Questions & Answers: nGenius Performance Manager 4.9 - NetScout

SERVICE PROVIDER Release 4.9 Q & A
&
A
What’s new in nGenius Service Assurance Solution?
The current release significantly enhances the nGenius® Service
Assurance Solution empowering service providers to successfully
transition to an all-IP network, to protect services while costeffectively
introducing new services and to simplify operations. This
current release provides the following new capabilities:
• LTE/EPC deployment lifecycle support including performance
monitoring and analysis
• UMTS/HSPA+ IP service assurance from core-to-access
• UMTS/HSPA+ IP session analysis and correlation from the coreto-access
• Direct tunneling (3GPP Release 7) support
• Best-in-class intelligent data source, that scales to 96 TB
• Empowers service providers to manage services the way they are
delivered
• Voice quality monitoring and assurance enabling packet voice
migration
What is new with LTE/EPC?
Release 4.9
The current release significantly enhances the nGenius
Service Assurance Solution
The nGenius Service Assurance Solution provides the path forward
for 2.5G and 3G (CDMA2000 and UMTS/HSPA+) operators to
more efficiently deploy LTE/EPC networks. The nGenius Service
Assurance Solution provides:
• Investment Leverage—The investment made today in 2.5G
and 3G networks will support service providers for LTE/EPC and
beyond
• Scalability and Visibility—Required for managing the large
amount of mobile data traffic in LTE/EPC networks
• Assurance needs for every point along the LTE/EPC deployment
lifecycle
How does the nGenius Solution help LTE/EPC operators?
The nGenius Service Assurance Solution provides full LTE/
EPC deployment lifecycle support including advanced warning,
performance monitoring and analysis from the E-UTRAN to the
Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The solution provides:
• Early warning of issues impacting services and user experience
• Performance monitoring of services and networks
• Remote packet capture & protocol analysis
What is new with UMTS/HSPA+ core-to-access IP service
assurance?
The nGenius Service Assurance Solution helps UMTS/HSPA+
operators to monitor and assurance service delivery from the coreto-access.
Key UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ enhancements include:
• Support for IuPS over IP and RANAP protocol with details of
the routing area – service area including the subscriber handset
performance, application distribution and session management
and mobility management
• Early warning of issues in the access affecting UMTS/HSPA+
networks
• Performance monitoring of IuPS services
• Remote packet capture & protocol analysis
• Data and control plane multi-protocol correlated session analysis
from the core-to-access
What is new with UMTS/HSPA+core-to-access IP session
analysis?
The nGenius Subscriber Intelligence provides concise and
actionable unified visibility into subscribers, services and network
traffic enabling GPRS, UMTS and HSPA/HSPA+ operators to
better assure the subscriber experience and optimize the service
delivery environment, while increasing scale, lowering costs, and
dramatically simplifying operational workflows. Key IP session
analysis enhancements include:
• IuPS session analysis and correlation
• Direct tunneling (3GPP Release 7) support
What is new with Intelligent Data Sources?
The nGenius intelligent data sources provide the insight needed to
support service assurance and unparalleled network, application
and service performance analysis and troubleshooting. NetScout
expands the extensive portfolio of Probes, Agents and Appliances
by introducing a new, highly scalable nGenius InfiniStream® 7900
Series Appliances.
Key features of the 7900 Series appliances are:
• Deep packet capture and analysis
• Support for CDM, xDRs, voice quality monitoring
• Up to 96TB storage
• Multiple 10Gbps interfaces
• Improved processing

