GL Enhances Packet Analyzers with WireSpeed Performance and All Wireless Protocols

Welcome to another April 2017 issue of GL Communications' Newsletter providing information and insight into our enhanced PacketScan™ software, an All-IP Packet Analyzer, with wire-speed performance, capture, and analysis - spanning voice, video, and data services.

PacketScan Architechture

Overview

Wired and wireless networks are predominantly using packet techniques for transport of voice, video, fax, and data. Legacy protocols have converted to IP versions and new services like Internet of Things (IoT), Air Traffic Management, and IPTV have introduced new IP protocols. Simultaneously, IP transmission is achieving higher transmission rates, adding newer security features, encapsulating with powerful encryption, and enhancing quality using better codecs.

GL's Packet Analyzers  - All IP PacketScan™, PacektScanHD™, and NetSurveyorWEB™ are keeping pace with enhancements for wire-speed performance, the addition of more wireless protocol support, enhanced Quality of Service (QoS) and network performance metrics, and the addition of new and enhanced codecs.

GL's PacketScan™ - All-IP Network Monitoring softwareoffers powerful features to capture and monitor live signaling and traffic over IP (version 4 and 6). The application can capture, segregate, monitor and collect statistics all types of calls over IP. Almost all VoIP and Wireless protocols and traffic types over IP network can be captured and decoded for troubleshooting network problems.

GL’s PacketScanHD™ extends the support to wirespeed capture and analysis for high volume calls with simultaneous quality of experience metrics for measurement of degradation with call intensity, volume, or protocol. PacketScanHD™ is used during load and stress testing to verify stability of IP network and network elements pre- and post-deployment. PacketScan™ HD is a 2U rack mounted Network Monitoring Appliance w/ 4x1GigE and w/2x10GigE network interface cards that can capture and process high volumes of protocols over IP and Wireless networks.

GL's Network Monitoring and Diagnostic Systems are web-based applications that facilitate display of CDRs by connecting to TDM, Optical, or IP probes through a web server for monitoring physical layer, signaling and traffic. Currently supported protocols include SIP, VoIP (SIGTRAN, SIP, H.323), SS7, ISDN, GSM, TRAU, and MAP. Support for additional protocols - IuCS, IuPS, LTE, and GSM A are coming soon. It is based on a scalable and flexible architecture and is used in conjunction with GL's Protocol Analyzer probes to non-intrusively monitor from one or many testing locations. GL's protocol analysis probes feed data to centralized database (Oracle) in real-time for further analysis. The NetSurveyorWeb™ client application then locally or remotely facilitates to view records from the database using a simple web browser application.


Important Functions

GL's PacketScan™ supports non-intrusive real-time capture and monitoring of all wireless IP protocols such as LTE, UMTS, GSM, GPRS, SIGTRAN, and also VOIP communication protocols viz., SIP, H.323, Skinny, and Megaco.

The Packet Data Analysis (PDA) module within PacketScan™ provides in-depth real-time and post-process data investigation. It provides detailed call detail record (CDR) of each call and Quality of Service (QOS) parameters that include E-model (G.107) based MOS/R-Factor scores, Packet Loss, Delay, and Jitter for voice calls. PDA has complex filtering and search capabilities to record all or filtered traffic into a trace file and almost all industry standard codecs are supported.

The PacketScan™ provides the capability of Audio Capture and Playback, and Fax Call Capture and Decode (extracting fax images in TIFF format).  The Triggers and Actions feature of the application allows filtering calls based on call parameters and perform different actions (save call, record audio etc) on the saved calls.

PacketScan™ can act as a probe to monitor the network and send CDR to a centralized database server.  GL's NetSurveyorWeb™ can retrieve data from the database server and act as Central Monitoring System. It features rich graphics, ladder diagrams and CDRs.


Important Enhancements

  • PDA is enhanced to support monitoring of all 2G, 3G and 4G wireless communication protocols such as LTE (S1, S5 S8, Diameter), IuCS, IuPS, GSM A, Abis, MAP, INAP, CAP, GnGp, BICC, SIGTRAN, in addition to the VoIP protocols viz., SIP, MGCP, MEGACO, Skinny, and H.323.
    Packet Data Analysis View

    Packet Data Analysis View

  • Enhanced PacketScan™ supports monitoring and analysis of Air-to-Ground and Ground-to-Ground calls over VoIP based Air Traffic Control networks. It supports decoding of feature specific RTP header extensions as per ED137/1B standards.
  • PacketScan™ provides option to select the required CDR fields and export frame details of each call to CSV files during real-time analysis for all supported protocols.
    CDR - Field Selection and Export to CSV Options

    CDR - Field Selection and Export to CSV Options

  • PacketScan™ includes support for new EVS and OPUS codec in addition to large number of codecs - visit "List of Codecs" webpage for details on supported codecs. 
  • PacketScan™ can be configured to automatically start monitoring traffic with filters, trigger actions, and parameters previously saved. This also includes automatically connecting to a remote database for NetSurveyorWeb™ applications. This can be useful in remote monitoring applications where a laptop can be setup and configured for plug-n-play testing.

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