Total Testing for Wireless

The wireless network (2G/3G and 4G) infrastructure market is continuously driven by communication service providers looking to expand, upgrade, and manage their networks. Time to market pressures, combined with sharpened focus on cost optimization has led telecom equipment manufacturers (TEMs) to look for multi-technology solutions across the entire spectrum - from RF and RAN to the network core. With the deployment models of wireless networks shifting to non-proprietary multi-vendor environments, products must be rigorously tested for interoperability, error handling, and reporting before they are deployed into the field.

Testing Expertise

GSM/GPRS/EDGE

• GSM 850, GSM 900, DCS 1800, PCS 1900
• Radio resource, connection control, and mobility management
• Frequency planning, measurements, and power control
• RF sensitivity, ACI, CCI, path loss, interference, and multi-path testing
• FR, EFR, HR, AMR-NB/WB, TFO, TrFO, FER, BER, and BLER
• GMSK, 8PSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 32-QAM testing of 2G/2.5G BTS and BSC
• More than 20,000 test cases prepared from 3GPP and/or customer propriety requirements
• More than 100,000 test executions across various releases over the last 8 years
• Readily available testing frameworks for automated end-to-end testing with real network nodes
• Integration, functional, system, performance, software, hardware compatibility, and release testing of BTS and BSC

WiMAX

• 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz, fixed WiMAX, mobile WiMAX, line of sight (LOS), and non-line of sight (NLOS)
• Bandwidth scalability, adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), automatic retransmission request protocol (ARQ/HARQ), MIMO, QoS, CBR, VBR, nRT, RT, eRT, and BE
• Interoperability of ASN gateway with base station, HA, and AAA server
• Security, advanced encryption standard (AES), extensible authentication protocol (EAP), transmit and receive diversity, and power control testing of WiMAX access controllers and base system sub-systems
• Strong competence in system testing in a real environment with WAC, BS, and CN elements
• 802.16E and 802.16M functional, conformance, interoperability, and end-to-end testing
• Testing of fast path functionality on network processors - GRE tunneling, Bi-casting, forwarding, and classification
• Integration testing of data, signaling, and management planes of the ASN gateway with third party components
• Multiple BS simulation, performance, and throughput testing for ASN gateway using market tools

UMTS

• UMTS2100, UMTS1800, UMTS1700, UMTS850, UMTS800, UMTS2600, UMTS900, extended UMTS1700, MAC, RAB, NAS, RRC, SMS RLC, PDCP, BMC, UMTS and GSM handover, HSDPA, and HSUPA
• Interface testing of Uu, Iu-CS, Iu-PS, Iur, Iub
• Ciphering control, outer loop power control, UE measurement report, paging, and notification
• UMTS NodeB, RNC, and Home NodeB products
• CapEx savings through in-house tools and simulators for network elements testing
• End-to-end automation using third party frameworks like iTest and tools like Catapult
• Functional, performance, system integration, interoperability testing, and field support
• Agile based testing for HSPA RAN with flat network architecture

Femto

• In-house 3G UMTS FemtoCell
• Pre-Iuh, Iuh. and IMS architecture
• AAA, security gateway, HNB, HNB gateway, test tools for Femto testing in standalone mode
• End-to-end voice and data testing with actual UE
• Service resilience, load, stress, functional, network elements, network level, negative, conformance, and interoperability testing
• Automation of the Femto network element regression test suite
• Debugging messages at the parameter level for problem identification
• Measurement and end-to-end reporting of KPIs
• Customized business logic applications testing

CDMA

• CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, CDMA2000 1xEV-DV
• IPSHO, True IMSI, IPBH, delay expansion, MEID, PCMD, APS, RIM, OAM enhancements, security, retrofit, SM, and platform integration features
• Always on connectivity, bandwidth on demand, and asymmetric data rate system testing of CDMA 1x RNC and EVDO
• Functional, performance, platform integration, software upgrade, and installation testing; and multiple vendor management for interoperability testing
• OMC-RAN connectivity with customer lab, for testing/resolving field issues during FOA

