reducing network downtime
TRANSCRIPT
DTV and IPTV Monitoring Webinar -
Reducing Network Downtime
Presenter – Dennis Kucera
Tektronix, Inc.
Agenda
Key Customers and their Challenges
Changing Architectures
Changing Architectures – IPTV Headends
The Issues…
Key Performance Issues
Summary
Q & A Session
Key Customers and their Challenges
Key Customers and the changing scene
Broadcasters, Satellite and Cable operators transmitting Digital TV services
over RF infrastructure
Broadcasters, Satellite, Cable and 3rd party network operators migrating to IP
technology to transport their video content
Network operators rolling out new IPTV delivery services over DSL
Fiber Network operators rolling out new TV delivery services over IP that use
hybrid IP and traditional broadcast network architectures
Manufacturers and System Integrators providing solutions to the above
customers
Terrestrial, Cable and Satellite Broadcasters Trends
Standards are mature; monitoring by exception rather than for standards compliance
Many broadcasters are migrating from ASI to MPEG TS over IP .
distribution
Analog switch off driving 2nd round DTV investment
Transitioning to HD services / new standards development
Traditional Telecommunications Operators Trends
IPTV standards are less mature - lag the technology
DTV systems best of breed competing solutions – compression, STB, middleware
Systems integration services from a fragmented supplier base
Provide media services as part of triple play bundle
Customer Trends & Challenges
Customer Challenges
Maximize QoS – Minimize customer churn
Reduce time to insight – find the root cause of faults quicker and initiate corrective action
Optimize workflow and better utilize skilled technical resources
Reduce network down-time – Reduce time to insight– Detect faults quicker (KPI trends) by leveraging integrated test tools; combining
physical network layer with MPEG TS diagnostics
– Expense reduction by reducing number of quality related customer complaints
– Sustain advertising revenue with minimum downtime and quantification of outage
Optimized work flow between teams to better utilize skilled resource– Empower lower skilled engineers to detect faults quicker (KPI trends) & support
initial diagnosis
– Intuitive and consistent monitoring and measurements between engineering groups
Broadcast Operational Challenges
The number of video services being transmitted
is continuously increasing, making the need
to monitor the Transport Streams ever more
important to detect signal degradation before
it impacts the viewer.Felipe Olvera, Director of Engineering,
Network Center, Oregon Public Broadcasting
Deliver superior QoS levels with reduced operational expenditure
Changing Architectures
Headend Primary Functions
Digital program acquisition: content from the satellite or
terrestrial sources, and the preparation of that content for digital
delivery (National or Regional)
Digital program storage: storage and insertion of additional, non-live
broadcast programming like local content, video-on-demand or
advertising
Digital program distribution and delivery: encompasses program
preparation and aggregation, rate-shaping, modulation, encapsulation
(encoding), encryption and other technical process‟s for program
delivery
Typical Monitoring Points for Cable HeadendIP Monitoring
Baseband Monitoring
MPEG Monitoring
RF Monitoring
Content Acquisition Encode
Transcode
Play-Out servers
VoD
IP Core
RF
IPSDI
IPIP
SDI
QAM Hybrid Fibre COAX
IP Broadcast
Modulate
Broadcast & VOD
Typical Monitoring Points for Satellite Hybrid Uplink
IP Monitoring
Baseband Monitoring
MPEG Monitoring
RF Monitoring
Content Acquisition Encode
Transcode
Play-Out servers
VoD
IP Core
RF
IPSDI
IPIP
SDI
Broadcast
Modulate
DTH Broadcast
VOD
Typical Monitoring Points for Terrestrial Hybrid System
IP Monitoring
Baseband Monitoring
MPEG Monitoring
RF Monitoring
Content AcquisitionRF
SDI
IPIP
SDI
EncodeTranscode
Play-Out servers
VoD
IP Core
IP
Modulate
SDI
IP
VOD
DTT Broadcast
MTM400A – Ingest Monitoring
FlexVuPlusTM uniquely empowers Operations staff with the simplest information
necessary to prove their service is delivering above their defined thresholds for
superior Quality of Service (QoS).