SERVICE PROVIDER Release 4.9 Q & A
Which products have been updated in Release v4.9?
Release v4.9 adds significant new features and updates all key
products within the NetScout nGenius Service Assurance solution.
All key products that constitute the nGenius Service Assurance
Solution have been updated in Release v4.9, as follows:
• nGenius Service Delivery Manager v4.9
• nGenius Performance Manager v4.9
• nGenius Subscriber Intelligence v4.9
• nGenius InfiniStream v4.9
• Sniffer® Analysis v4.9
• New nGenius InfiniStream 7900 Series Appliances
Together these products comprise a targeted release that delivers
significant new capabilities for UMTS, LTE mobile operators and
fixed-line operators.
What is new with Service Delivery Management?
The nGenius Service Delivery Manager provides service providers
with advanced, early warning visualization into user experience and
network health for delivering today’s IP-based services.
The nGenius Service Delivery Manager helps service providers
manage services the way they are delivered to customers and to
manage user experience instead of reacting to network alarms.
Additional benefits include:
• Flexible service representation and visualization—aligns with
operational initiatives and organizational work flows
• Enhances effectiveness and productivity of operational personnel
• Accelerates problem identification and resolution while optimizing
user experience
• Helps implement proactive service problem management
strategies
Key new features include:
• Flexible service hierarchy monitoring
• New GUI and problem triage workflows
• Error code distributions
• Analytics at server/host level
• Integrated performance and threat management
• Unified management console with single sign-on
9. What is new with nGenius Performance Manager?
Release v4.9 includes monitoring support for key LTE interfaces,
LTE protocols as well as the UMTS/HSPA+ IuPS interface and
RANAP protocol. The LTE interfaces and protocols supported are
listed below.
Interface Protocol/Applications
S1-U GTPv1-U
S11 GTPv2-C, NAS Session Management
S5 GTPv2-C, GTPv1-U, PMIPv4, NAS Session Management
S8 GTPv2-C, GTPv1-U, PMIPv4, NAS Session Management
S6a Diameter, SCTP
SGi IP Applications
S3 GTPv2-C
S4 GTPv1-U, GTPv2-C
S5 GTPv2-C, GTPv1-U, PMIPv4, NAS Session Management
S6a Diameter
S8 GTPv2-C, GTPv1-U, PMIPv4, NAS Session Management
SGi IP Applications
10. What is new with Sniffer Intelligence?
Release v4.9 includes the rolled-up LTE packet decode support. Key
LTE interfaces and protocols supported are listed below.
Interface Protocol
X2 • X2AP
• GTPv1-U
S1-MME • S1AP
S1-U • GTPv1-U
S5 • GTPv2-C
• NAS Mobility and Session Management
• GTPv1-U
S6a • Diameter
S8 • GTPv2-C
• NAS Session Management
• GTPv2-U
S11 • GTPv2-C
SGi IP Applications
• NAS Session Management
• NAS Session Management
What is new with nGenius InfiniStream appliances?
A new nGenius InfiniStream appliance series, the 7900 series is
introduced. Key features of the nGenius InfiniStream 7900 Series
appliance include:
• Storage up to 96 TB
• Improved processing
• Support for CDM, xDRs, voice quality monitoring
• Modularity

SERVICE PROVIDER Release 4.9 Q & A
What is new with nGenius Subscriber Intelligence?
The nGenius Subscriber Intelligence provides comprehensive
core-to-access subscriber-level multi-protocol session analysis of
data and control plane traffic for next generation IP-based UMTS/
HSPA+ service provider networks. Key new features include:
• Supports IuPS session analysis and correlation
• Direct tunneling for IuPS
• Retrieval and correlation of subscriber sessions, using IMSI,
MSISDN, IMEI, location/routing areas, service area (UMTS/
HSPA+), network nodes (e.g. DNS, GGSN, SGSN, BSC) and
statistics related to control and data plane
• Ladder diagram offers graphical display of control plane protocols
(e.g. GTP-C, DNS, GMM, SM, RANAP) and drill down to both
application analysis of user plane (e.g. HTTP, MMS, WAP, POP3,
SMTP, FTP) and packet decodes
What is new with core-to-access visibility?
Core-to-access visibility represents the capability of the nGenius
Service Assurance Solution including nGenius Service Delivery
Manager, nGenius Performance Manager and nGenius Subscriber
Intelligence to provide subscriber, session, network and services
details and analysis from the mobile core network to the radioaccess-network
(RAN).
In a LTE network, core-to-access visibility is achieved by monitoring
and decoding sessions and packets over SGi, S3, S4, S5, S6a, S8
and S1 interface or over SGi, S11 and S1 interface.
In a UMTS/HSPA+ network, core-to-access visibility is achieved by
monitoring, analyzing and decoding sessions over Gi, Gn and IuPS
interfaces.
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Phone: 978-614-4000
Toll Free: 888-999-5946
www.netscout.com
European Headquarters
One Canada Square 29th floor
Canary Wharf
London E14 5DY
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 207 712 1672
What is the v4.9 download site?
Release 4.9 is available for customers with active MasterCare
accounts. Customers with active MasterCare accounts must also
own licenses to each 4.9 product in order to download any v4.9
specific product.
Where can I find additional information?
Additional information on Release 4.9 and nSI can be found at the
CustomerCare Portal (https://my.netscout.com/pages/mcplanding.
aspx).
Asia/Pacific Headquarters
Room 105, 17F/B, No. 167
TunHwa N. Road
Taipei, Taiwan
Phone: +886 2 2717 1999
For more information
please visit www.netscout.com
or contact NetScout sales at
800-309-4804 or +1 978-614-4000
©2009 NetScout Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. NetScout, nGenius, Sniffer,
and InfiniStream are registered trademarks and the NetScout logo is trademark
of NetScout Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other
countries. Other brands and product names, and registered and unregistered
trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners. NetScout reserves
the right, at its sole discretion, to make changes at any time in its technical
information and specifications, and service and support programs.
QA_01_2009 Rev A