Mobile Core Validation

TeraVM mobile core validation for 2G/3G/4G

Performance validation for mobile networks requires the realism and scale of subscribers to determine the capacity, reliability and flexibility of service offerings. As carriers evolve to more agile deployments such as network function virtualization (NFV), traditional validation techniques of call modelling and traffic modelling become increasingly complex.

3GPP Compliance

TeraVM is an integrated solution which is fully compliant with 3GPP release 8,9,10. TeraVM’s expert support enables customers to validate unique network configurations which traverse releases. TeraVM delivers performance validation solutions for: LTE-A, LTE, WCDMA, GPRS and GSM.

Scale with realism

TeraVM is a virtualized solution, with a modular architecture which is ideal for individual node performance testing. TeraVM uses standard hardware, which delivers significant cost savings when it comes to scaling to the realism of user traffic at terabits per second on the user plane (S1-U). TeraVM’s advantage of standard hardware and scale enables customers to scale load scenarios on both the signaling (S1-MME) and data planes (S1-U) in a truly cost effective manner.

Migrate to mobile core virtualization

The TeraVM virtualized platform makes it an ideal solution for validating physical mobile cores, but more importantly virtualized mobile core components. TeraVM is datacenter ready, ideal for vEPC testing, with a key advantage of mobility (enodeB UE handover and fallback 4G to3G scenarios) in the virtual environment.

Mobility - emulating real subscriber profiles

Assessing mobile networks requires the dynamic behavior of real subscribers, traversing across the network. A key differentiator of the TeraVM mobile performance validation solution is the wide range of radio access network (RAN) interfaces that can be emulated in a single standard hardware instance.

TeraVM’s stateful representation of interfaces such as S1, X2, IuCS, IuPS enables TeraVM to accurately simulate the user equipment mobility behavior for Intra-LTE and Inter-RAT scenarios. TeraVM delivers validation of core mobility aspects of handover and fallback scenarios, which include: SRVCC, eSRVCC and rSRVCC.

An advantage of using TeraVM is that these complex procedures are simplified into templated profiles, enabling the user to spend more time in validation versus configuring of test tools.

Stateful bearer and applications

TeraVM’s stateful bearer (3GPP compliant – up to 11 bearers per active UE) and user applications enables customers to determine on a per bearer basis the actual user application performance. This granular approach to performance, enables a number of advantages; dynamic loading of the S1 interface (call and traffic modelling capacity testing), performance validation of gateways (S5, SGi) and most important the ability to accurately assess the policy and charging functions (Gx, Rx) under real load conditions.

TeraVM’s stateful UE applications are IP multimedia subsystems (IMS) ready, enabling users to extend validation beyond the EPC and include the IMS core. TeraVM’s stateful traffic is also used to validate capacity performance scenarios including network functionality of wifi-offload.

Integrated solutions

TeraVM is an integrated solution delivering the most radio interfaces, use case scenarios for end-to-end validation of mobile cores. The advantage of TeraVM is the flexible configuration options allowing carriers/MVNOs/NEMS to isolate individual nodes for performance validation.

TeraVM’s profile driven templates enables users to validate performance of key mobile metrics and application specific quality of experience. The integrated solution enables users to quickly see mobile network performance and the impact to real user quality of experience.