Why C-RAN deployments will give you more headaches than D-RAN
On the road to 5G, centralized radio access network (C-RAN) architecture is a key stepping stone. C-RAN is the next logical evolution in fiber-to-the-antenna (FTTA) networks, or distributed RAN (D-RAN), and involves centralizing several baseband units (BBUs) in a location away from the towers and antennas, rather than collocating BBUs with the remote radio head (RRH) on the antenna site.
In this whiteboard video, we will explore 2 specific challenges of C-RAN networks, namely the attenuation issues induced by the long distance between the BBU and the RRH, and the interconnection problems – and finally how to solve them.
How to get your network ready for Next-Gen PON
Households are hungry for bandwidth, whether it’s for smart TVs, video/OTT streaming, supporting multi-screens or running a business for which GPON/EPON have been delivering the necessary bandwidth up to now. Are you deploying GPON/EPON today or planning on it ? Will your networks be ready for XGS-PON/NG-PON2?
This session will explore the current PON technologies being deployed as well as upcoming technologies including XG/XGS-PON, 10G-EPON, NG-PON2 and how you can successfully activate your next-gen customers with first-time-right!
In this session you will learn:
- The impact and challenges of the new technologies on your FTTH network
- How to make sure your deployment methods and procedures, including testing meet the new requirements
40G/100G Data Center Migration
Join EXFO’s Data Center team for an overview of the challenges inherent to 40G/100G and the ultimate 400G fiber-optic network migration, and to gain insight into industry best practices for physical-layer and service-layer testing and monitoring.
This webinar covers the following topics:
- How to anticipate and address the challenges inherent to multifiber push-on (MPO)-based fiber-optic network infrastructures
- How to assess the performance of a future-proof permanent link for a future high-speed line rate
- The importance of connector insertion loss (IL) and return loss (RL) inside the data center
- How to plan a trouble-free data center interconnect (DCI)
In-Service OSNR Measurements of 100G+ Signals
Optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) is a key metric of signal quality in DWDM networks. Over the years, the adoption of new technologies like reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexers (ROADM) and coherent transmission have rendered existing OSNR measurement methods obsolete. In this webinar, we will first review the importance of OSNR as a key performance indicator of system performance. We will then discuss the existing OSNR methods, and why they cannot be used on live coherent signals. We will then introduce a novel method to measure non-intrusively the OSNR of 100G+ coherent signals, EXFO’s in-service Pol-Mux OSNR method.
Best Practices for On-boarding, Verification and Continuous Monitoring of VNFs
Migrating physical networks to virtualised networks running on shared cloud infrastructure creates the challenge of providing performance that is similar or better than the physical network. This requires virtual network function (VNF) onboarding, service chain activation, monitoring and troubleshooting.
Open and orchestrated active testing that is combined with simulation is vital because it enables confirmation that the VNF service is working correctly. Once operational, ongoing monitoring is critical to ensure SLAs are maintained. This is more critical, as networks are no longer static but dynamic and constantly changing.
This session will focus on sharing best practices for development, deployment, operation and management of the network.
RF over Glass at the Premises
With all the talk about EPON and GPON and next-generation PON, it might be easy to forget that RF over Glass remains a viable option for operators who want to reach subscribers with fiber. This webinar will look at how RFoG compares to other all-fiber options and the use cases where it shines brightest.
Test your way to NB-IoT success
The ratification of the 3GPP R13 specifications last year was like the firing of a starting pistol, kicking off the race to deploy NB-IoT networks. NEMs are racing against the clock to support the many changes mandated by these specifications. For their part, MNOs are announcing aggressive schedules to launch their NB-IoT networks and time to market pressures are intense. However, quality and reliability cannot be compromised. Ensuring a successful launch under these conditions requires rigorous and comprehensive testing in a time & cost-effective manner. Not only do compliance, functionality and inter-working need to be verified, but also the ability to handle the load and traffic patterns that can be expected in a live network with several million IoT devices.
This webinar will delve deeply into what it takes to test IoT network elements and networks in order to get them ready for launch. Whether you are interested in conducting end-to-end testing of the network or isolating certain specific elements for testing, such as the eNodeB, MME, SGW or SCEF, for example, you will gain new insights based on our extensive 3GPP technology testing experience.
How a Tier-1 MNO quickly and efficiently deployed C-RAN
Evolving today’s fiber-based mobile networks to a centralized radio access network (C-RAN) delivers many advantages to mobile network operators (MNOs), including higher bandwidth support and reduced operational expenses. However, C-RAN comes with its fair share of challenges.
This webinar will explore a C-RAN field trial that EXFO conducted with a Tier-1 MNO and how together, they addressed the issues commonly seen during fiber-to-the-antenna and C-RAN installations. It will also cover the best practices and tools used to troubleshoot and validate the complete fronthaul network.
Data-centers transformations part-2: The Interconnect Story
With the exponential increase in customers’ need for speed, the use of interconnectivity and cloud-based applications to handle more bandwidth is ubiquitous in data center infrastructure. Data centers must find new solutions for 100G networks and beyond and the Data Center Interconnect (DCI) must grow accordingly.
This session will discuss the best practices to keep in mind when planning the turn-up or upgrade of DCI links, especially for 100G/400G migrations. Topics of discussion will include the full network lifecycle, from commissioning to turn-up and even troubleshooting. The session will provide you with all the latest 100G+ optical and transport testing information, including:
- How to demystify the different types of optical interfaces, including CFP4, QSFP28, QSFP+ and other pluggable transceivers and how to best troubleshoot issues or failures
- Ethernet testing fundamentals, including latency measurement and analysis
- OTN testing
- 400G trends
Transitioning to a 5G world: how testing is evolving to meet operators' needs
Expected 5G spectrum utilization will mean major engineering and design challenges in terms of spectrum characteristics: very high frequencies and very large channels, with high expectations for performance. Vendors, operators and government initiatives around the world are testing and trialing 5G technologies to understand and cope with the challenges of the next-generation of technology. RCR Wireless looks at some of the 5G trials and testbeds, R&D work and how the test industry is supporting the evolution to 5G in terms of chipset, network infrastructure and network software.