MTM400A - Ingest Monitoring
Powerful diagnostic user interface provides intelligent hierarchical views of
network information, media and data, allowing Engineers to rapidly identify the
root cause of underlying service problems.
MTM400A - Ingest Monitoring
Unique dual-level alarming and seven-day trend information proactively
identifies impending problems before they become visible to the viewer.
Cross-layer, multi channel, remote monitoring and measurement at IP, RF,
and Transport layers to DVB (TR 101 290), ATSC, DigiCipher® II (DCII), and
ISDB-T (Terrestrial and Mobile) standards
MTM400A - Ingest Monitoring
Comprehensive confidence monitoring at the RF modulated layer; MER (up to
37 db typical), BER and Constellation Displays.
These critical RF Measurements provide early indication of signal degradation
before any picture impairment is visible to the end customer without additional
costly RF test equipment.
MTM400A - Ingest Monitoring
At a glance service view with video thumbnails and interactive Electronic
Programming Guide (EPG).
MTM400A - Ingest Monitoring
Comprehensive user-defined template monitoring ensures right content at the
right place at the right time while content ratings checking ensures only
appropriate content broadcast.
MTM400A - Ingest Monitoring
Video Thumbnails with “at a glance” channel health
MTM400A - Ingest Monitoring
Simultaneous connection of multiple remote users and Network
Management Systems (NMS) provides early visibility of problems to
key individuals throughout the organization to support quicker
corrective action.
Embedded architecture designed specifically for continuous 24x7
operation maximizes service assurance, thus minimizing cost of
customer complaints and equipment maintenance (Disk free
operation).
Remote recording allows capture and analysis of stream events for
expert offline analysis to diagnose difficult and intermittent problems,
requiring no engineer site visits.
Highly scalable and field upgradeable monitoring solution to tailor
capital expenditure with operational growth.
Changing Architectures –IPTV Headends
IP Headend Monitoring
Content Acquisition
IRDDe-Modulate
EncodeCompression
SD Encode
HD Encode
Play-out Servers
IP Encapsulation, CAS, M/W
IP Core
RF ASISDI IP
IP Monitoring
MPEG Monitoring
BasebandMonitoring
RF Monitoring
Next Generation Headend Monitoring
Content Acquisition
IRDDe-Modulate
EncodeCompression
Play-out Servers
IP Encapsulation, CAS, M/W
IP Core
IP Monitoring
MPEG Monitoring
BasebandMonitoring
RF Monitoring
HD Encode
SD Encode
RF IPASI
Transition to „all-IP‟ plant brings new test issues
Less is more – less physical equipment but greater complexity
All IP infrastructure means different test methodology
– New interfaces
– New range of tests needed
– New skill sets for operators and vendors
Test/Monitor access points are limited in the headend
De-multiplex/Re-multiplex, Trans-rating, scrambling and IP
encapsulation can be done in the same physical box
1Gb and 10Gb network plant
Video over IP Monitoring
Broadcast Over IP channel counts are rapidly increasing
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in addition to traditional Video wall displays are critical
Cross layer monitoring and logs empower skilled technicians to
rapidly trace & isolate video delivery issues
Empowering lower-skilled to detect signal degradation caused
during transmission and distribution
Ingest (IP/RF & MPEG)
– Garbage in – Garbage out
– Various content formats
– Content with pre-existing noise & video artefacts
– Received signal could be weak or strong
IP Broadcast (IP & MPEG)
– IP Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
– MPEG Transport Stream (TS) integrity
MTM400A- Video over IP Monitoring
Simultaneously monitor up to 500 IP sessions including all essential parameters
including Continuity Count, Sync Byte and Packet Inter-Arrival Time (PIT).
IPTV Systems - The Issues…
The issues…..
IPTV systems are run on „best effort‟ networks
IPv4 and IPv6 protocols are, by definition, „best effort‟ delivery
systems
They rely on other supporting protocols in order to provide QoS
services to the user
Data and voice services can normally cope with jitter and delays,
video cannot.
