Automation puts the process in place for getting LTE testing right first time

 

Picture the problem: Your existing networks are creaking under the strain of radically increased bandwidth consumption so, logically, you’re moving to new network technologies to address that demand. LTE is the answer for many CSPs, but the technology is complex to deploy as it signals the full transition between traditional TDM based networks to a fully Ethernet based one. That leads to an increased test and measurement burden based on a new technology and greater opex associated with that. In addition, the new network needs to be deployed rapidly to address the CSP’s bandwidth consumption issue, satisfy customer demand and allow revenue to be generated quicker to offset the substantial investment involved in the rollout.

 

However, the test and measurement process is cumbersome and involves a series of potential points of failure that create delays in time to market as well as causing unnecessary opex. In the past, Test and measurement is a largely manual process, relying on skilled technicians to interpret SLA requirements, configure test equipment, then generate and interpret the results. Inaccuracies inevitably have crept in and managing the test data generated in the field becomes a burden and in some cases is lost leaving no record of the service turn up.

 

 Wasted testing investment 

 

With LTE and other network roll-outs, wrongly entered data not only gives a misleading picture of the network’s performance but results in wasted testing investment. LTE deployments highlight the issues because of the speed of deployment required and the multiple service types running on the network. Therefore the way CSPs interact with their test equipment needs to be refined and revised in order to accelerate the process, improve accuracy and control opex.

 

CSPs need systems and processes around test and measurement that enable them to address these issues. They need to reach out to and connect with their testing platforms in the field. They also need the ability to move data to the field to address issues such as platform upgrades for new features or even deliver real-time training. The upgrade process is part of any standard testing programme but is typically very labour intensive and manuallyoriented. It takes up substantial technician time that could otherwise be spent executing test programmes or more importantly turning up new services so turning it into a highly automated process that is almost transparent to the technician in the field is critical to help address opex.

 

Solutions are needed to address the tasks that have been traditionally labour intensive and to enable managers to oversee their assets and see where their assets are. It is difficult for any field manager to have current and relevant information about their test tools mainly because of the manual nature of the data gathering process used to populate the endless versions of spreadsheets typically used to tackle this seaming simple task of taking inventory of your test tools. Experience has shown that up to 5% of a managers time is typically spend trying to get information about their test equipment or simply tracking were the equipment is. This effort actually increases when undertaking larger tasks like coordinating fleet wide software upgrades.

The test result itself represents a substantial investment by the CSP in terms of the technician’s time, the equipment used, truck roll and the generation of the work order. All those costs culminate in the test result but if CSPs confine their interest simply to pass or fail, they are not taking advantage of the value of all the data collected.

 

Process automation

 

At EXFO, we have developed a series of solutions and processes to address these labour intensive, manual activities. We have automated and removed human processes as much as possible and now these data can be extracted from the field automatedly. For example, we take what was traditionally a static report in a text-based file, convert it, automatically upload it to a database and make that data dynamic so individual metrics can be searched to identify specific results or parameters.

 

Managers can assess not only the results of the testing but also the performance of their testing programme. They can drill down into how many tests are being performed per day, how often equipment is used or who has done the testing, for example. For the first time, all this is now possible to CSR to take advantage of. CSPs can use such systems to understand which of their testing equipment is available. When it comes to 40GB or 100GB test equipment, they typically don’t have a large number of units that can perform such tests, so the system can be used to identify when to move the test set to a different city, as testing in a particular region is nearing completion or to expedite the locating and transfer of an asset to deal with a network failure. Everything becomes more simple and automated. What’s needed to enable this is a group of elements that all work together to reduce, and that contributes to reduce cost of inefficiencies and opex, like EXFO’s FTB Ecosystem. The ecosystem is comprised of a tight coupling of power test platforms, innovative software tools and a cloud based test management

service call EXFO Connect to improve and even transform the test process.

 

 Traditionally, when a job is handed to a technician, the technician determines how to run the test, determine whether the test is passed or failed and then does the relevant paperwork – hopefully accurately. Then some more paperwork is done internally to allow the company to bill the customer at the end of the process. This can take several days. However, usage of the cloud enables us to automate that process very quickly. We can create a custom configuration for each type of test to be performed that the field agent can download at the start of the test. All the parameters for the test are preloaded into the work order ahead of time and the results are uploaded from the field for analysis by the OSS. The billing can then be done in a matter of minutes instead of days. 

 

Our approach means we can turn a few days of test processes in hours and enable revenue generation for the customer very rapidly because the network is ready to run. From a test equipment perspective we’re chipping away at the opex associated with the testing process and we’re making significant cost savings, along with delivering a smoother process and the associated time to market advantage. LTE is all about speed, everyone wants it as soon as possible, so it is critical that each step of the process is made to perform at optimum efficiency. EXFO’s portfolio has been designed to achieve this for the test and measurement piece of your network roll-out.