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Product category: Stand-Alone Instruments
News Release from: Exfo Electro-Optical Engineering | Subject: FTB-8510 Packet Blazer
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 24 February 2004

Software simplifies Ethernet
troubleshooting

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A new set of software features for the FTB-8510 Packet Blazer Ethernet test module enhance test effectiveness and troubleshooting capabilities in the field.

A new set of software features for the FTB-8510 Packet Blazer Ethernet test module enhance test effectiveness and troubleshooting capabilities in the field These new features include advanced reporting capabilities, expert mode configuration, detailed frame analysis for throughput, frame loss, back-to-back and latency tests (RFC 2544) and differentiated services/type of service (DSCP/TOS) analysis

Advanced reporting capabilities provide field technicians with a simple yet powerful means to customise their test reports.

The expert mode configuration allows the setting and saving of user-defined thresholds for each test carried out, thus enabling consistent and error-proof interpretation of results.

Through access to detailed traffic analysis while performing RFC 2544 tests, technicians can correlate test results with network events.

This information considerably reduces troubleshooting and service turn-up time.

Finally, Internet protocol (IP) layer analysis is improved through DSCP/TOS provisioning and analysis, which can be especially useful when testing Ethernet services carrying voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) traffic.

All of these new features on the FTB-8510 Packet Blazer, an interchangeable test module housed inside the FTB-400 universal test system (UTS), will be showcased at booth 2213 during OFC 2004 from 24th to 26th February at the Los Angeles Convention Centre.

"The combination of these new features with the existing broad feature content renders the Packet Blazer the most complete field-testing solution for performance assessment of service-level agreements for Ethernet services", said Benoit Fleury, EXFO's Vice-President of Protocol-Layer Product Management and Business Development.

"In addition, this enhanced test module further expands the capabilities of our FTB-400 platform, which provides unparalleled testing and measurement capabilities including up to 10Gbit/s Sonet/SDH testing, optical spectrum analysis (OSA), optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR), polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) as well as chromatic dispersion analysis".

Offered as a test module inside the FTB-400 UTS, the Packet Blazer brings service-level agreement verification to Ethernet-based packet services.

The Packet Blazer tests transparent connectivity in its native format: 10/100/1000 Base-T, 1000 Base-SX, 1000 Base-LX and 1000 Base-ZX for LAN-to-LAN services delivered via ATM, frame relay, next-generation Sonet/SDH, switched Ethernet, VLANs, dark fibre, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) or other means.

The Packet Blazer also features EXFO's unique EtherBERT technology (patent pending) that provides bit-error-rate testing of Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.

This test solution is mostly used in WDM testing to assess the quality of the transmission.

The Packet Blazer test module is also available with EXFO's IQS-500 Series rack-mountable platforms, allowing remote testing capabilities.

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