Triple play services tester
View Patent ↗A portable tester for testing mutual effects of multiple services received via a shared network access link includes service signaling means for simulating user premises devices. In one embodiment, the tester is a triple play services tester supporting three IP addresses at the same time.
1. A portable testing device for measuring an effect of a first service on a second service, both of which are delivered concurrently along with a third service via a shared network access link from a packet network, the first, second and third services having different service types selected from the group consisting of voice, video, and data, the device comprising:
first signaling means for generating a first request for a change in the first service and sending the first request into the packet network;
second signaling means for generating a second request for a change in the second service and sending the second request into the packet network;
receiving means for concurrently receiving the first, second, and third services via the shared network access link from the packet network;
measuring means for measuring a performance parameter of the second service; and
test control means for controlling the first and second signaling means, and for controlling the measuring means for measuring the effect of the first service on the second service by measuring the performance parameter of the second service before and after the change in the first service.
2. The device as defined in claim 1 , further comprising memory means for storing a first Internet Protocol (IP) address and a second IP address different from the first IP address, wherein the first signaling means receives a first response from the packet network at the first IP address; and wherein the second signaling means receives a second response from the packet network at the second IP address.
3. The device as defined in claim 2 , further comprising: a third signaling means for generating a third request for a change in the third service and sending the third request into the packet network; wherein the receiving means also receives the third service concurrently with the first and second services via the shared network access link from the packet network; and wherein the measuring means measures an effect of the change in the first and third services on the second service.
4. The device as defined in claim 3 , wherein the memory means store a third IP address, and wherein the third signaling means receives a third response from the packet network at the third IP address.
5. The device as defined in claim 1 , wherein the measuring means comprises: a first measurement taker for measuring the effect of the first service on the second service, and a second measurement taker for measuring an effect of the second service on the first service.
6. The device as defined in claim 5 , further comprising a third measurement taker for measuring an effect of the changes in the first and second services on the third service.
7. The device as defined in claim 6 , wherein the test control means supports simultaneous measurements the effects on each of the first, second and third services provided by the change in the two other services.
8. The device as defined in claim 1 , wherein the performance parameter is selected from the group consisting of a data rate parameter, a packet delay parameter, a packet loss jitter parameter, a packet loss parameter, and application specific Quality of Service (QoS) parameters.
9. The device as defined in claim 1 , wherein the second service is a video service.
10. The device as defined in claim 1 , wherein the test control means are for validation of the class-of-service (CoS) mechanisms provided by the packet network via a shared network access link.
11. The device as defined in claim 10 , wherein the test control means provides validation of a first CoS mechanism associated with the first service and a second CoS mechanism associated with the second service.
12. The device as defined in claim 1 , further comprising a user port for connecting to a user device so as to monitor a packet flow between the packet network and the user device, wherein the test control means disable the second signaling means.
13. The device as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first, second, and third services are triple play services.
14. A method for measuring an effect of a first service on a second service in a portable testing device, both of which are delivered concurrently along with a third service via a shared network access link from a packet network, the first, second and third services having different service types selected from the group consisting of voice, video, and data, comprising the steps of:
measuring, in said device, a performance parameter for the second service to obtain a first value;
generating a request, in said device, for a change in the first service and sending the request into the packet network;
concurrently receiving, in said device, the first, second, and third services via the shared network access link from the packet network;
measuring, in said device, the performance parameter for the second service to obtain a second value; and
comparing, in said device, the first and second values to evaluate the effect of the first service on the second service.