IP services testing vendor Mu Dynamics this week unveiled enhancements to its test suite that expand the number of data sources it can generate results from.

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The company's Mu Test Suite is used by services providers, vendors, government agencies and smart utility grid providers to help ensure the quality of IP-based communications, including cloud services. It is programmable as well, meaning users can customize it according to their specific service profiles, Mu says.

New to the Mu test suite is a data source – community content – and two new testing scenarios, functional and interoperability. These join the existing Mu and customer content sources, and security and resilience test reports the suite already collects and generates.

Mu says its test suite emulates the "logic" of an IP service rather than testing the underlying components. It does this by sampling IP service traffic, including all content sources, to simulate end user behavior.

It then uses this content to generate tests on multiple aspects of the service.

The Mu test suite is marketed by the company as an alternative to traditional testing approaches, such as manual in-house testing and protocol testing. Mu claims its approach is faster, less expensive and more accurate than traditional approaches – one month to test a new IP service vs. 12 or more months via legacy testing methods.

Mu customers include Alcatel/Genesys, BT, Cox Communications, F5 Networks, Juniper Networks, Motorola, Redback/Ericsson, Starent Networks, and Veraz Networks. Its test suite is deployed at more than 100 locations, the company says.

Pricing for the Mu test suite starts at $75,000.