“We have CDRouter integrated tightly with our Continuous Integration systems... That saves us a lot of time. It allowed us to quickly achieve certification and bring our USP solution to market faster.”
- Randy Qin, Director of Product Development for Revenue Edge Products at Calix
Calix is an innovative and influential company in broadband access and end-user networks. Calix’s world-class cloud and software-enabled end-to-end platforms enable broadband service providers (BSPs) of all sizes to simplify operations, excite subscribers, and grow their value.
Integral to this mission are standardized device and service management technologies. Calix has been at the forefront of standardization in many different technologies, and their customers see the benefits through increased interoperability and reliability. The latest of these technologies is the Broadband Forum (BBF) User Services Platform (TR-369/USP) which comes from a natural evolution of the widely deployed TR-069 protocol.
Calix recently achieved BBF.369 USP certification for their GigaSpire BLAST systems, proving the quality of the product and support of the USP ecosystem. We sat down with Randy Qin, Director of Product Development of Revenue EDGE Products at Calix, to ask about their decision to support USP and their experience testing using CDRouter. Here’s what he had to say!
QA Cafe (QAC): What product were you working on, and what can you tell us about the Calix solution?
Randy Qin (RQ): “The GigaSpire BLAST system is one of the key products Calix uses to realize its vision for BSPs. At its core, the GigaSpire BLAST is a carrier-class residential gateway and whole-home Wi-Fi solution (featuring managed dual-band Wi-Fi 6 or tri-band w/ Wi-Fi 6E) with flexible WAN options (including copper, GPON, XGS-PON, and Active Ethernet). The GigaSpire BLAST runs the Calix Experience Innovation Platform (EXOS) to deliver seamless connectivity while providing a growing selection of applications that BSPs can offer end-users.”
QAC: Who benefits the most from Calix solutions?
RQ: “Our customers realize great value-added services for their subscribers. Service providers using Calix’s solution are able to offer a growing list of differentiated managed services including managed Wi-Fi, parental controls, home network security, connected camera services, device protection, and more with a modular platform that meets their specific subscriber needs and goals.”
QAC: What drove you to implement Broadband Forum USP (TR-369) on the product?
RQ: “We have a long history of using TR-069 (and its original data model design, TR-098) as the management protocol and data model between Calix Support Cloud and GigaSpire BLAST system. We saw USP and the newer Device:2 data model defined in BBF TR-181 as the standard for our next generation management and service delivery ecosystem.”
“There are several advantages to USP/TR-369. It leverages a lot of what was learned from TR-069 and the traditional Auto-Configuration Server (ACS) model but is a faster, more efficient protocol that utilizes modern connectivity protocols and allows for multiple application Controllers to securely access, configure, and monitor different aspects of the gateway and its features.”
QAC: Why did you seek BBF.369 USP certification?
RQ: “The BBF developed a solid certification program (BBF.369) in parallel with the standard. We saw certification as an opportunity to have a huge competitive advantage. Proving compliance with the standard gives our customers greater confidence in the Calix solution as a whole and further positions us as a company on the cutting edge of the broadband industry.”
QAC: How did CDRouter help you achieve certification?
RQ: “Calix has been a user of QA Cafe’s CDRouter fully-automated testing solution for our products for more than a decade. We knew, going into our decision to develop a USP-based solution, that the testing would be comprehensive. It is the official tool for the BBF.369 self-test certification.”
“QA Cafe developed testing and test scripts for USP along with the BBF, so they know the protocol and the tests very well. They help you understand the technology itself and really want to help make your solution better, rather than simply support their product.”
QAC: What features about CDRouter stood out to you?
RQ: “We have CDRouter integrated tightly with our Continuous Integration systems so we can run the testing frequently and repeatably. That saves us a lot of time. It allowed us to quickly achieve certification and bring our USP solution to market faster.”
QAC: What CDRouter features do you use daily?
RQ: “We were already running over 700 test cases daily out of the thousands provided in CDRouter to test layer 2, layer 3, Wi-Fi, and TR-069. It really is built to facilitate the development of gateways, with Wi-Fi compliance, security testing, scalability, and more.”
QAC: What has been your experience with QA Cafe support? Were there any specific items we helped with that you would like to point out?
RQ: “QA Cafe support was very prompt and professional. Every email consultation was answered completely the first time, including clarification of the test cases and our questions about the test scripts.”
“Being able to produce a solution using the latest technology this fast, while being confident that it will be robust and interoperable, is the ultimate benefit of using CDRouter on a project like this. The QA Cafe team listens to feedback and responds with new builds quickly, simultaneously improving our products while benefiting the industry as a whole. This is the way that standardized solutions should be built.”
CDRouter is the official test platform for USP certification. Learn how to get your product certified or request a demo to find out more.
