Evolved Packet Core (EPC) Testing

The evolved packet core (EPC) is the aggregation point for thousands of eNodeBs and millions of mobile data subscribers. EPC network devices are required to process massive amounts of data and handle millions of control plane transactions per second. With the emergence of smart devices, LTE networks must support multiplay applications (i.e. voice, video, and data) over a single IP-based infrastructure. Different service types require unique network traffic handling policies. To address this challenge, the standards body for LTE, the 3GPP, developed a comprehensive policy and charging control (PCC) framework. This is the heart of the LTE EPC, and what ensures a user's quality of experience (QoE) for a particular subscription type and/or service type.

Validating the performance and quality of LTE devices and networks requires real-world mobile subscriber modeling at a very high load, while measuring key performance indicators that identify QoE. Mobile subscriber modeling is the process of defining subscriber types (corporate user vs. causal user), associating applications to a subscriber (Internet browsing, email, voice, video, peer-to-peer), and modeling subscribers' usage of applications and their mobility on the network. Subscriber modeling allows testers to replicate real traffic types and usage patterns that are carried on mobile data networks. This provides the information necessary to fully understand the capacity limits of a device or network, how multiplay services interact with one another, and the network's ability to differentiate service and subscriber types to allow operators to meet the users' expectations of quality.

Ixia's test solutions help network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) and service providers:

• Maximize and verify EPC throughput
• Validate control (signaling) plane processing of EPC devices: serving gateway, packet data network gateway, mobility management entity, policy charging and rules function
• Measure the performance and accuracy of deep packet inspection (DPI) engines
• Validate service/subscriber differentiation, policy management functions, and measure QoE

Ixia tests the following EPC devices:

• Serving gateways (S-GW) and packet data network gateways (PDN-GW)
• Mobility management entity (MME)
• Policy charging and rules function (PCRF)
• Authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) servers
• Online charging system (OCS) and offline charging system (OFCS)

Ixia provides key performance indicators (KPIs) for:

• Perceptual voice and video quality scoring
• Transaction latency, transactions per second
• Packet loss, latency, jitter
• Connection latency
• Web page hits
• Throughput
• Maximum concurrent number of users/sessions