QoS Monitoring and Troubleshooting of a Large Scale IPTV Deployment

Abstract

Several network segments are involved in a large scale IPTV deployment, from the original video content server to the set-top-box (STB). Each network segment could be error-prone. QoS monitoring and troubleshooting are critical to guarantee satisfying user experience. In this paper, we discuss QoS monitoring and troubleshooting in AT&T U-Verse, one of the largest IPTV deployments in the world.We present the overall architecture of U-Verse, with a focus on QoS. Furthermore, we review the current efforts in U-Verse on QoS monitoring and troubleshooting, as well as their challenges and opportunities. Moreover, we provide a case study on how to troubleshoot the U-Verse IPTV system with the data collected by current QoS monitoring and troubleshooting infrastructure.