BRIDGE Technologies / news / The VB100 High Density Rack Mountable IP Probe released

Closing the doors to the stable after the horse has run away is an example of reactive fault management. The VB100 IP PROBE offers proactive fault management by continuously supervising the signal quality of TV multicasts at strategic points in the network. In this way it is possible to discover and actively manage potential problems before serious damage is done.

A single VB100 shelf populated with 12 IP PROBE cards is capable of inspecting the output of a complete 120-channel IPTV head-end. Quality reports are gathered regularly and can be used as proof of successful carriage in case of a wholesale/franchise model being employed. By using the VB100 IP PROBE it is possible to identify whether the TV multicasts were valid before entering the franchise customer core IP router or not.

Critical quality parameters such as IP jitter and MPEG-2 packet loss are detected and logged automatically. Each IP PROBE card runs an HTTP server. The operator accesses all parameters by opening a web browser towards the IP PROBE. Basic setup can be performed locally through RS232 or remotely via TELNET. Central management and alarm/statistics collection are achieved by deploying the BTC Server software.

The operator can select a particular IP multicast for in-depth analysis and MPEG-2 decoding back to PAL/NTSC for visual inspection.

"Our family of monitoring products gives for the first time a Carrier or Service Provider a complete solution for enforcing an effective SLA in IP networks carrying DVBoIP signals", says company CEO and co-founder, Rolf Ollmar. "We are proud to release this product now and in a price range that will give even small providers the oportunity to implement an effective QoS strategy".

Product is ready to be pre-ordered, and is shipping in October, 2004.