The Hammer G5 is an advanced VoIP, NGN, and IMS call generation platform for service providers, integrators, manufacturers and test labs
Ensuring quality in today's VoIP, NGN, and IMS networks requires numerous testing stages and test types; each with their own unique test requirements and personnel. The diversity of test needs often leads to numerous pieces of test equipment and many large investments throughout the product development and service deployment lifecycle.
Hammer G5 simplifies the test environment and minimizes the investment. Hammer G5 combines extensive feature testing and ultra-scalable load testing under one GUI to create a comprehensive test environment that can be used throughout the test lifecycle for Application Developers, Network Equipment Manufacturers, Systems Integrators and Service Providers - from early stage unit testing in R&D to service verification in production rollouts.
Hammer G5 is a test tool that can emulate endpoints and simulate user interaction from virtually any point on the call or session path. This allows test engineers to execute more thorough testing of deployments, networks or devices - all in a single, extremely cost-effective test platform. Hammer G5 is:
- Integrated - Feature, load, voice quality, signaling, and media are all in one platform controlled by a common user interface
- Flexible - Graphically develop simple call flow scenarios or easily modify signaling messages and protocol behavior for even the most complex call scenarios
- Scalable - Scales from a single developer's solution with a few end points and expands up to hundreds of thousands of calls, as required throughout the test lifecycle
- Multi-protocol - Can run multiple protocols simultaneously using the same tests and scripts, including: SIP, SIP I+T, MGCP, NCS, H.248/Megaco, H.323, QSIG, Skinny, and Unistim
- Multi-media - Supports many different narrowband and wideband codecs for wireline and wireless, as well as various real media types such as tones, DTMF, voice, fax, and video
Common Usage Scenarios
End-to-End Testing
Integrators, Vendors and Service Providers can use Hammer G5 for end-to-end testing; including proof of concept, service verification, deployment and interoperability, and scenario/use-case testing. The Hammer G5 can fully simulate thousands of distinct and concurrent subscriber interactions with the network using multiple protocols. Hammer G5 can generate numerous call/session profiles across numerous protocols simultaneously, allowing it to simulate a wide variety of real and unusual traffic patterns.
Isolation Testing
Network Equipment Manufactures and Application Developers must test their products in isolation. Service Providers often test individual or clusters of devices in isolation for vendor verification purposes. Hammer G5 can emulate call/session behavior from any point within the call flow, allowing it to emulate end-user behavior and intermediary devices surrounding the DUT. Hammer G5 supports numerous test profiles depending on the DUT/SUT. Hammer G5's flexible signaling engine allows multiple profiles to be run independently, concurrently, or in succession to generate the desired realistic or irregular traffic profile needed. For example, advanced features and media quality can be verified under load conditions that include negative (invalid protocol implementations) tests.
Hammer G5s feature test capabilities make it ideal for testing logic-intense devices such as Application, Feature, and Media Servers. Hammer G5s load testing capabilities allow it to provide device-breaking traffic for high-throughput devices such as gateways, gateway controllers, session controllers, and session border controllers.
IMS Testing
Hammer G5's robust SIP support, IMS UE emulation, full IPv6 support, and flexible signaling engine make it ideal for testing IMS networks and devices at any stage of the lifecycle. Hammer G5 can generate calls and sessions, with the proper IMS header additions and modifications, across any SIP-based IMS interface. Hammer G5 allows the user to update and modify the underlying protocol state machine to adjust to changing IMS standards, interoperability, and negative testing situations. Diverse codec support make it useful for media testing in both fixed and cellular-based IMS networks and ideal for Fixed Mobile Convergence Applications.
Hammer G5 can also be used in conjunction with Hammer FX-TDM for TDM-call generation.
Cable Telephony Testing
Hammer G5 also tests Cable Telephony networks. With support for NCS and SIP over TLS, Hammer G5 can be used to verify legacy PacketCable VoIP networks and emerging PacketCable Multimedia 2.0 IMS-based devices and networks.
Presence and POC Testing
Hammer G5 includes feature testing options for testing of devices and networks supporting presence and Push-to-Talk over Cellular technologies, including support for OMA specified PoC interfaces to the IMS core, Presence Servers, and PoC servers. Hammer G5 also supports the Talk Burst Control Protocol (TBCP) for full testing of OMA PoC applications and infrastructure.
Session Border Controller/Distributed Border Controller Testing
Hammer G5's multi-profile core allows for simultaneous stress testing and negative testing of Session Border Controllers, with signaling, media, secure transport, and unique IP addresses, MAC addresses, and VLAN tagging. Hammer G5 can be configured in signaling only mode for testing Border Control devices in distributed SBC and IMS-based architectures.
Download the Hammer G5 Datasheet on the left for more information, including additional Illustrations, Features and Specifications.
