incognito_incognito 09/07/2014 15:40 Page 2
COMPANY CONTRIBUTION
This forces affected
service providers to not only
rethink their traffic shaping
and fair access policies, but to
also reassess how utilisation
information is collected.
Providers using deep packet
inspection (DPI), long
considered to be a highly
intrusive method of collecting
usage details, may see added
By levering TR-069 and
pressure from consumer
IPDR, service providers
gain access to data that
advocacy groups to change
is available in the
their tactics.
network.
Here, once again, IPDR
may be the answer. Unlike
DPI, IPDR simply provides summaries of
performance. Measurable examples of service
utilisation with no indication of where the
management metrics that are leading
traffic is headed, thus removing any privacy
indicators of service issues include:
concerns. Policy enforcement through IPDR is
l of calls dropped (VOIP)
performed by placing offending devices into
l of overruns/under-runs (IPTV)
slower CMTS service flows, which means that
l failed device discoveries (Broadband)
all data traffic is affected in a nonl ACS operations older than 24 hours
discriminatory manner. Involvement from
(Broadband)
other back office systems such as provisioning
l DSL link retrains in past 24 hours
(Broadband)
software is not required, and the subscriber
With this type of information in hand,
should be automatically restored to their
original speed once the billing cycle is over or
the network is no longer congested.
But no matter how well a network is run,
the only network that matters to the
subscriber is the network he or she is using.
The average household today has 10 IPconnected devices and this is expected to
increase to 50 by 2022. As devices such as
home set-top boxes and gaming consoles
become essential for entertainment, home
networks are becoming more complicated for
subscribers to manage. Quality of service
issues can stem from any number of problems,
such as WiFi, firmware, or a malfunctioning
device.
To truly measure an individual subscriber’s
QoE, service providers cannot rely only on
macro network statistics. A more complete
picture can be formed with service delivery
intelligence from the network edge, generated
from inside the customer premises.
Useful for not only increasing visibility in
the home network, but also for gaining control
over devices, is a network-agnostic protocol
that bridges the gap between the wider access
network and home networks. The CPE WAN
Management Protocol, published by
Broadband Forum as TR-069, specifies a
standard communication mechanism between
customer premises equipment and a TR-069
auto-configuration server. Essentially, it allows
providers to pre-emptively judge the needs of
a subscriber and remotely resolve issues for a
smooth user experience.
TR-069 exposes physical layer parameters
on home gateways to verify device status,
functionality, connected devices, and
providers can proactively mitigate
configuration issues by remotely adjusting
device parameters and even remotely update
device firmware. It’s not just the management
of one or two devices either, which is
beneficial from a call centre perspective, but of
large scale firmware upgrades to set-top boxes,
VoIP phones, and more.
Ultimately, TR-069 not only lowers the
amount of customer support calls, but also
reduces the time subscribers spend on the
phone with customer service. TR-069 takes
away the hassle for subscribers by enhancing
the role of the customer service representative
(CSR). Under TR-069, CSRs can monitor
home networks and take advantage of
improved diagnostics capabilities to solve
problems that may be affecting the
subscriber’s network in one call. Subscribers
would no longer need to be walked through a
canned script of troubleshooting procedures
on the phone, or worse still, wait for a service
provider to send a truck.
Even though it is well adopted in the Telco
world, barriers for adoption remain in the
Cable world. Most cable device manufacturers
have only just adopted TR-069 and are now
experiencing growing pains. Developing a new
client for an established protocol such as
DOCSIS is not easy and, clearly, not all TR069 clients are created equal. Some devices
fail obvious tests, while others have a
proprietary scheme on top.
The challenge with managing devices that
have proprietary schemes is that it requires
software that can interpret the proprietary
statistics of the devices and manage their
parameters. Without this
ability, service providers
would not be able to fully
leverage the capabilities of
TR-069 and make use of
valuable device data.
Despite all this, there’s a
growing number of device
manufacturers who
understand that the key to
the success of their TR-069
product is not just its
functionality, but also the
way it integrates with an
existing management and
monitoring platform. As
more cable operators become aware of the
benefits of TR-069, it is only a matter of time
until more vendors adopt an open approach to
TR-069 and make the R&D investments where
needed.
Conclusion
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. —
As the old management adage goes.
When it comes to QoE from an access
network and connected home perspective,
IPDR and TR-069 are two key technologies in
understanding the subscriber experience.
While IPDR gives service providers a wider
view of congestion and trends in the network,
TR-069 provides insight into the customer
premises.
By collecting, normalising, analysing, and
presenting utilisation data, IPDR solutions
help providers make network investment
decisions based on accurate information,
implement speed reduction policies that do
not discriminate against specific OTT services,
and avoid privacy concerns.
By accessing the remote monitoring and
management capabilities of TR-069, service
providers c