Features & Benefits

  • Scalable to 1000's of Agents
  • Easy download & installation process
  • Measures performance from the customer premises
  • Measures performance directly into your Core network
  • Variable test scheduling per user or group of users
  • Configurable TCP session count ensures maximal throughput readings per test.
  • Historic graphing of Service Quality on a per-user basis
  • Quickly identify configuration problems
  • Provides 'hard evidence' to users and network managers

Performance visibility from the customer premises

Network Operators often need to demonstrate to customers that the broadband service they are receiving compares well to the service they have been sold. Epitiro's desktop software application gives ISPs the option of providing optimised test results to each customer - demonstrating the quality of the service being delivered and also providing valuable insights into the client-side configuration that could be tweaked to maximise performance in high-bandwidth and high-latency environments. Epitiro's ISP-I software agent is becoming a vital part of a complete end-to-end solution to monitor wired or wireless broadband service quality from the customer perspective.

How does it work?
Freely deployed to your customers, usually via a link on your website or Intranet, the tiny software application, once installed, communicates with centralised analysis & reporting servers and gets a pre-defined schedule and list of tests to perform across your network. These schedules can be easily varied or updated on a per-customer basis.

Operational Overview
Before performing any test the desktop agent can check the User's CPU and Network activity levels to make sure that the agent does not influence the user's experience and makes sure that no tests are done when your internet connection is heavily used. When the client is running, it will perform the following tasks:

  • TCP throughput 'Line Speed' tests to known end-point in your core network, off network or Internet Peering location
  • Packet Loss reporting to known end-point in your core network
  • HTTP/S downloads (National & International URLs)
  • Latency (ICMP-based PING) Tests (National & International URLs)
  • DNS Lookup metrics
  • Additional bespoke testing can be engineered by arrangement

TCP throughput - Ensuring Link saturation with multiple test sessions

  • Works across all access networks including WiFi, 3G, xDSL, Cable and FTTx
  • Bandwidth x Delay Product (BDP) aware ensures maximal throughput measurement even in higher latency scenarios
  • Tx & Rx link measurements - accurate in environments in excess of 100Mbs
  • Centrally configurable TCP session count on a default or per end-user - ensure maximal throughput readings per test.
  • Variable end point testing - Test to multiple locations including core network, national or International testing allows you to understand International peering capacity

Secure server communications
The agent will periodically (as specified in the agent configuration) report monitoring results to the agent control server using secure HTTP-based transportation. Communication of configuration, results, and software updates between agent and agent control server uses MD5 encryption to ensure this secure transmission of data.

Silent Software Update option
A silent background mechanism is an available option to easily update the software to the latest versions versions or to add additional test functionality.

Optional User Interface
User-based access to reporting can be configured as an option. The user interface will provide the user with a series of graphs showing service performance - based on a context-menu linked to the application's tray-icon. This can be disabled if this functionality is not required.

Reporting & Data Recording Mechanisms
All test results are stored immediately after testing in a server-side Microsoft Sql Server database. Epitiro provide e very flexible browser-based reporting interface to query this data and generate real-time or historical views of service performance.


BT Wholesale 21CN Case Study
Read how epitiro ensured Quality of Service throughout planning, deployment and in-life phases of BT Wholesale's Next Generation 21CN Next Generation Network (NGN)...