Napatech has released what it calls “essential technology for detailed monitoring and troubleshooting of IP-based mobile data networks.”
Napatech, an OEM supplier of multi-port 10 GbE and 1 GbE intelligent adapters, has recently added key features to its network adapters to support mobile data networks. These features include full the support for IPv6 (including relevant extension header), a requirement for LTE.
Napatech has also included support for automatic recognition of key tunneling protocols used in mobile data networks, such as SCTP, GRE and GTP. This enables intelligent flow definition based on which tunneling protocol is being used. It also enables these flows to be intelligently distributed to multiple CPUs allowing parallel processing of mobile data. With 10 Gbps capture-to-disk, it is also possible to capture mobile data traffic for later forensic analysis and troubleshooting.
According to market research firm Infonetics, by the end of the year, data traffic will surpass voice traffic on mobile networks. This is driving investment in all-IP mobile data networks, such as LTE, which will extend the need for IP network monitoring, analysis and troubleshooting appliances.
“Mobile networks have traditionally been based on telecom protocols with significant management overhead built into the protocol itself,” says Napatech president Erik Norup. “This is not the case with IP, which allows IP networks to be more flexible, but means that network management needs to be handled differently.”
Norup says the performance monitoring, analysis, and troubleshooting of IP networks require dedicated network appliances–the sort that already exist in enterprise networks. “Now this technology can be applied to the challenges of mobile data networks,” he adds.
