Understanding the MSF

Understanding the MSF

Wayne CutlerMSF CTO & TC Chairman

2011

Copyright 2011: MultiService Forum

Who is the MSF?

• Founded in 1998• Open consortium of telecommunications companies (mix of large

operators, large vendors, niche suppliers, test tool suppliers et al)• See www.msforum.org


MSF Principal Members- 2010/11


What Does the MSF do?

• Focuses on developing meaningful physical implementations of standards

• Organises large-scale interoperability events to test and validate standards in implementations of interest to major carriers

• Provides significant resource for members to leverage for achieving multi-vendor solutions

• Provides key implementation feedback to vendors, carriers and SDO’s

• See http://www.msforum.org/interoperability/GMI.shtml for details of all MSF IOT events


How Does the MSF work? SDO community

Standards

Carriers

Vendors

Feedback

Implementations

Validated, commercially viable tested standards

NGN ArchitecturalFramework

Physical ScenariosProtocol Selection

MSF IA’sTest Plans

Testing & Interoperability Programmes

MSF


What are the Benefits of Open Interoperability Testing?

• Operators and Equipment Vendors that participate in Open Interoperability Events learn how multivendor next-generation products and networks will interoperate in the real world.

• That information translates into several financial benefits:– Reduced time to market for deployment of interoperable

solutions– Decreased costs and resources to resolve interoperability

issues– Improved protocol documentation through facilitating

clarifications in the tested standards via feedback to the appropriate SDOs

– Thoroughly evaluated architectural framework for cooperatively designing end-to-end networking solutions


MSF GMI IOT Events • Historically: MSF held Global MSF Interoperability Events (GMI)

– Multi site, multi protocol, end-end

– GMI events reflected the needs/focus of the telecoms industry at the time

• GMI2002: focused on Gateways & Controllers (MGCP, H.248)

• GMI2004: focused on SIP Servers

• GMI 2006: focused on IMS

• GMI 2008: added multiple access types into the IMS core (3GPP, 3GPP2, WiMAX, Broadband, TD-SCDMA, POTS) plus IPTV


MSF Post GMI IOT Events

• Post GMI 2008, MSF changed strategy to running more focused events on an “as needed” basis

– Restructuring of MSF Working Group structure

– Parallel work streams (ad-hoc Working Groups)

– Hosted LTE IOT Event in March 2010

– Hosted Performance IOT Event in November 2010


Board of DirectorsProcesses, Policies, MSF Business Proposition

MSF Organization

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MembershipIntellectual Property

Finance & AuditLiaison

Technical CommitteeTechnical Programme

Marketing and Education Committee

PR promotion, Events

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MSF Events: LTE IOT• LTE IOT event in March 2010

– Hosted by Vodafone and China Mobile, – Testing Scenarios included

• Basic EPC Interoperability• Roaming• Non-LTE access to the EPC,• Handover,• Robustness Testing (“fuzzing”)

– Results liaised to 3GPP, NGMN, LSTI & GSMA– White Paper available at

http://www.msforum.org/interoperability/LTE.shtml


MSF Events: P-IOT 2010

• Performance IOT 2010 (P-IOT 2010) Event in November 2010– Focussed on the management reporting interfaces of Session

Border Gateways (access & N/W side)• Voice/Video/Data sessions under varying loads, • Validated reported information against i3F defined KPIs• Tested QoS reporting and problem isolation/location,

– Results liaised to i3Forum & ATIS PTSC– White Paper available at

http://www.msforum.org/interoperability/MSF%20P-IOT%20White%20Paper_2_2011_FINAL.pdf


Current Activities - Headline Items

• VoLTE (Voice over LTE)• Network Robustness • Content Distribution Networks (CDNs)• Network-to-Network Interface (NNI) Performance Testing


VoLTE (1/2)

•VoLTE IOT Event planned for September 2011- Builds on the LTE/EPC executed in March 2010- Executes tests not performed during the previous IOT event- Validates GSMA Permanent Reference Documents IR.88,

IR.92, IR.65- Joint event with GSMA – co-operation agreement signed- VoLTE IOT officially announced at GSMA Mobile World

Congress in February 2011


VoLTE (2/2)•Scope of VoLTE IOT event completed. •Five defined scenarios :

- VoLTE (compliant to GSMA PRD IR.92), - Roaming & Interconnect, (compliant to GSMA PRD's IR.65 and

IR.88), - 2G/3G access to EPC via both legacy/S4-SGSN, - Handovers (intra LTE & LTE <-> 2G/3G),- SON (Self-Optimising Networks).

•See www.msforum.org/interoperability/VoLTE.shtml


Announcement of MSF/GSMA VoLTE IOT

MSF/GSMA VoLTE IOT A major LTE, EPC and IMS Test Event

September, 2011Host sites:

China Mobile in Beijing and Vodafone in Düsseldorf


Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

MSF/GSMA VoLTE IOTSponsors and Supporters


Network Robustness (1/3)

• Multi-part Work Item covering :- N/W Monitoring,- Congestion & Overload Control,- Disruption Testing, - Network feedback & instabilities,- Prioritization,- End-End QoS, inc. NNI QoS in particular



• First IOT event, “P-IOT 2010” completed, November 8th-19th 2010 at NCS's XTC labs in Chantilly, Virginia • P-IOT 2010 was the 1st of a series of planned IOT events and White Paper published February 2011 and liaised to i3Forum & GSMA. • P-IOT 2010 focussed on the reporting / logging capability of SBGs (both access & n/w side) and includes:

- Voice sessions via an IMS core under varying load conditions- Video sessions via an IMS core under varying load condition - Data sessions under varying load conditions



• Next phase of work currently being scoped out• Feedback received from i3Forum in response to MSF liaison following P-IOT 2010 event • Potential future topics:

- Testing PCRF under congestion,- LTE & Metro Ethernet Congestion,- Additional Operational Measurement & CRD analysis,- Further NNI testing,- IP6 testing on SBGs & IP4/IP6 inter-working.


Content Delivery Networks

• Formal Work Item (WI) adopted in April 2010• Conduct Architectural Analysis and develop architectural framework for CDNs taking input from all SDOs• LS received from ITU-T SG13 regarding CDN Functional Architecture Framework • Define Physical Scenarios and Test Cases for an IOT event• IOT Event planned for Q2 2012


NNI Performance Testing

• New WI agreed in Q1 2011• Study of IP NNI work in other fora

- Creation of a NNI Profile- Considers both national & international IP NNI

• LSs sent to ATIS PTSC NG-CI, ETSI TC-INT, i3F, GSMA• Define Physical Scenarios and test plans

for future IOT events• Initial scope of work looking at North American IP NNI• NNI based on ATIS specs - IOT event planned for

Q4/11. Close co-operation with ATIS PTSC NG-CI• Subsequent work to look at international IP NNI


Ongoing activities with other fora • VoLTE IOT jointly organised with GSMA and formally announced at

GSMA MWC• Regular contact with i3Forum regarding QoS & NNI issues • Initial scope of NNI Performance Testing to be based on ATIS

PTSC specs• MSF attended IMS World Forum in March 2011 along with GSMA,

ETSI, IMTC & IMSF to discuss current testing activities and future co-operation.


Thank You