Agilent access7 Case Study: Illuminet

Agilent acceSS7

Case Study: Illuminet

Helping deliver total customer satisfaction

using Surveillance and Troubleshooting

and Billing Data Collection

distance telephone companies as well as wireless, application and Internet Service Providers. Connection to the Illuminet network gives customers access to the signaling networks of nearly the entire U.S. public - switched telecommunications infrastructure through a single source. Illuminet specializes in signaling network services and intelligent network solutions for a variety of services such as calling name delivery, calling card validation, wireless roaming and wireless prepaid services, network usage measurement, number portability, and other specialized database access functions.

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Agilent acceSS7 solution helps

Illuminet stay in control

The acceSS7 solution from Agilent Technologies gives Illuminet's Network Surveillance and Control Center (NSCC) real-time, remote surveillance capabilities. The entire coast-to-coast network is now visible from one location. The system provides early warning signals and enables technicians to isolate, analyze, troubleshoot and correct potential network problems quickly and effectively.

Safeguarding the quality of customer service

Illuminet prides itself on its network reliability and customer service. In 1997, Illuminet decided to invest in a network monitoring and surveillance system that would help it to continue to provide excellent service and allow it to grow with its customers. The justification for this major strategic investment was the network visibility, quality of information and flexibility provided by the system.

Illuminet's original network management system, installed when the company was founded, successfully alerted the NSCC to network conditions and network alarms. When service-related issues rose,

however, the system performed less well with processes such as troubleshooting, fixing problems and trapping SS7 messages needing considerable amounts of time to resolve.

Responding to customer problems fast and efficiently was often difficult. On receipt of a complaint, NSCC technicians needed to isolate and correct the problem by coordinating individuals working in different sites and using different protocol analyzer tools. The resolution process was extensive and time consuming.

Long term, Illuminet sought a more viable way to keep the network running smoothly and to provide uninterrupted service to its customers. It also required a method of extracting different types of network management information from the network links, rather than from just the network elements themselves.

In the past few years, deregulation, increased competition and a dramatic surge in demand for switch-based

telecommunications services have placed Illuminet's network under increasing pressure. The growing number of customers

connected to the network is generating more traffic and there is a greater use of the network to reach Illuminet databases.

Above photo: Illuminet Headquarters, Olympia, WA

Finding a comprehensive solution

Illuminet evaluated intelligent network monitoring and surveillance solutions from several vendors. Illuminet was looking for a solution that was mature and proven, also to isolate problems remotely and provide protocol analysis, call trace, and traffic monitoring tools.

A further requirement was the provision of a network investigator (NI) function. Several of Illuminet's customers were new to the SS7 side of the telephony industry, and were unfamiliar with SS7 engineering, measurements and threshholding. From Illuminet's viewpoint, NI reporting functionality could help bridge the gap between the traditional switching side and the SS7 switching side.

Illuminet selected the acceSS7 solution from Agilent to manage its network. The Agilent solution was able to meet all of the company's requirements and further more would help to attract additional customers because the product was so well known and well-respected in the industry.

Raising the standard of day-to-day performance

The acceSS7 solution is now fundamental to the NSCC's operation. Every day, around the clock, technicians use the system's tools --Protocol Analysis, Call Trace, Traffic Monitor, Link Status Monitor and Network Investigator -- to troubleshoot and resolve a variety of issues that come into the network. Traffic Monitor provides a comprehensive view of the entire network, while Protocol Analysis and Call Trace capture and analyze SS7 messages on many service-related trouble tickets.

Currently 36 staff are actively using the system. Of these 20 are working in the NSCC, and a further 16 are carrying out engineering research and management duties.

NSCC staff can use the acceSS7 system at any time to inspect network activity; assess the amount and types of traffic and identify potential service disruptions. Every 15 seconds Traffic Monitor displays the 10 most heavily loaded links in the network from a total of more than 2000 links, and can trigger staff to question why certain conditions exist. It displays statistics and information to help address issues before they cause any service-related problems. The number of trouble tickets technicians are able to clear each day has risen substantially.

"With significant annual growth and a network

that a lot of telephone companies depend on,

service disruptions are totally unacceptable to us.

