Test and Measurement: Spirent adds CNF testing to Landslide

Spirent Communications has added cloud-native function (CNF) resiliency testing to its Landslide solution, which it said enables continuous testing of the impact of CNF performance on 5G Standalone services.

The test company said that the new feature will address operator and NEM needs as they transition to cloud-native networks and 5G Standalone, and notes that Landslide can both generate real-world 5G traffic and simultaneously impair the 5G cloud core, in order to correlate the impact on services. “This is especially important with cloud deployments, where failures are the norm and CNFs must be designed to be resilient to avert serious consequences with 5G service quality,” Spirent explained in a release. “MNOs and NEMs have traditionally relied on manual testing processes and self-developed automation scripts, leading to inefficiencies and increased testing complexity. Ambiguity surrounding ownership of 5G services in CNF environments is also presenting additional concerns for service providers, requiring a fundamental shift in the testing mindset from reliability-focused legacy networks to resilient and scalable CNF networks.”

“The need for integration and interoperability across the 5G network means not only dealing with the complexity of how to incorporate new cloud infrastructures and virtual network functions with legacy systems and processes, but also how to test and optimize the performance of these new distributed infrastructures to ensure that they will all work together as they should,” said Anil Kollipara, Spirent’s VP of automated test and assurance product management. “Cloud-native demands completely new processes to realize the efficiencies and operational benefits, while each CNF has unique performance expectations within the cloud environment. Adding cloud resiliency testing to Landslide’s already considerable testing and validation capabilities will help network service providers more easily tackle the challenges of embracing new cloud environments to deliver the high-quality 5G services that end users are demanding.”

In other test news:

–EXFO has introduced a new solution for testing chromatic dispersion (CD) and polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in fiber optic networks. The FTBx-570 is the only cloud-connected, single-ended test solution that measures CD and PMD, and the fastest version launched to date, according to EXFO, which says it is the sole provider of single-ended CD/PMD test devices. Its solution, it explained, enables techs to characterize multiple optical links efficiently from a single location for speeds up to 400/800G and beyond, speeds which are being increasingly used in metro, core, 5G and data-center interconnect networks.

“EXFO’s single-ended dispersion analyzer is a game-changer at a time when the quality and reliability of fiber optic networks has never been more critical,” said Sophie Legault, director of mobile and cloud solutions at EXFO, adding that the solution “provides unique and insightful CD and PMD test capabilities while significantly reducing operational costs.”

–Rohde & Schwarz this week touted its successful validation of mission-critical push-to-talk (MC-PTT) protocol conformance test cases for the Global Certification Forum, resulting its R&S TS-PCT protocol conformance tester achieving Test Platform Approval Criteria (TPAC) from the organization. Rohde said that it’s the first and so far, only, test company to activate the MCPTT work item, which it added will “[pave] the way for a smooth transition from narrowband TETRA to broadband 3GPP Mission Critical Services for device manufacturers and service providers.”

-The Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) has established the “Anritsu 5G-Advanced and 6G Test Lab” at its Song-do IoT Technical Support Center in Incheon, South Korea, which followed on an earlier signing of a memorandum of understanding between the test company and RAPA to partner on future wireless technology development.

The lab is equipped with Anritsu equipment including its verification testers, vector network analyzers and Wi-Fi 7 tests, and Anritsu said that it is “expected to significantly contribute to the development of 6G technology” while also validating candidate frequency bands in 7-24 GHz for 5G-Advanced and 6G.

Takeshi Shima, director, SVP andTest & Measurement company president of Anritsu, called the lab “a key element of Anritsu’s global strategy” which will “play a pivotal role in helping Anritsu maintain its global technology capabilities and lead the way in new communications technologies.”

–Keysight Technologies’ Rick Eads, the test company’s principal program manager for PCI Express and Computer I/O Technologies, was recently re-elected to the board of directors of the Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG) industry group, for the 2024-2025 term.

Keysight noted that it is the only T&M company serving on the PCI-SIG board and contributing directly to revisions of the PCIe spec. “Keysight has successfully contributed to the PCIe standard during the last 20 years and my re-election reinforces the fact that we are members of the larger design-test ecosystem,” said Eads, who is the strategic technical leader of Keysight’s PCIe solutions. This role represents an opportunity for Keysight to continue contributing to this important standard while also aligning Keysight solutions to the testing needs of emerging technology waves.

In addition, Eads believes serving on the PCI-SIG board will play an important role in moving AI and Machine Learning (ML) applications forward with PCIe 7.0 technology. “The rapid deployment of AI accelerators for use in compute arrays has driven the demand for higher speed PCIe technology based, system-to-system interfaces,” he said. “Advances in the technology like PCIe 7.0 specification enhance AI applications by optimizing data transfer, storage, and scalability, positioning the PCIe standard as an important element within the AI ecosystem.”

-ICYMI: Samsung and MediaTek worked together on recent testing of 5G RedCap power-efficiency features, conducted in Samsung’s R&D lab in South Korea. Read more details in this story.

–TÜV Rheinland North America officially held the grand opening of its Northeast Technology and Innovation Center in Boxborough, Massachusetts. The company called the 65,000-square foot facility a “significant investment” and noted that it is equipped for testing of electrical safety, wireless technology, EMC, environmental assessments, medical device testing and more. It includes a 1–meter semi-anechoic chamber, which TÜV Rheinland said ranks in the top 1% in the United Stats for equipment size.

“The North American market is a key component of the company’s global strategy, serving as both a market and a center for advanced technology and industry. The opening of this new facility demonstrates TÜV Rheinland’s commitment to growth and innovation in the United States, where the testing, inspection, and certification market is expected to expand significantly in the coming years,” said Dr. Michael Fübi, CEO of TÜV Rheinland.

–Syniverse is focusing on Voice over LTE roaming testing, noting that operators around the world have to ensure that VoLTE services, including VoLTE roaming, are fully and reliably supported before they can turn down 2G or 3G networks. Syniverse emphasized that in addition to VoLTE testing, it has a number of other roaming testing services which meet GSMA specifications, 5G SA, NB-IoT and LTE-M requirements.

“Launching services with a roaming partner consumes time and resources that operators may not have,” said John Wick, chief product officer of Syniverse. “It can be difficult to procure testing experts, especially for VoLTE roaming, and extensive troubleshooting may be required before passing a test. Fortunately, we’ve demonstrated we can accelerate that process. We’ve achieved over 387 launches with roaming partners and are obtaining final commercial launch status in two to four weeks instead of six months.”