COX WIN MOVES EMPIRIX INTO VoIP NETWORK MANAGEMENT

VoIP test system provider Empirix stepped publicly beyond its testing realm this week by announcing a deployment at Cox Communications for its Hammer XMS voice-over-IP network-monitoring system.

Cox will use the system across its national network to ensure quality of service as it rolls out VoIP services. Cox has launched service in five market clusters and is in the process of launching several more. The company is already processing 1 million calls per day in its markets.

Best known for its VoIP test systems, Empirix began development on the network-monitoring system in late 2003 and brought the XMS to market in November.

“Testing VoIP was invaluable in developing the Hammer XMS,” said Phil Odence, vice president of business development for Empirix. “We have lifted some technology from our lab test product and embedded it in the XMS. That gives us a leg up on development.”

Empirix introduced the first VoIP test system in 1995 and now has a full suite of lab and field testing tools for VoIP, ranging from load testing equipment to testing voice quality. The Hammer XMS, for live network monitoring, is an integrated analysis system that uses distributed, high-performance probes and a central operations server to monitor the reliability and quality of live, carrier-class VoIP networks.

The system uses the non-intrusive probes with a scalable architecture capable of tracking tens of thousands of simultaneous calls. It provides network diagnostics and service optimization statistics on VoIP and TDM protocol performance as well as media quality in real time for every call. It also can present that data through integration with existing network management systems.

While cable companies typically deploy technology on a per-market basis, the support structure for VoIP is centralized, using remote probes in every market.

“Empirix is an integral part of our ongoing operations for VoIP. It is used both in our local markets and our National Technical Support Center on a 7×24 basis,” said Richard Mueller, vice president of network planning, operations and engineering for Cox Communications.

Cox is no stranger to managing voice networks. The company launched its digital telephone service in 1997 in Orange County, Calif. The difference between launching a traditional voice service versus VoIP is a matter of more mature technology.

“In launching TDM voice, I can rely on a small number of vendors whose equipment is proven to interoperate. In launching VoIP, I have to use a much larger group of vendor's products and take the time to prove they integrate well,” Mueller said.

That is primarily what Empirix has been doing since it launched its first VoIP product, Odence said.

It has always been part of Empirix' grand plan to have a monitoring solution ready for the day VoIP reached its own level of maturity and began to be deployed in carrier networks.

“We consciously engineered our lab products in a way that anticipated XMS even when it was just a glimmer in our eye. So we are now well-positioned to move into this space,” Odence said.

According to Frost & Sullivan, Empirix has been the market leader in VoIP lab test equipment since 2002. Last month, the market research firm said the VoIP monitoring market itself will soar to almost $300 million by 2008.