LTE

• OFDM, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, FDD LTE, TDD LTE, MIMO, MU-MIMO
• LTE access and EPC nodes testing - eNodeB, MME, SGW, PGW, PCRF, OCS, and OFCS
• Routing/platform testing like LAG, VLAN, RIP, OSPF, ACL, and COPP
• CSFB, SV-LTE, and VoLTE
• NAS-security, AS-security for LTE access and EPC nodes
• Debugging interface messages and performing root cause analysis
• Negative testing and conformance testing using industry standard test tools
• QoS testing for varied customer profiles and policies, both local and dynamic
• Scalability testing for 300K subscribers at 3000 CPS with mixed data profiles
• System integration and interoperability testing of LTE nodes with different TEM equipment
• Readily available test cases and scripts for testing of LTE nodes

Testing Lifecycle Services

Our testing services span across the entire product lifecycle, including:

Lab Management Services

Spread over more than 50,000 square feet, we manage multiple customer labs catering to various core and access telecom technologies, with zero downtime and round-the-clock availability. We create value for our customers through:

Lab Infrastructure Planning

Understanding the existing infrastructure, lab space requirements, power supply requirements, load requirements; and determining the equipment and software tools needed for lab setup.

Lab Setup Procedures

Working with customer, lab administration, and procurement teams for equipment transfers, and setting up of onsite, offshore, and remote test setups within agreed timeframes.

Lab Management Processes

Defining processes for inventory management, preventive maintenance, software upgrades, hardware procurement, lab usage, equipment disposal, shipping, calibration, and security compliance to standards such as ISO/IEC 17799 and ISO/IEC 27001.

Lab Maintenance

Ensuring that the lab works under defined SLAs, equipment is maintained in complete operational state, and audits such as TL9000 are conducted periodically as per the guidelines.

Key lab management services delivered by us include:

• SLA management
• Fault management
• System management
• Business continuity planning
• Lab monitoring
• Lab hardware and software management
• Inventory management
• Demand and supply management
• Resource reservation
• Performance management and scalability
• Facility management
• Information security management systems
• Health and safety policies
• Lab consultancy
• Knowledge management
• Configuration management

Test Plans and Suites

We have a rich repository of reusable/customizable test cases and in-house test stubs spanning the entire testing life cycle for wireless networking technologies, including:

• UMTS
• CDMA 1X, EvDO
• Collapsed Node (Femto)
• WiMAX
• LTE
• GSM, GPRS
• Core Networks
• OMC, NMS

Test Simulators and Automation

Our in-house test simulators and automation frameworks help TEMs deliver superior product quality and accelerate time to market for wireless products

Software Tool for Automated Test Environment (STATE)

STATE accelerates unit testing, subsystem and system integration testing, and regression testing of 2G/2.5G/3G/LTE products. This platform agnostic tool allows script creation and execution, event tracking, logging, and customizable statistics and reports.

BSS Automation Framework

The BSS Automation Framework allows the user to define 'Execution Scenarios', through a web-based GUI, using built-in 'Execution Blocks' for any 2G/3G test scenario. Its intelligent 'Execution Controller' controls the automation test bed setup including all devices and test tools connected to it, and can independently execute test cases to generate result logs.

Test Automation Expertise

Aricent's test automation frameworks cut down the test cycle time by 15-20 percent. Our modular approach to building complex cases using basic building blocks, delivers competence in all types of automated wireless product testing such as functional, feature, network, end-to-end, and performance testing. With over 100 person-months of automation experience and expertise on leading 3rd party test tools, we have grown a rich database of test data to compare and analyze against future wireless product releases.

Test Labs and Equipment

Our investments in test equipment and infrastructure enable us to build testing expertise on the latest wireless technologies. Test equipment available with us includes traffic generators, spectrum analyzers, power meters, and frequency counters from leading vendors such as Smart Bits, IXIA, Spirent, Agilent, R&S etc. Additionally, we have equipped our labs with routers and switches from leading vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, and HP.

Our 3GPP Rel 6 compliant Vodafone wireless test facility is a replica of a live network with over 250 network elements. This interoperability lab provides a network test environment to help application, device, and equipment vendors address field readiness testing challenges with access to a state-of-the-art Vodafone 3G lab, highly qualified domain expertise, and proven innovative solutions. Learn more about our Vodafone lab testing services.