The Brix System: Comprehensive Converged Service Assurance Solution

A seamlessly integrated hardware and software solution, the Brix System delivers end-to-end network visibility and continuous real-time service monitoring and verification in multiplay environments. Built on a distributed architecture for maximum deployment flexibility and system scalability, the Brix System ensures the successful launch and ongoing, profitable operation of all types of IP-based voice, video, data, and mobile applications and services. The Brix System is unique in its ability to collect real-time and historical statistics and measure the key performance indicators (KPIs) that truly reflect the end-to-end performance of any IP service whether it is a worldwide, multiservice MPLS network, a Carrier Ethernet infrastructure, a VoIP backbone for long-distance wireless or wireline traffic, a mobile network for wireless services, an IPTV distribution network, a network in transition to the IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) architecture, or a managed IP telephony offering for enterprise customers.

The Brix System is comprised of the BrixWorx™ service assurance and performance management software engine that configures and manages a distributed network of monitoring and measurement points. The Brix System supports open standards to work with new and existing measurement points. These measurement points vary from EXFO Service Assurance hardware devices called Brix Verifiers to Cisco’s IP SLA system and include third-party devices that support standards for quality management. The real-time data collected from a host of proactive tests and live traffic monitoring is correlated and analyzed by BrixWorx to deliver detailed, actionable information reports for proactively managing end-to-end IP service assurance and continually guaranteeing that service levels are met. The Brix System correlates service information and KPIs to formulate key quality indicators (KQIs) that are actionable by network operations and engineering personnel. KQIs provide actionable and service-aware aggregate statistics of network health such as acceptable call quality (ACQ), which provides an operator with an indication of the percentage of calls that are meeting their network standard.

The Brix System is a key component that complements deployment at all phases of the IP service lifecycle including pre-deployment network assessment, rollout verification and tuning, continuous operational monitoring and troubleshooting, and service-level assurance. With both real-time and historical reports and analytics, the Brix System is the ideal service assurance solution to support the service lifecycle, delivering a continuous automated view of service performance—the only way to ensure success. The Brix System is a carrier-grade system that combines a systematic program of scheduled active tests to precisely simulate customer transactions, with the focused application of passive monitoring of user-generated traffic.

Network operators easily gain the visibility needed to guarantee service quality, properly implement QoS, cost-effectively roll out new services and keep their networks running smoothly and at peak performance.