Three recommendations on a private network testing strategy

Enterprises report that one of their top reasons for considering and implementing private networks is in pursuit of better network reliability.

But how do you achieve the expected level of private network reliability? Rich McNally, senior director of mobile service strategy at Spirent Communications, discussed Spirent’s point of view on the topic at Private Networks Global Forum event, in light of its extensive engagements in the testing and assurance of private network deployments.

According to McNally, there are three key aspects to network testing for private networks.

1. Measure what matters. “The first thing, and in my mind, perhaps the most important, is really to focus on what matters to the end user—to measure what matters,” McNally said. “When all is said and done, even if your network and the individual components, even if they conform to different specifications, pass different standards tests—what really matters is, does it deliver what my customer needs?” That means answering questions such as, is coverage strong in areas where it is needed? Does the network have the capacity to meet the performance and quality of experience requirements for the use cases that the customer wants to be supported? And what is the impact to performance and user experience as the network becomes loaded to the expected level? Answering those questions helps direct design and optimization, McNally said.

2. Adopt a lifecycle testing strategy. Private network validation and assurance can’t be viewed as a single event, a one-and-done task to be checked off as part of deployment. Successful private network customers “adopt more of a lifecycle strategy,” McNally said, starting with lab work in the design and build phase to make sure, especially in a multi-vendor deployment, that the RAN and core equipment and software conform to standards and work well together, and that the private network’s functions, coverage, use of spectrum, performance and quality of experience is tested thoroughly before it is rolled out to its user base.

“Even if you’ve got a bit of a standard model on your design, the components that are being used—both core and RAN—every network is going to have its own characteristics, quirks, its going to have its own critical use cases that you’re going to want to pay attention to in the real world,” McNally said.

3. Stay on top of assurance during ongoing operations. Networks change, and having active assurance such as virtual agents that can run tests, will help identify impacts of loading changes, usage changes, component failures or other patterns changes over time, McNally said. “It’s really to expect the unexpected, and be ready for things you don’t see coming,” he said.

Get more details from McNally’s talk on validation and testing for private networks on-demand here.