Anritsu Transforms Private Network Assurance for Mission-Critical Environments

Addressing Challenges in Private Network Assurance

The deployment of mobile private networks (MPNs) is becoming increasingly essential for enterprises that require secure, reliable, and high-performance connectivity to support critical operations. However, this growing need presents unique challenges:

• Balancing Innovation and Operational Stability: MPNs must deliver high performance, stability, and precise control to support business-critical applications, which traditional public or enterprise wireless networks may struggle to handle.
• Fragmented Ecosystems: MPNs often involve multiple vendors and disparate technologies, making end-to-end monitoring and cohesive management challenging. This fragmentation can result in operational blind spots that increase the risk of service disruptions.
• Complex Network Management: Effective management of private networks demands specialized skills to understand and optimize the dynamic interactions between network components and user demands. Without integrated monitoring systems, enterprises may struggle to maintain operational insight and achieve timely issue resolution.

Anritsu’s approach sought to overcome these challenges through an innovative, vendor-agnostic service assurance framework designed to provide holistic network visibility, proactive monitoring, and seamless issue resolution.

Anritsu’s Comprehensive Private Network Solution

Anritsu’s solution for private network assurance is grounded in over 25 years of expertise in mobile network operations, incorporating cutting-edge technologies and a robust ‘3-Layers Architecture’ framework to deliver exceptional network monitoring and management capabilities. Key components of this solution include:

• 3-Layers Architecture Framework: This architecture comprises three core layers:
  • Data Collection Layer: This vendor-independent layer collects signaling data from all network components, including devices, radio elements, core network systems, and mission-critical services such as MCX (Mission Critical Communication). The comprehensive data capture enables detailed network behavior analysis.
  • Data Aggregation and Normalization Layer: This central layer enriches and normalizes data from multiple sources, creating a unified dataset that provides consistent, high-quality insights for monitoring, troubleshooting, and advanced analytics.
  • Specialized Applications Layer: Utilizing the enriched data, Anritsu’s suite of applications supports real-time KPI visualization, anomaly detection, advanced analytics, and rapid troubleshooting, empowering network operators to make informed decisions and minimize operational disruptions.
• AI-Driven Predictive Analytics: Anritsu’s platform leverages AI and machine learning to predict network performance degradations, identify potential issues before they impact operations, and initiate automated remediation processes. This proactive approach significantly enhances network resilience and reduces downtime.
• SmartViser’s Automated Network Testing: Integrating SmartViser’s automated testing technology adds an extra layer of network validation and stress-testing, simulating real-world scenarios and peak usage conditions to ensure continuous network reliability. This capability is essential for mission-critical environments such as airports, where seamless communication and operational continuity are paramount.

Real-World Benefits of Anritsu’s Private Network Assurance Solutions

The collaborative effort between Anritsu, SmartViser, and the European airline has delivered several impactful use cases that illustrate the transformative potential of their private network assurance solution:

• Custom Infrastructure-Focused KPIs: Tailored KPIs were developed to provide end-to-end visibility into network behavior, enabling the airline’s operations team to quickly identify anomalies, trace root causes, and accelerate troubleshooting, thereby reducing service disruptions and enhancing overall operational reliability.
• Consolidated “Service View” Dashboard: Anritsu’s solution centralizes network supervision through a synthetic, unified “Service View” dashboard that aggregates critical data. This comprehensive overview empowers network managers to make data-driven decisions rapidly, facilitating real-time monitoring, proactive issue detection, and timely resolution.
• Mission-Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) and IoT Applications: Specific KPIs were developed to monitor mission-critical communications and IoT applications, ensuring that the airline’s essential operations maintained optimal performance benchmarks. This capability enhances business continuity and passenger experiences.

Setting New Standards for Private Network Assurance in Mission-Critical Industries

Anritsu’s service assurance solution, augmented by SmartViser’s automated testing, is redefining the standard for network monitoring and management across mission-critical industries. The solution’s adaptability and vendor-agnostic approach promote an open ecosystem where enterprises can seamlessly integrate data from diverse sources, enhancing network visibility and performance. Key impacts include:

• Democratization of Network Assurance: By offering an adaptable framework for end-to-end monitoring, Anritsu’s solution empowers enterprises to manage their private networks more effectively, regardless of the technologies or vendors involved. This democratization fosters greater transparency and interoperability across the industry.
• Enhanced Collaboration with Technology Providers: The comprehensive data capture and analysis facilitated by Anritsu’s solution enable more effective collaboration between enterprises and their technology partners, optimizing network performance and innovation.
• Proactive Management and Operational Resilience: The solution’s holistic approach to network monitoring and management supports proactive issue detection, real-time performance tracking, and rapid response capabilities, ensuring seamless operations in mission-critical environments such as transportation, healthcare, and industrial IoT.

Anritsu & SmartViser: A Winning Collaboration for Network Assurance

Anritsu’s service assurance platform was chosen as the foundation of this solution due to its open, scalable, and highly adaptable design. The platform’s capability to aggregate and analyze diverse data sources across a multi-layered network environment provided the European airline with a comprehensive, real-time view of network performance. This holistic approach transcended traditional, siloed monitoring methods, enabling proactive identification and resolution of potential issues and minimizing service disruptions. Advanced analytics and AI capabilities further enhanced the platform’s ability to predict anomalies and support mission-critical operations with unmatched reliability.

Collaborative Success with SmartViser

The success of this solution was achieved through a strategic partnership between Anritsu and SmartViser. SmartViser’s automated network testing tools provided continuous validation and simulated real-world conditions, ensuring the network’s resilience and robustness. By combining Anritsu’s real-time monitoring with SmartViser’s testing automation, this partnership delivered a comprehensive, user-centric solution that reinforced network reliability and performance.

Achieving Milestones in Private Network Implementation

The solution is currently in testing on a 15,000-subscriber LTE network at a major European airport. Key milestones include:

• Data Flow Identification: Capturing and aggregating existing data flows to build a comprehensive network view.
• Enhanced Monitoring Capabilities: Adding data collectors to achieve end-to-end visibility of network operations.
• Defining Key KPIs: Collaborating with the client to implement strategic, business-centric KPIs.
• Stabilizing Data Ingestion: Finalizing data ingestion processes to support actionable insights and targeted use cases.

Anritsu Shaping the Future of Private Network Assurance

The collaboration between Anritsu, SmartViser, and the European airline demonstrates how advanced service assurance and automated testing can transform private network management in mission-critical environments. By providing a unified, end-to-end solution, Anritsu and SmartViser are setting a new industry benchmark for private network visibility, reliability, and performance. Through proactive monitoring, real-time insights, and collaborative innovation, they are empowering enterprises to achieve unparalleled network assurance and operational excellence.