekly at the test and measurement space to see what’s afoot.
—EXFO has launched a new solution for “enhanced visibility into the performance of network infrastructure in the context of its impact on service quality.”
The new BrixNGN Infrastructure Performance Suite is designed with virtualization in mind, as EXFO noted that “with the sharing of hardware capabilities among virtualized equipment, operators can easily lose visibility over equipment performance which may lead to poor quality, service outages and much longer repair times.”
The suite includes support for specific devices from Cisco, Juniper, RAD and other vendors. EXFO said that the solution supports the correlation of service-level KPIs with infrastructure metrics and provides sub-second polling in order to enable real-time performance assessment.
“With the ability to address both existing and emerging technologies, BrixNGN is critical to ensuring infrastructure performance and to meeting the challenges that come with the shift to software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV),” said Claudio Mazzuca, who is VP of EXFO’s transport and service assurance division.
—Ascom reported its preliminary results this week, saying that it had a slow first half of the year due to delayed customer orders, and that it expects a stronger second half.
Ascom said it expects group profit for the first half of 2014 to be around $8.9 billion-$10 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 14-16% for the full year in its core business, and net profits in line with last year. Ascom said its incoming orders and net revenues were impacted by negative currency issues.The company has been investing in areas such as a new smart device for healthcare and its Unite software lines in wireless, as well as capacity management and integrated solutions in network testing. Its wireless solutions segment has been taking steps for market expansion through acquisitions in Australia and Malaysia.
Ascom has also recently appointed a new managing director for its U.S. wireless solutions business, Tim F. Whelehan; and a new managing director for its network testing segment in the Asia-Pacific region, Faiq Khan.
Ascom will report its final half-year results on August 20.
— Agilent Technologies, which is a member of the FuTure Mobile Communication Forum, recently hosted a summit on 5G testing in Beijing, China.
“Technologists worldwide are searching for next-generation wireless solutions to meet the unprecedented growth of mobile Internet,” said Steve Yan, Agilent’s vice president and general manager of Greater China. “Next-generation 5G wireless communication systems bring new challenges for test and measurement manufacturers, specifically in the design of the instrument hardware platform and the development of new measurement methods.”
Agilent announced last month that it is collaborating with China Mobile’s research arm for 5G research and development.
Follow me on Twitter for more news! @khillrcr