10GBASE-R and 40/100GBASE-R Electrical and Optical Test Tools

02 August 2012 - LeCroy Corporation introduces new software and hardware test solutions for 10GBase-R and 40/100GBase-R4 Ethernet. The full lineup includes the LabMaster 10 Zi real-time oscilloscopes with 4 channels at up to 36 GHz bandwidth (expandable to 80 Channels), the 10 Gb/s optical-to-electrical (O/E) converter for use with real-time oscilloscopes, automated compliance software packages for SFI/SFP+ and 10GBase-KR, new SDAIII-CompleteLinQ multi-lane serial data and crosstalk analysis toolsets, and the SierraNet M408 protocol test system.

These tools provide the most complete compliance, debug and analysis capability from single-lane electrical Ethernet through multi-lane optical signaling.

Early 10 Gb/s electrical and optical development was validated using sampling oscilloscopes. However, sampling oscilloscopes lack the ability to acquire contiguous data, and thus have no ability to perform the necessary pattern-based random and deterministic jitter decomposition. As 10 Gb/s speeds become more widely deployed, and as real-time oscilloscopes have become available with equal or greater bandwidth than sampling oscilloscopes, engineers have come to prefer a real-time oscilloscope for 10 Gb/s system validation and debug. LeCroy's 10 Zi oscilloscopes provide four channels from 25 to 36 GHz bandwidth, with modular expandability to up to 80 channels using ChannelSync architecture. This makes them ideal for four (or more) lane acquisition and analysis using direct cabled inputs for differential signals common in 40GBASE systems. Furthermore, as users migrate to 28 Gb/s speeds, the LabMaster 10 Zi acquisition modules can be upgraded to as much as 65 GHz of bandwidth.

LeCroy's new OE695G wide-band optical to electrical (O-E) convertor is the world's first such device to be compatible with a real-time oscilloscope, making it ideal for system integrators who utilize both electrical and optical signals in the same platform. Previous O-E solutions were dedicated hardware modules for sampling scope mainframes only, limiting their utility for jitter measurement and analysis on 10 Gb/s signals. The OE695G utilizes a built-in software reference receiver to support 10 Gb/s Ethernet standards through 10 GbE FEC (11.095 Gb/s), as well as supporting a variety of other speeds for common Fibre Channel and ITU telecom standards, or custom settings up to 12.5 Gb/s. The OE695G is usable with both single-mode or multi-mode fiber across a broad wavelength range from 750 to 1650nm.

In addition, the QualiPHY based test software for SFI/SFP+ and 10GBase-KR simplifies the test setup and execution of generic and common test requirements such as jitter separation, rise/fall time, and transmitter equalization parameters. The oscilloscope analysis functions offer additional jitter parameters such as J2, J9, DDPWS and TWDP measurements. The guided wizard prompts the user to send specification required patterns and takes the measurements accordingly. The test report includes pass/fail summary, margins and limits, as well as waveforms and measurements used during the test process. Combined with the in-depth signal integrity and analysis tools available through the SDAIII-CompleteLinQ Serial Data and Crosstalk Analysis software, LeCroy offers the most extensive automated compliance test solution for real-time oscilloscopes.

The SDAIII-CompleteLinQ extends LeCroy's superior serial data analysis toolsets to include the simultaneous analysis of up to four lanes of serial data traffic – ideal for 40 and 100GBASE-R4. With multi-lane analysis, engineers can quickly view eye diagrams on all lanes, or use the multi-lane capability to analyze a single lane at multiple points using LeCroy differential probes or the VirtualProbe option. SDAIII-CompleteLinQ can also show multiple analyses of a single serial data signal - ideal for comparing different equalization schemes with the Eye Doctor II option.

These products join the first hardware-based Ethernet protocol analyzer for R&D applications with integrated 40G ports, LeCroy's SierraNet M408 protocol test system. Announced early this year, the SierraNet M408 protocol test system is an advanced and cost effective test and validation platform supporting 10 Gbps and 40 Gbps Ethernet protocol analysis. SierraNet analyzes bus traffic while identifying protocol violations, error recovery, performance, and other link conditions for the user. It also provides a future-proof system for those currently developing 10GE products and planning 40GE product development in the future, as the same system can be extended to address the next generation 40G Ethernet standard by using different transceivers. Customers can purchase the system with 10GE, or 10GE/40GE support, or both.