Operators face multiple challenges when it comes to pre-production testing and validation of network upgrades, new services, and security patches. Emblasoft Evolver can help.

The services-based 5G architecture promises significant revenue opportunities for operators and service providers. It enables the launch and instantaneous scaling of innovative services and network slices that can be dynamically created and retired.

At the same time, it brings massive complexity, as services and slices need to be scaled and dynamically orchestrated, while network performance must be optimised to assure KPIs and SLAs. All of this within a significantly expanded multi-vendor landscape, as 5G invites innovative new entrants into the infrastructure, both from a network and service perspective.

To add to this challenge, operators must also maintain legacy tech and ensure both service interoperability and consistency, within the parameters of their SLAs and performance obligations.

Operators face multiple pre-production test and validation challenges

Operators are also under pressure to meet competitive goals and business objectives in order to remain differentiated in an increasingly crowded field.

The challenges are multiple for operators that need to continually optimise and upgrade the network, ensure optimised performance with resources allocated when and where required, while introducing innovative new services. The challenges are multiple:

• Lack of time
• Optimising and upgrading the network on an on-going basis
• Dealing with network performance issues and bottlenecks before they impact the end user
• The dynamic orchestration of network resources
• Ensuring security and compliance
• Meeting SLAs and KPIs for services, network slices and private networks
• Managing multiple generations of technology
• Ensuring consistency across different networks
• Launching innovative, differentiated services
• And more

Meeting these challenges requires a novel approach to testing and validating network upgrades, security patches and updates, and new service launches, both pre-launch and over the entire lifecycle of the software, service, or network slice. This falls under the DevOps umbrella of CI/CD/CT, which most operators have embraced to maintain competitive advantage.

Network and service updates need to be tested prior to launch to ensure that they perform without any drop in performance or impact to the customer experience. It requires testing and developing continuously before anything is released to production, across an ever-growing range of scenarios.

Likely impacts need to be modelled, bugs need to be fixed, KPIs must be met, and so on. The same goes for security patches and new service launches or upgrades.

How can Emblasoft Evolver help?

Of course, operators and service providers also need to ensure that any modifications or improvements operate perfectly in a wider multi-vendor environment – for example, distinctive components from multiple vendors might react differently to the same software change. How can operators optimise network performance and introduce new services without risk prior to launch?

Emblasoft Evolver allows lab and pre-production teams to validate new functionality, upgrades, and new service flows prior to launch, minimising risk and accelerating development times.

It can test new 5G Core features, validate SBA and interworking behaviour, or emulate roaming and VoLTE scenarios. It offers reusable test scenarios and automated execution for release validation. Evolver supports multiple protocols for functional, performance, and regression testing across mobile core networks including SBA, IMS, EPC and 5G Core and interfaces such as Diameter, SIP, HTTP/2, and legacy protocols.

Find out how Evolver helps you solve key business challenges in pre-production and development environments by downloading our latest briefing paper – and understand the value it offers to your teams. Download our latest brochure here.