Cisco Cisco Video Assurance Management Solution 2.0 Libro blanco
White Paper
© 2008 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
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Video Assurance Management:
Maintain High-Quality Video Across IP Networks
Maintain High-Quality Video Across IP Networks
Executive Summary
The Cisco
®
Video Assurance Management Solution (VAMS) delivers robust fault-management
capabilities for the IP transport layer of an IP-based video service. Highly scalable, with integration
among modular application components and support for multivendor networks, this extensible
framework is designed to facilitate rapid video service fault detection across very large IP video
networks.
Challenges
In the broadcast television industry, the foundation of success is consistently excellent video
quality. When broadcast video services are delivered over an IP network, quality of experience is
measured by packet loss. One IP video packet contains approximately 1,400 bytes of information,
and each IP packet contains multiple MPEG encapsulated video packets. The loss of one IP
packet can lead to video impairments that can last half a second or more. A single dropped packet
can cause “tiling”; many dropped packets can lead to full-screen freezes—and complaints from
customers.
Video service providers need network management systems that help them detect, isolate,
troubleshoot, and resolve most video quality issues without unnecessary support calls. An effective
video fault management system helps providers to catch and resolve quality issues before
customers notice and call technical support. Help desk calls cost money as operators diagnose
and resolve quality issues. Customer calls also demonstrate customer dissatisfaction. Too many
calls may result in customer turnover—and reduced profits. Some providers estimate that the
average cost of dealing with a single customer case equals or exceeds the profitability of that
customer for an entire year.
Video is a complex, performance-sensitive service that requires a network to provide excellent
quality of experience to customers. To assure excellent service quality, service providers delivering
broadcast television services over IP networks need powerful end-to-end, vendor-neutral fault
management systems. These systems must meet several requirements:
●
Identify faults (primarily packet loss) in unique video programs
●
Support visibility into operational domains (such as core, aggregation, or access) for fault
isolation
●
Integrate with the network infrastructure and operations support systems (OSS)
●
Share common information pools and automation scripts for fault isolation, identification,
and resolution
●
Present information in language familiar to both network operations and video operations
personnel
●
Support all devices related to the service, from any vendor