MAINTAINING ADVANCED SERVICES THROUGH EFFECTIVE RETURN PATH MONITORING Using PathTrak v2.2

The continued expansion of advanced services such as cable modems, digital set-top boxes, and Video on Demand increases the pressure on cable providers to maintain a reliable return path. Recognizing the increased importance of the return path, Acterna is launching a new version of our PathTrak Return Path Monitoring System. PathTrak uses distributed scanning spectrum analyzers with advanced network-based software to provide users full visibility of the Return Path Spectrum of every node from their desktop computer. Using a host of analysis tools, PathTrak users can quickly troubleshoot issues before they impact the customer. PathTrak Version 2.2 represents Acterna's sixth release in the evolutionary improvement of PathTrak and demonstrates our continued global leadership in return path monitoring.


FASTER TROUBLESHOOTING WITH NETMENTOR INTEGRATION

PathTrak users who also use Acterna's NetMentor Status Monitoring System can now view alarms from both systems on the NetMentor Notifier screen. To use this feature, customers must be using NetMentor 2.7 and purchase the PathTrak Integration Module for NetMentor. Once installed, NetMentor's Notifier screen will show both NetMentor and PathTrak alarms. Alarms from multiple PathTrak servers can be consolidated onto a single NetMentor Notifier screen for greater visibility at the regional or national level. Using the sorting and filtering tools of Notifier, users can quickly prioritize issues related to both forward and reverse path performance.

Users can then perform more accurate root-cause analysis to see if forward path issues are causing return path performance problems.


USERS HAVE GREATER ACCESS AND CONTROL VIA SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

To provide PathTrak system administrators with more flexibility to control which users are allowed onto the PathTrak system and what they are allowed to do, Acterna is introducing the Security Administrator suite of functions.

EXPANDING CONCURRENT PATHTRAK USERS FROM 10 TO 30

Recognizing the increased demand for more concurrent users of PathTrak, Acterna is expanding the maximum number of concurrent users to 30 per server from the current limit of 10. Key to making this expansion possible is the introduction of Security Administration. As each deployment of PathTrak is unique, the recommended maximum number of concurrent PathTrak clients is highly dependent on the system configuration and what functions the users are attempting to use. The previous maximum of 10 clients was set based on the conservative assumption that all 10 users were classified as PowerUsers and were simultaneously accessing all the capabilities of PathTrak. The new limit of 30 clients is based on the assumption that not all clients will require full functionality simultaneously. Acterna does not guarantee that 30 users will be able to exercise all functions of PathTrak at the same time, only that 30 users can log on and review alarms. To manage the demand for PathTrak data, Security Administrator provides the administrator with the tools to limit what specific functions each user can use and how many users can access certain functions at the same time. By manipulating these settings, the individual system can optimize their PathTrak system to maximize the number of concurrent users without making the system prohibitively slow.

Customers must still purchase additional client licenses (Part Number 1019-00-1146) to add additional concurrent users beyond their current limit.

MANAGE PATHTRAK CAPACTIY VIA GROUPS AND ACCESS RIGHTS

PathTrak administrators can now use the administrator tools to modify the access rights of individual users or groups of users. The group function allows the administrator to define for a "class" of users, such as field technicians, the functions within PathTrak they are allowed to perform. Administrators have the ability to limit access to all system views such as monitoring view, spectrum view, performance history view, or enhanced alarm view as well as to functions such as event log or modifying monitoring plans. Additionally, administrators can control which HCUs individual groups have access to for views and receiving alarms. This is especially useful for large systems that may have remote users only interested in certain portions of the system connected to PathTrak. Administrators can set the maximum number of concurrent users from any group, as well as reserve a minimum number of concurrent client licenses for access by a particular group. This provides controls to ensure the "critical" system users have access to PathTrak on a priority basis.

PathTrak system administrators should consider the following factors which impact system speed when setting up user and group profiles:

• Number of HCUs
• LAN Network Bandwidth
• Number of Spectrum Views Open
• Number of Performance History Queries
• Number of concurrent users
• Usage of the FieldView Broadcast Mode
• Clock Speed of PathTrak Server Microprocessor
• Number of data points in the Monitoring Plan

ENSURE IMMEDIATE ACCESS VIA CONCURRENT USER CONTROL

PathTrak now displays which users are currently logged on. The administrator can then kick-off users from the system to free up a client license for other users. The administrator can also disable a user which prevents them from logging back into the system until they are re-enabled by the administrator. These controls ensure the administrator can allocate PathTrak access to critical users during an emergency.

DETAILED ANALYSIS USING EVENT LOG EXPORT

PathTrak stores the history of when alarms occur and clear in a file called the Event Log. Users have the ability to query the Event Log to see specific types of events for defined periods of time. Now users have the option of downloading these event log queries to a .csv file. Exported files can then be modified in compatible spreadsheet programs to perform any desired analysis of trends or event correlation. Examples include sorting events to see which nodes have the highest number of alarms or correlating the time between when an alarm occurs vs. when it's cleared to see how long problems take to fix.

CONTINUED TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP

Acterna remains committed to ensuring that our customer's investment in monitoring systems such as PathTrak keep pace with changes in the cable industry. Through regular product upgrades and enhanced integration to other Acterna systems and meters, PathTrak will continue to add new abilities to solve return path issues faster and easier.