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NewsGlobe: Interviews
MultiService Forum takes NGN Interoperability demo global
The MultiService Forum (MSF) has finalized the carrier, government and academic laboratory line-up for its Global MSF Interoperability (GMI) program, slated for late October this year.
by Doug Allen
Now we’re getting to the good stuff, where the telecom rubber
hits the road: real-world interoperability performance and QoS
testing for next-generation networks. The MultiService Forum
(MSF) has basically finalized the carrier, government and
academic laboratory line-up for its Global MSF Interoperability
(GMI) program, slated for late October this year.
As with previous GMI events in 2002, 2004, and 2006, the idea is to
interconnect multiple services, vendors and carriers with a
global reach. Other forums like the IMS Plugfest have run
similar tests at recurring events, but GMI offers a wider
geographic scope, and carries test traffic over “live” networks,
not a separate test-bed system. In addition, this year’s
model features additional test laboratories, enhanced test
scenarios and a greater number of service capabilities than
previous events.
By adding new member China Mobile to the Forum, GMI 2008
is set to test critical NGN elements across 3 continents — Asia,
Europe and North America on five interconnected host sites.
The goal is to validate key service concepts that leverage an
IMS/NGN architecture and a range of access technologies,
according to a recent MSF presentation. Host “sites,” or
networks, include BT, Vodafone, Verizon, the University of New
Hampshire’s InterOperability Lab, China Mobile and the
National Communications System branch of the Department
of Homeland Security.
As one measure of the demo’s scope, consider these stats: GMI 2006 incorporated 200 + test
engineers, five major test scenarios, 200 networked devices
tested and 150 test cases/350 test runs. While GMI 2008 will
run over the same number of host sites (five), its reach will
be greater, extending to Asia.
The testing will center on QoS for each service, many of them
IMS-based, as well as location management, IPTV, and
service-oriented architecture (SOA). Breaking down this list a
bit, the Forum will evaluate hybrid IMS/Web Services, both
IMS and non-IMS delivery IPTV, and QoS for both fixed and
mobile clients. As with previous GMI events, GMI 2008 is
based on the MSF R4 architectural framework, which
incorporates an IMS network layer as well as call agents,
softswitches and other next-gen network elements.
Interoperability will be validated by testing six key scenarios:
end-to-end QoS control across all supported access networks;
the same end-to-end QoS testing, but extended to the core
architecture; IPTV as a “highly-demanding” IMS application
(an industry testing first); location-based services that
generates Tispan Network Attachment Subsystem-based
precise location information to integrate with emergency calls,
location-based routing and prioritized call queuing; a Service
Oriented Architecture service layer that interoperates with a
SIP/IMS core (this would enable fast service creation for third-
party developers, including applications such as third-party
call control, presence, and multimedia messaging); and the
performance management of IPTV services and remote
management of IPTV CPPE devices.
What do the new GMI members hope to achieve
with this demo? For China Mobile, it’s real-world validation of
QoS across multiple networks, as well as service layers.
“The most important difference between telecommunications
networks and the Internet is the guaranteed QoS, said Zhang
Hao of China Mobile. “The end-to-end QoS test scenario in
GMI is the best way to validate the QoS solution within an IMS
core network, especially under the condition of roaming
environments.”
As for the NCS, its participation goals are to help
MSF members understand the priority communications
requirements for next-gen networks, and architect their
networks accordingly. To that end, it provides information on
the Emergency Telecommunications Services scheme to
architecture and implementation agreements that define
features and interfaces for carriers and vendors alike. The
NCS is especially interested in interoperability of priority
communications under congested, heavy-usage conditions;
this year’s test will be an extension of the GMI2006 demo, in
which NCS successfully demonstrated priority voice and video
sessions in an IMS core network.
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