„The primary goal of QoS is to provide priority including dedicated
bandwidth, controlled jitter and latency….. and improved loss
characteristics.‟ 1
1. Cisco Systems. 2006. Quality of Service. Available at
(http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/ito_doc/qos.htm) [Accessed September 2007]
Why is IP Video Different from Voice and Data?
They are all differentiated IP data services
that have different bandwidth
and QoS characteristics
– Video – Voice – Data
Video requires high availability
(in bandwidth and time) which
requires implementation of
robust network
management policies
IP Video Cannot Survive in a
“Best Effort” Environment
– Video packets need to arrive in sequence
and with no losses
Ensuring a High Quality Viewing Experience
QoE – Quality of Experience– Is the User Receiving Content
Adequately? – Is the subscriber consuming more
bandwidth than is provisioned?– Are all promised capabilities
being delivered?
– What is the subscriber experiencingat this moment?
QoS – Quality of Service– Is the Network Delivering Content
Adequately?– Where in the network is
congestion occurring?– What is the network wide channel usage
and distribution?
– Are there adequate VOD content serversin appropriate markets?
– Are interactions between voice, data and video causing problems within the network?
The Video User Experience is critical to the overall success of IPTV !
Ensuring a High Quality Viewing Experience
QoS and QoE are inextricably linked !
Increasing video compression
reduces bandwidth and can
therefore improve QoS
The end user perceives lower
quality video, therefore
QoE is reduced
Standardization Efforts
DVB – Transport of MPEG-2 Based DVB Services over IP Based
Networks TS 101 234 & DVB- IPI group
ATIS IIF – sub-group metrics standard expected to be completed Q3
2007
ITU IPTV Focus Group - looking at coordination of existing
standardization activities and harmonization of the development of
new standards
Open IPTV Forum – formed by AT&T, Ericsson, France Telecom,
Panasonic, Phillips, Samsung, Siemens Networks, Sony & Telecom
Italia to;
– „to create an interoperable end-to-end specification for personalized and interactive IPTV, and jointly advocate such technologies to relevant
standardization bodies.’
Key Performance Issues
What is QoS ? – Some Definitions
Bandwidth
– The network should be able to sustain sufficient capacity to support the
users throughput requirements.
Latency or Delay
– The time taken to send any packet from a given transmit node to a given
receive node.
Jitter
– The variation in the delay between the arrival of packets at the receive
node.
Traffic or Packet Loss
– How often are packets lost ?
– How many packets are affected ?
These 4 items can be considered as Key Performance Indicators or
KPI‟s
Key Performance Indicators - Bandwidth
IGMP is used to manage bandwidth used in transmitting multicast
traffic across a network by limiting who has access to the multicast
– To join a specific multicast, a host sends a Host Membership Report
message to its multicast router.
– Multicast routers periodically send IGMP Host Membership Query messages to the local subnet for host membership information.
– A host that is still a member of a multicast group responds to the query
with an IGMP Host Membership Report message.
IGMP is used let the system know;
– Who wants to watch which content ? - Host Membership Report
– Who is watching which content ? - Host Membership Query
Metrics available;
– Maximum / Minimum / Average bandwidth
– IGMP join/leave timing („Zap times‟)
Key Performance Indicators – Delay & Jitter
Video quality can be adversely affected by;
– Packet arrival interval variation or network jitter
– Buffer underflow and overflow
Metrics available;
– Maximum / Minimum / Average Packet Inter-Arrival Time (PIT)
– Round Trip Time (RTT)
Key Performance Indicators – Packet Loss
QoS can be badly affected by;
– Dropped and out of sequence packets on network
– Corrupted data due to network issues
Metrics available
– Packet Loss rate
– Out of Sequence packet tests
– IP & UDP checksum errors
– Media Delivery Index
Measuring Quality ? - MDI
Media Delivery Index (MDI) is defined by IETF RFC 4445. It is defined
as a single figure of merit used to quantify 2 IP transport impairments,
namely Packet Jitter or Delay and Packet Loss.
These two test parameters are defined as Media Delay Factor (MDI-
DF) and Media Loss Rate (MDI-MLR)
The Delay Factor indicates how long a data stream must be buffered
(i.e. delayed) at its nominal bit rate to prevent packet loss.
