JDSU develops 100-GbE component test suite

BY MATT VINCENT

JDSU (www.jdsu.com) has introduced a set of 100-Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE) test instruments that it claims will help 100GbE component developers, network equipment designers, and service providers “unlock the performance and revenue potential” of the technology. The JDSU suite evaluates and verifies components, subassemblies, and network equipment. It also helps service providers ensure reliable performance on new network builds.

The range of testers covers key requirements for the early stages of 100GbE, including transponder testing/validation, network equipment development, and system verification testing (SVT). Advanced applications support developers with debugging and verifying complex 100GbE multilane, multilambda products.

“100-Gigabit Ethernet will further enable manufacturers and service providers to meet the challenge of keeping pace with ever-increasing capacity requirements; it will deliver improved network flexibility and responsiveness to high-bandwidth service demand,” says Dave Holly, president of JDSU’s Communications Test and Measurement business segment. “Our 100GbE solutions will help network equipment manufacturers and service providers bring reliable products and services to market quickly?and seize initial opportunities to gain market footholds.”

JDSU’s ONT 100G module, part of its 100-GbE testing suite, is designed to test optical and electrical interfaces, from the physical layer to Ethernet/IP.Click here to enlarge image

According to research firm IDC (www.idc.com), 100G technologies are poised to come to market faster than 40G. Demand for 100G is accelerated by access technologies and services converging increasingly onto the same networks, which is driving greater capacity and bandwidth requirements and introducing greater complexity. As the number of services and applications sharing high-speed networks increases, IDC believes full testing and compliance takes on greater importance.

“The current shift towards 100-Gigabit Ethernet represents a major discontinuity in network infrastructures that creates a greater importance on the value of testing to ensure quality,” says Elisabeth Rainge, IDC’s director of NGN operations. “At the same time, testing challenges are expanded by the growing service provider focus on customer experience. We see JDSU well positioned to meet this challenge in the earliest stages of deployment and beyond.”

JDSU’s instruments are designed to support 100GbE physical layer tests, including photonic and electrical signal testing as well as protocol testing for Layers 1, 2, and 3. The full test suite includes: the ONT 100G module for testing optical and electrical interfaces from the physical layer to Ethernet/IP, protocol testing, PCS layer validation, and transponder testing; the Hydra for stressed receiver sensitivity on 100GbE systems, including stress generation and stress sensitivity measurement; and the MAP-200 for multiplexing/demultiplexing, signal conditioning, and signal access of 100GbE optical signals.

Transponders are compliant with the CFP multisource agreement (MSA) to cover a wide range of systems with line rates of 40, 100, and 112 Gbits/sec, supporting 4x25 and 10x10 Gbits/sec, as well as an electrical interface for direct measurement in electronics. The MDIO control interface of the CFP transponder offers remote supervision via an external connector. OTU4 capabilities are also offered.