In a new white paper analyzing IPTV and its attendant network management requirements, IT management software consultancy Omey Communications cites ILC's MaxView 5.0 as the premier system for video network management. The report states that MaxView is the only product that combines powerful new management capabilities for IPTV networks and the video services that run over those networks in a single console. MaxView's video performance management feature set is "unavailable from traditional telecom and IP management vendors who have historically served the telecom market."

"Prior to the release of MaxView 5.0, network operators had no single management console in which to configure and view all video equipment and services in a true end-to-end fashion--from the super headend up to the set-top box," explained Omey Communications CTO Stephen Morris. "Typically, to provide an end-to-end view, network operators had to piece together an expensive range of incompatible tools from different vendors with proprietary user interfaces and complex platform requirements. MaxView evolves this process not only by handling all element and network management, but also by becoming the glue between existing front office applications and network operations, enabling business-driven video network management."

Morris, author of the book Network Management, MIBs, & MPLS (Prentice Hall 2003), notes in today's white paper that other NMS vendors "have been caught unprepared by the rapid adoption of IPTV, which really straddles two major network domains: broadband and video distribution." He makes one exception. "ILC's long-term relationship with the satellite and video distribution industries has led to the development of a powerful network management framework product."

Omey Communications' white paper report, "Effective IPTV Network Management: An Evolutionary Solution" can be downloaded from www.ilc.com.

The report predicted that consumer video service quality requirements will become increasingly demanding as more operators enter the IPTV arena, such that even a slight problem in video service quality could impact the bottom line. "MaxView is well placed to meet this challenge," states Morris. For example, by automatically detecting video feed degradation, raising an operator alarm, and switching to a back-up chain if necessary, MaxView helps the operator resolve degradation issues before they begin affecting users.

"With IPTV revenues expected to reach $9.9 billion by 2009(1), the network operator cannot afford to bend its business processes to accommodate the limitations of the management software," said Morris. "Unlike other leading network management systems in the industry, the network operator's business model dictates how MaxView is deployed to run the network. MaxView provides configurable support through easily customizable graphical user interfaces, topology support, tailored reports and super macros that enable automation, business-level root cause analysis, and policy-based network management."

The report highlights specific MaxView management capabilities that reduce the cost and complexity of running an IPTV or broadband network, which are unavailable or costly to obtain from traditional management vendors, including:

• Rapid configuration of complex IPTV networks regardless of device types
• True end-to-end service management - from super headend up to the set-top box
• Automated service management that handles hard service failures, video feed degradation and user QoS degradation
• Unrestricted root cause analysis
• Flexible policy support for business process monitoring
• A powerful manager of managers (MoM) - unifying existing NMS systems in a single view
• Configuration and update automation, auto-discovery of topology
• A highly scalable architecture that incorporates both existing and anticipated technologies

ILC's MaxView 5.0 is on display at TVoDSL in Paris this week, where ILC Vice President Mark Krikorian spoke in the panel, "Rolling Out Triple Play Services."

(1)Multimedia Research Group, Inc. October 10, 2005. "MRG Forecasts PTV Growth at 36 Million in 2009."