A methodology for testbed validation and performance assessment of network/service management systems

Delivery of multimedia real time flows over multi-domain IP networks require end-to-end Quality of Service guarantees. In order to manage and control the high-level services (Video on Demand, IPTV, etc.) as well as the network connectivity services across multiple domains in a coherent way, a distributed but integrated management system is proposed. Such a system has been defined, specified, and is currently implemented in the framework of the ENTHRONE European project. The system is being validated and assessed through several complex interconnected test-beds/pilots. This paper proposes a test methodology for validating the network service management functionalities on a multi-domain test-bed environment.