The Media Loss Rate is the number of packets lost during a period of
1 second
Measuring Quality ? – MDI issues
MDI is not payload aware. That is, it cannot separate video traffic from
other data and VoIP packets.
Raw UDP protocol does not provide any means to detect packet loss.
So for raw UDP, the packet loss portion of MDI is calculated using
MPEG Continuity Count errors.
For RTP flows, DF is measured using the timestamps from the received
packets. The presence of RTP sequence numbers also allows RTP
packet loss to be measured and displayed as part of the MDI.
Measuring Quality ? – MDI summary
The MDI Media Loss Rate (MDI-MLR) is based on Continuity
Counters – measures packet loss
– Therefore any other error, such as TS syntax errors, cannot be detected
by MDI
The MDI Delay Factor (MDI-DF) is transport stream bit rate based,
derived from PCRs – measures packet jitter on the network
– A bad PCR from a multiplexer could trigger an MDI error even though
there is no network issue.
A good MDI does not mean a faultless IP transmission, and a bad
MDI can be the result of non-IP related issues.
MDI is not the answer – it simply complements other measurements
Summary
Simplifying DTV & IPTV Monitoring . . . . . .The MTM400A with FlexVuPlusTM delivers
2007 Technical Emmy for MPEG
Monitoring
Technology
Complete solution for real-time transmission monitoring of MPEG
transport streams over RF, IP, and ASI interfaces.
Highly scalable monitoring solution combining powerful confidence
monitoring capability with diagnostics measurements to tailor capital
expenditure with operational growth
Intuitive and simplified presentation of video quality and diagnostic
information to empower operational and engineering teams with simplest
information to enable delivery of superior QoS levels
Comprehensive monitoring solution to support:– Superior QoS levels to maximise subscriber growth and advertising revenue.
– Reduced operational costs by empowering operations staff with concise information to deliver greater accountability for QoS levels; whilst also
optimising workflow between varying operations and engineering resources.
– Minimised network downtime with subsequent advertising revenue
penalties and subscriber churn.
. . . . .Building on Industry Leadership
MTM400A Confidence Monitoring
FlexVuPlusTM uniquely presents simplified presentation of video
quality and diagnostic information, to enable delivery of superior QoS
levels in an increasing complex broadcast environment.
At a glance service view with video thumbnails and interactive
Electronic Programming Guide (EPG); empowering operations staff
with the simplest information to monitor service delivery
Comprehensive seven day trending of IP and RF broadcast streams
with unique dual level alarming supports proactive network
monitoring to minimise downtime.
Enabling Network Operation Centre
operators to provide assurance that
broadcast services are being delivered
within defined quality thresholds.
MTM400A Diagnostic Monitoring
Powerful user interface provides intuitive hierarchical views of IP/RF
parameters, Programs, SI/PSI and PIDs etc allowing Engineers to
rapidly identify the root cause of underlying service problems.
Accelerate time to insight with context sensitive navigation
and filtered logging to isolate root cause of test failure.
Deep cross-layer diagnostic capability correlates relationship
between the physical interface (RF/IP) and the MPEG TS
Enabling skilled engineers to detect
problems before they impact viewers and
rapidly solve network problems to minimize
downtime
Why Choose Tektronix for Video and IPTV
Trusted brand with over 50 years of industry
experience
Recognized technology expertise and innovation
Strong new product pipeline
Number one supplier of monitoring systems for
modern IP networks
Well positioned to enable the transition to digital and
the convergence of voice, video and data on a wide
variety of networks
Market leader with broadest portfolio of products
The Tektronix MPEG Product Family
Now you only need to talk to one company to test emerging compressed video standards,
from Elementary Streams to Transport Streams.
MPEG Test Systems
Next Generation Compressed Video ES Software
TS Mux and Compliance AnalyzerVclips Video Test Clips
MPEG Generator/Recorder/Player
Transport Stream Monitor
Q & A Session
Questions ?
For Further Information Contact:
Tektronix.com
Dennis Kucera
Local Sales and Marketing