We need to be on top of everything in our

network and be able to prevent problems before

they occur."

" The industry sees us as a company with a very

reliable, robust network and as being very

customer-focused. Agilent acceSS7 has made a

significant contribution to our reputation."

Ken Helgeson, Director Network Operations, Illuminet

Illuminet’s Network Surveillance and Control Center, Overland Park, KS

Link Status Monitor (LSM) is a critical tool for looking at network management messages flowing over the linkset(s) between any two elements on the network at the channel level. In a recent case, Illuminet had a network interconnect problem with another network that it could not have uncovered without LSM. Illuminet's acceSS7 system helped avert a potential service - affecting situation.

“ The Agilent solution has made us a much better

network and a much better business”.

"Overall, acceSS7 has given us a tool we've never

had before and it’s been able to resolve issues that

were previously affecting the network adversely.

We're able to be more proactive, particularly with

Traffic Monitor, because it allows us to see things as

they're happening."

Ken Helgeson, Director Network Operations, Illuminet

Joe Dechant, Network Technician, Illuminet Achieving greater efficiency

Illuminet has now reduced the average interval between receiving a customer call and isolating and resolving the problem to less than 10 minutes. The new system is tremendously efficient from a manpower perspective in that one technician can now do the work it used to take five or six people to do.

Greater visibility means that Illuminet can field questions from customers without investing additional resources to investigate hard-to-identify problems, such as verifying loops in the network. Developing loop conditions are flagged immediately. Illuminet technicians can set up a Protocol Analysis session to validate the existing condition and, if necessary, identify the probable cause and take action to fix it.

Overall, the acceSS7 system helps to anticipate and fix many network performance issues extremely quickly. Judging by reductions in mean-time-to-repair and other operational improvements, Illuminet management believes the system has increased efficiency by as much as 45%.

Improving the billing process

Illuminet's acceSS7 solution is made up of two discrete systems. One system is used for monitoring, surveillance and troubleshooting, and the other consists of a platform to collect network data for billing purposes. Before the installation of the acceSS7 system, Illuminet did not have real-time visibility into its network performance, or into traffic routing. Customers were only billed on the basis of call termination records and there was no way of checking whether the company was capturing all of the information it needed to accurately charge.

Running a better network

The acceSS7 solution has become an integral part of turning up any link or changing any links or link reconfigurations within the network. When Illuminet adds a customer, it makes sure that part of the installation process is hooking up and testing the new link to the acceSS7 system.

As Illuminet rolls out new products, the acceSS7 solution is essential because it is able to provide a complete picture of how a call enters the network, and what it does as it travels through the network.

Many of Illuminet's customers are small companies that don't have a lot of depth of expertise in SS7 or don't have sophisticated test equipment available. Illuminet can now use acceSS7 to provide them with test assistance. Even if a problem is not in the signaling network, Illuminet is there to help. In the near future, Illuminet plans to gather the information from the acceSS7 system and package it into other value-added services for its customers.

" We consider the Agilent solution a competitive

advantage. We've become such experts with it that

we can maximize it to its fullest, and we continue

to expand it and look for enhancements to further

improve our customer service and network

management capabilities."

Illuminet now uses acceSS7 as its billing data collection platform. This works in conjunction with the company's internally developed billing software. Illuminet can use acceSS7 to capture originating and terminating call data, compare the two, and make sure that it is collecting details of everything traversing the network.

Illuminet's network staff can now help with billing inquires, investigating and validating the actual usage data for charges. This results in greater billing accuracy and more realistic customer expectations.

"Because we're constantly moving traffic around,

it can be difficult to keep up with everything

from a billing standpoint. The acceSS7 system

gives us a good vehicle to collect information on

the same platform we're using for billing, which

obviously makes things more straightforward."

Ken Helgeson, Director Network Operations, Illuminet

Agilent Technologies‘ extensive expertise in all areas of telecommunications

helps us to provide you with complete, high-quality, reliable and affordable

solutions. Our objective is to help you stay in control of your network, increase

your profits and strengthen your market position. And deliver the highest

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Product specifications and descriptions in this document subject to change without notice.

Copyright ©2001 Agilent Technologies

Printed in the UK 03/01