Network quality analysis (NQA) is a feature provided by the NetEngine 8000 F. Operating independently of hardware, NQA functions on the data link layer and assesses the performance of protocols running on network, transport, and application layers.
The NetEngine 8000 F provides NQA to help carriers monitor network quality of service (QoS) in real time and locate any faults occurring on a network.
Without NQA features on the NetEngine 8000 F, carriers provide the following services to help users evaluate network service quality:
Enable NetEngine 8000 Fs to provide network service quality information.
Carriers have to set parameters, such as the delay, jitter, and packet loss ratio on NetEngine 8000 Fs to assess network performance, which allows different devices to collect index-specific statistics and analyze service changes.
Deploy probe devices to monitor network service quality.
Deploying dedicated probe devices, such as the third-party probe device Brix, increases carriers' costs because the demand for probe devices grows with the increasing network scale.
The NetEngine 8000 F provides NQA tools that are integrated with network quality test functions. There is no need to set additional parameter on devices or deploy probe devices, which reduces carrier network costs. NQA accurately monitors the network operating status and collects statistics.
NQA measures the performance of each protocol running on a network and helps carriers collect network operation indicators, such as the delay time of a TCP connection, packet loss ratio, and path maximum transmission unit (MTU). Carriers provide users with differentiated services and charge users differently based on these indicators. NQA is also an effective tool to diagnose and locate faults in a network.
Although the ping operation can be used as a traditional method to monitor network quality, the ping operation provides less information than NQA. Table 1 describes the differences between NQA and the ping.
Item |
NQA |
Ping |
|---|---|---|
Function |
NQA initiates Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) tests to check if services, such as TCP and UDP, are enabled and calculate the response time of each service type. NQA conducts jitter tests to measure the jitter time. |
The pings are performed using ICMP, only measure the round-trip time (RTT) of packets between the source and destination, and check the reachability of a specific destination. A user can initiate only one ping at a time. |
Usage |
You can view NQA test results on an NQA client. Note the following:
|
The ping command must be run on the console port to check the reachability of a specified IP address. The RTT or timeout period of every packet is displayed in real time. |
Scheduling |
NQA schedules test instances to prevent concurrent tests and therefore reduces the burden on the NetEngine 8000 F. A single NQA test instance can be started or stopped in a specific mode:
If several tasks are performed simultaneously, the NetEngine 8000 F arranges the start time and test intervals for each task. |
The ping operation can only be triggered manually. |