ADVA Unveils Ensemble Simulator for Virtual End-to-End Network Testing

Ensemble Simulator, developed by ADVA (FSE: ADV), allows optical network operators to examine network development strategies and validate interworking with umbrella management systems in a secured virtual test environment. For risk-free testing, training, and development, the new software tool would accurately replicate production networks.

Photo Christoph Glingener, CTO at ADVA
“Our Ensemble Simulator offers a way to simply and affordably spin up test environments on a virtual machine that perfectly mirrors real networks,” said Christoph Glingener, CTO at ADVA.

It would allow multiple users to independently review setups, check APIs, and simulate what-if situations in a virtual sandbox. ADVA’s Ensemble Simulator, which may be run on a self-hosted server or in the cloud, would decrease the cost and unpredictability of network upgrades, speed up innovation adoption, and enhance end-user experience.

“As communication networks become more complex and software-defined networking changes the way they’re managed, engineers are relying more and more on automated applications to design, deploy and operate their infrastructure. But the need to evaluate configurations and device integration creates a major challenge,” said Christoph Glingener, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at ADVA. “Our Ensemble Simulator is the answer. It offers a way to simply and affordably spin up test environments on a virtual machine that perfectly mirrors real networks. Now that operators have a fast and risk-free way to model network evolution, they can explore the impact of extensions and upgrades before any changes are made to their production networks.”

SDN Functionality Testing

ADVA’s Ensemble Simulator is a virtual training, development, and test environment that allows users to explore, assess, and integrate the company’s FSP 3000 and FSP 150-XG400 Series networking technologies without the need for expensive real infrastructure. Network operators may now simulate both optical and packet network elements, as well as huge multi-node networks, thanks to this approach. It would also make SDN and orchestrator functionality easy to test and integrate with network element software APIs. Each individual user may access their own dedicated environment to simulate failures and evaluate network responses at the push of a button, speeding up new technology adoption timelines and supporting DevOps approaches.

“Up until now, building a test environment for a packet-optical transport network was a complex and expensive process. To accurately recreate a live network, operators had to invest in dedicated lab hardware and then manually configure all network elements. Such dedicated test networks are often shared resources, forcing engineers to compete for access and create conflicting configurations,” said Michael Port, Vice President of Product Line Management at ADVA. “Our software solution provides a highly cost-efficient way to meet this challenge. Our Ensemble Simulator is the ultimate software tool for the accurate, reliable and affordable modeling of large networks without the need for major investment in physical lab resources. Each engineer can have their own independent test environment, eliminating conflicts and accelerating development and integration activities. It gives operators and systems integrators the freedom to make decisions based on facts and push the boundaries of possibility without unnecessary risk.”

Watch the video for further information on Ensemble Simulator below.