Tektronix Communications Announces Network Intelligence Products for Enhanced Performance Monitoring of Next Generation IP Networks

(Product News, 11 Nov 2009)

Tektronix Communications has unveiled a suite of new Network Intelligence products that effectively collect, correlate and analyze media and signaling data from next-generation IP telecommunication networks, turning data into actionable information that drives better operational and business results. Designed to meet the needs of both legacy and next-generation converged IP networks, the Iris suite of products consists of the GeoProbe G10, a new high-speed 10GE probe; three new analyzer applications; and a common platform that provides a single, integrated framework for current and future applications.

As the shift from voice to data applications continues, operators today are struggling to profitably manage their networks given the complex nature of the underlying data-driven technologies and the need to satisfy growing customer demands. The sudden, rapid growth in data traffic brought on by new devices such as the iPhone has caught many operators by surprise and is forcing operators to rethink their network, OSS and BSS management strategies. According to a recent UMTS Forum white paper on mobile broadband evolution , many operators today are experiencing as much as a 10 times increase in network data traffic, yet only a 10 percent increase in data revenue. At the same time, there is continuous pressure to increase profitability in a highly competitive market. It is critical to identify solutions from proven vendors that not only meet the data monitoring needs of operators today, but that can also scale to meet the unforeseen future needs of IP traffic. In addition, these solutions address the needs of multiple departments within a network operator, such as network operations, network engineering, customer care and product planning by providing more accurate and timely information to make better business decisions.

“With the breadth of network technologies they support around the globe, Tektronix Communications is ideally positioned to meet the business and technology challenges that operators are faced with as they evolve their networks,” said Patrick Kelly, research director for Analysys Mason. “With the sky-rocketing adoption of smart phones and other mobile Internet devices, the new Iris platform provides a more complete view of wireless data services and the resulting user experience, and ultimately ensuring greater QoS and cost efficiency.”

With this new family of products, multiple organizations within a service provider will benefit from real-time information for all service troubleshooting and performance monitoring needs. The Iris family of products includes:
 GeoProbe G10 – Based on the industry-leading GeoProbe, the new high-speed, high-density 10GE probe improves a company’s Gi, Gn and data center monitoring offering, and features a distributed architecture optimized to handle high bandwidth IP traffic
 The Iris Analyzer toolset – Includes the Iris Protocol Analyzer (IPA), Iris Session Analyzer (ISA) and Iris Traffic Analyzer (ITA), which provides L2 to L7 troubleshooting by characterizing IP traffic by links, applications and servers
 IrisView – Easy-to-use, configurable software framework that provides a single, integrated platform for all applications, including feeds to customer experience management (CEM) systems and third party OSS, BSS applications.

With the introduction of the G10 and the ITA, carriers can now manage the exponential growth in IP traffic and new services from the mobile data network all the way to the data center environment. Operators will be able to troubleshoot transport, application and server problems that are related to mobile data applications for faster problem resolution and the successful management of higher revenue generating applications and services.

“The Iris suite of products gives operators additional insight into the end-to-end management and operations of their networks as shown in recent successful trials with select North American and European tier one customers,” said Mark Driedger, vice president and general manager, Network Management, Tektronix Communications. “In addition, as the underlying complexities that support multimedia and data applications increase, operators are looking for network intelligence solutions that simplify their business and operational support systems.”