Ixia Gets Partners

CALABASAS, Calif. -- Ixia™ (NASDAQ: XXIA), a leading global provider of IP performance test systems today announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with QualiSystems, a pioneer in the field of Test Automation, to integrate Ixia’s Test Conductor™ IP test automation framework with QualiSystems’ TestShell™ suite of vendor independent test applications. This strategic partnership enables customers to integrate with hundreds of industry leading test and measurement tools such as scopes, power supplies, PXI, multimeters, spectrum/network analyzers and IP performance test equipment. The integrated solution accelerates customers return on investments for test applications and hardware, improving quality assurance cycles as well as time to market. The integrated solution is to be showcased at iSimCity, Ixia’s proof-of-concept lab and executive briefing center in Santa Clara, Calif.

Why it’s unique

The combined solution will leverage TestShell’s broad range of test management solutions with Test Conductor’s integrated IP test applications and hardware. Test Conductor and TestShell interoperate seamlessly, in a framework that automates tests from many disparate test applications and devices. The result is an open and vendor agnostic solution that delivers increased productivity.Ixia and QualiSystems will share product development plans enabling both companies to design products with complementary, best-in-class integration and interoperability. Ultimately, the partnership delivers:

Ixia’s partnership with QualiSystems offers the industry a framework that enables truly unattended lab automation and allows customers to address unique challenges that have remained unaddressed.

TestShell is a suite of integrated applications that can be used for virtually any type of software or hardware testing. TestShell easily automates a wide range of protocols, script languages and test instruments, without requiring programming skills. It has a built-in database and online dashboards that provide reporting capabilities, real-time data analysis and enhanced business intelligence. TestShell turns testing processes into a total quality optimization solution. “We are excited to work with Ixia,” said Aryeh Finegold, CEO and Chairman, QualiSystems. “The integration of Ixia’s Test Conductor framework and our TestShell platform will enable customers to make the most efficient use of all elements critical to their quality assurance process.”

Test Conductor enables users to easily automate the entire process of testing, including test bed assignment and reservation, hardware optimization, DUT configuration, real-world traffic definition and results analysis. Test Conductor creates manages and schedules tests in sophisticated lab environments that perform real-world traffic simulation. It also maintains a central repository of the test data and permits test diagnostics and trend reporting.“Ixia’s IP test automation framework leverages QualiSystems’ TestShell to provide true vendor agnostic integration with numerous test tools used by quality assurance organizations,” said Atul Bhatnagar, president and CEO of Ixia. “Ixia and QualiSystems will combine their best features to raise the strategic business value of testing by improving productivity, quality and overall ROI.”

In an additional release:

CALABASAS, Calif. -- Ixia™ (NASDAQ: XXIA), a leading, global provider of IP performance test systems, and APCON, Inc., a leading provider of layer 1 switching solutions, today announced a strategic partnership to tightly integrate Ixia’s Test Conductor™ IP test automation framework with APCON’s INTELLAPATCH® line of intelligent lab switches. This partnership enables customers to improve their lab resource utilization, increase productivity and improve time to test by automating test applications and the supporting lab infrastructure. The integrated solution is to be showcased at iSimCity, Ixia’s proof-of-concept lab and executive briefing center in Santa Clara, Calif.

State of the Industry

Service providers are deploying converged services over a unified network infrastructure. This convergence is causing IP networks to become increasingly complex to deploy and maintain. Moreover, the challenge is no longer network uptime, but rather quality of experience across distinct network elements. As a result, greater cross-vendor testing is required and automation of many unique testing elements and processes becomes essential to delivering quality products on-time.

In this challenging environment, customers have turned to in-house solutions, spending a significant amount of time, effort and resource that could otherwise be applied to meeting their business goals.

How the Partnership will

Ixia’s partnership with APCON provides the industry with more complete lab automation and enables customers to address unique automation challenges that have largely remained unaddressed so far. Test Conductor IP test automation framework leverages the APCON INTELLAPATCH physical layer switch to provide seamless layer 1 device integration. Ixia and APCON will cooperate to drive product development with a goal of providing complementary, best-in-class technology integration and interoperability.

APCON’s INTELLAPATCH physical-layer switches feature an embedded interface that offers the ability to securely and remotely configure device connectivity among the variety of systems used in dynamic, complex test environments. Rewiring of complicated configurations and manual cable pulls are eliminated.

“The elimination of manual patching has helped our customers realize significant increases in productivity and hardware utilization and sizable reductions in time to market,” said Richard Rauch, president and CEO of APCON. “By collaborating with Ixia, we will be able to provide truly unattended lab testing through complete automation of device, test tool and topology reconfigurations.”

Ixia (Nasdaq: XXIA)