Use of fault tree analysis to improve residential gateway testing

A residential gateway, heart of the strategy of most Telcos, is a centralized intelligent device between the operator´s access network and the home´s network. It terminates all external access networks and enables residential services to be delivered to the consumer. Besides a plethora of useful services, the growth in market depends upon the reputation of its resilience (availability, reliability and security). This emphasizes a near zero fault design and efficient testing should be taken care before its launch into the market. This paper deals with the analysis of failures, both from test and field data, aiming to increase the efficiency of laboratory testing. Using fault tree analysis, we study the faults that have passed through the testing phase and created failures in the customer premises. With the help of defined specifications, we have identified the zones in which testing in the laboratory needs to be improved.