IPTVv6 is the common name for IPTV service delivered over an IPv6 network infrastructure. IPTV content is sent to IPv6 multicast groups, which subscribers join in order to receive the desired television channels. Multicast listener discovery (MLD) is the protocol used by client devices such as set-top boxes (STBs) to signal their interest in receiving particular IPTV channels. There are two versions of the protocol in use: MLDv1 and MLDv2. These are the rough functional equivalents of IGMPv2 and IGMPv3, respectively, in the IPv4 space. Testing the responsiveness to MLD activity (channel zapping) as well as the ability of devices to deliver acceptable video quality to subscribers is a significant challenge for service providers and network equipment manufacturers, but it one that must be met in order to ensure user satisfaction and protect IPTVv6 revenue streams.

For more background on IPTV test issues and related solutions, please see our IPTV resources page at the link below:

>> IPTV Webpage | Back to to

The central theme in IPTVv6 testing is user Quality of Experience (QoE), i.e., an assessment of how much the user enjoys the service. Many factors contribute to QoE, but from the network equipment perspective, the key issues are:

1. MLD channel zapping performance

• How quickly can a user begin viewing a channel after requesting it?
• How quickly can a user change from one channel to another?
• How quickly does the system under test stop delivering a channel no longer being watched in order to make room for a new channel or other subscriber IP traffic?

2. Video quality

• How is the network treating the video traffic? Is it dropping video packets and corrupting the image? Is it injecting jitter and thus wreaking havoc with STB buffers?

These important questions must be answered by testing in a highly scaled environment, with thousands of IPTVv6 subscribers exhibiting dynamic channel zapping profiles. The effect of other services such as data and VoIP must be measured. It is vital to measure MLD join, leave and channel zapping delay for every subscriber to ensure adequate performance. Similarly, video quality must be assessed for all subscribers using a highly scalable network video quality metric such as the Media Delivery Index (MDI).

For more information on scalable IPTV testing and MDI, please see our whitepapers at the links below:

>> IPTV Webpage | Scalable IPTV Quality Testing (Whitepaper) | IPTV QoE: Understanding and Interpreting MDI Values (Whitepaper) | How Network Conditions Impact IPTV QoE (Case Study) | Back to top

Agilent provides a powerful IPTVv6 test solution through the N5574A IPTV Quality of Experience Productivity Application for IPv6. This product enables dynamic IPTVv6 subscriber simulation for thousands of subscribers. It includes the key test scenarios for assessing MLD/IPTVv6 performance of a device such as an IPv6 multicast router or MLD-snooping switch. The complementary E7877A IPTV Video Generation and Analysis Software License adds the ability to generate actual video and make MDI video quality measurements for each simulated subscriber.

Key features:

• Dynamic subscriber simulation creating a real-world test environment
• Load a Gigabit or 10-Gibabit Ethernet pipe with IPv6 Video traffic at line rate
• Highly scalable per-subscriber MDI video quality metrics
• Emulation of thousands of subscribers and hundreds of channels per port to quickly identify performance thresholds
• Real video generation, capture and replay, providing faster "time to insight"
• IPv6 support (IPv4 support with the complementary N5570A application)
• Supports 10/100M, 1G and 10G Ethernet at high port densities

>> IPTV Webpage | IPTV Quality of Experience Test Solution Datasheet | Back to top

The N5574A IPTV Quality of Experience Productivity Application for IPv6 is available on the N2X platform from Release 6.10 onwards. A product video that demonstrates how to test IPTVv6 Quality of Experience with Agilent N2X is accessible at the link below. Please contact your local Agilent representative for a live product demonstration at your site.

>> IPTV Webpage | N2X Release 6.10 | Demo Video | Back to top

Click here to contact your local Agilent representation for more information.

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