June 1999

Price: $49,000 for four ports and all protocols. Four different packages are available.

RATINGS (0-5)
Installation: N/A
Documentation: 4.5
Features: 4.75
GUI: 4
Overall: A-

TsDesigns' Triton MT is a multi-tasking, multi-protocol tool designed for developers and operators of network services, specifically SS7, Primary Rate ISDN, CAS, R2, and V5 telecommunications products and services. Its graphical user interface allows you to assign and configure the ports for the monitoring, simulation, or execution of a bulk call generation application. Support for E1 or T1 mode, impedance selection, and line monitoring or termination modes can be configured at run time.

The Triton MT can be utilized throughout the lifecycle of the product, from development and testing to actual operation and maintenance testing. A fully configured Triton MT supports eight ports with the ability to test multiple protocols and multiple switches at the same time, up to a maximum of four. The product comes in two flavors: a 19-inch rackmount or a portable version that is very handy for travel.

INSTALLATION/DOCUMENTATION
Installation was not applicable since this product ships as a turnkey system. The system's hardware and software both arrived pre-loaded.

The documentation included separate manuals for performing the various protocol testing, including SS7, ISDN, CAS, V5, and others. Many of the manuals contained useful appendices, and most of documentation had excellent tables of contents.

Screenshots were plentiful and well explained throughout all of the documentation. The screenshots were actually referenced in the table of contents, including descriptions and page numbers!

Also of note: the documentation included several examples of projects to undertake with the Triton MT. These examples do make it easier to climb the Triton MT's learning curb.

GENERAL FEATURES
In the main, the Triton MT's functionality falls into five application areas: traffic generation, simulation, switching simulation, passive analysis, and protocol testing. In this section, we present passive analysis, and protocol testing. In this section, we present a brief list of general features, as well as lists of features for the first three application areas. Also, we add a few words about miscellaneous features of the Triton MT.

• Support for SS7, Primary Rate ISDN, CAS, R2, and V5
• Bulk call generatio
• E1 or T1 mode
• Execute/test multiple protocols and applications at the same time (up to four)
• DTMF/MFC (MF4) tone detection and generation
• ASCII output files can be generated from bulk call generator simulations and monitors.

Traffic Generation

• Stress-test digital switches and PBXs
• Configurable traffic options
• Configurable per circuit - call hold time, maximum time to answer, and clear back
• Generates and terminates calls
• Digit validation
• Speech path verification
• Detailed statistical call records
• Hunt group allocation.

Simulation

• Connect to digital switch & PBX simulating far end
• Call setup and clear down features on multiple channels
• Simultaneous simulation of up to four protocols
• Talk and listen handset facility
• Real time status display for all subscribers
• Simulates incoming & outgoing calls
• DTMF tone transmission on any channel
• DTMF detection on a speech channel
• MFC tone generation & detection for CAS and R2
• Continuity Checking (2-KHz tone) supported where applicable.

Switching Simulation

• Switch/Central Office Simulator allowing incoming calls to be rerouted based upon hunt groups and switching algorithms with full B-channel switching to provide end-to-end speech.
• Provides full tone injection-ring tone, dial tone, busy tone, etc.
• Listen-in facility allows user to listen in on the end-to-end speech call.
• Available for all E1 ISDN and CAS applications within the Triton MT.

One nice benefit that TsDesign includes with this product line is that any new protocol developed will be sent to all customers free of charge for one year on a CD shipped quarterly. Another nice feature is that line termination or high impedance monitoring modes selectable at runtime. Additionally, during testing, the speech path can be verified via a handset connected to the Triton MT. The ability to remotely access the Triton MT to execute test suites is also available as an option.

OPERATIONAL TESTING
The Triton MT we tested comes with two internal cards. One is used for traffic generation, and the other is used for analysis. For T1 testing, the line encoding supports AMI or B8ZS. The T1 framing includes support for Extended Super Frame (ESF) + CRC or SuperFrame (SF/DA) + NOCRC. Several timing sources are available on the Triton MT including internal, PCMA, PCMB, and MVIP (used for switching simulator applications).

Normally, we would hammer a product's GUI rating that featured a DOS-like interface. However, when we were testing this product, we found that using the hotkeys was probably more efficient than using a mouse. We were able to navigate the system and setup test suites very quickly. Thus, we weren't as disappointed that the interface was not Windows-based. We couldn't bring ourselves to give the GUI less than a 4 rating due to the ease of operating the Triton MT. We should point out that a Windows-based GUI is in the works for a future version of this product, presumably in the second quarter of this year.

There is a Windows-based GUI for configuring the hardware boards, as well as assigning applications to specific card ports. Within this Windows application, called the Triton MT Launcher (Figure 4), you can specify the T1 options, such as the line encoding, (either AMI or B8ZS T1 Layer 1 Framing options), and the T1 Framing (Extended Super Frame (ESF) + CRC or Extended Super Frame (ESF) NO_CRC or Super Frame). From this GUI you can also launch an application which will download the appropriate firmware to the hardware and start the application. The GUI features LED lights, which are green or red depending on the status of the cards.

We performed loopback testing for our evaluations. That is, we fed the output from one of the ports on the Triton MT to another port on the Triton MT which acted as the "input" and monitoring port. After configuring various settings for ISDN testing, including choosing which circuit to make calls on, we tried to execute the test. When we first started testing we couldn't get our ISDN test to work no matter what we tried. Finally, we resorted to calling technical support. We soon reached a TsDesign technician who, after a few minutes, determined that it was a simple fix. All we had to do was erase some temporary files in the Triton MT's subdirectories (similar to erasing Windows temp files). Once we did this the ISDN test performed flawlessly.

The GUI for the traffic generator displays real-time changes in status for each of the channels, whether it's T1 (24 channels) or E1 (30 channels).  After testing ISDN we created an SS7 test suite, set the number of calls per hour, and then examined the results. When running any test, including SS7 testing, you can send the results automatically to a monitor file for future analysis.

We liked the real-time monitoring capabilities on the Triton MT, as well as the 500 line buffer for scrolling through various messages. The Triton MT includes message filtering to reduce the number of impertinent messages. Also during our testing, we especially liked the cascading menus and the extensive function key usage for quickly performing various tasks. The implementation of hotkeys which are used throughout, is another nice usability feature, using just a single keystroke for each menu option which makes traversing the menus a breeze

Overall, the tests we performed worked flawlessly. The Triton MT is undoubtedly a valuable tool in stress testing digital switches and PBXs.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
The protocol test suites should automatically clean up after themselves by removing temporary files as needed so that the temp files don't interfere with the execution of any future test suites. At the very least an executable file or menu option should be made available, so the user could quickly remove the temp files without resorting to using Windows Explorer or a command prompt and manually deleting files.

A Windows interface should be included in a future release, and we are told it should be available by the time you read this review. Finally, we feel a multimedia tutorial would be beneficial in teaching how to use this product and tips on what to look for when testing any particular protocol.

CONCLUSION
TMC Labs was very pleased with the feature set of the Triton MT, including its support for SS7, ISDN, CAS, and R2. The ability to perform simulations, monitoring, and bulk call generation on a maximum of eight E1 or T1 lines is all a person should need. Those looking for a valuable telecom testing tool with the ability to keep detailed call records, configurable traffic options, and advanced features such as hunt groups should seriously consider the Triton MT.