Agilent's new line interfaces enable subchannel analysis and 8-port IMA testing

April 19, 2004 Palo Alto, CA--Agilent Technologies is adding two line interface products to its Network Analyzer family that help network operators reduce the time and expense of network testing and optimization. The STM-4/OC-12 line interface module (LIM) provides real-time measurements and analysis over SONET/SDH networks at 622 Mbits/sec. It is the first LIM to offer subchannel analysis down to DS-0 channels, according to Agilent.

The company also introduced an 8-port E1/T1 LIM for real-time inverse multiplexing for ATM analysis and troubleshooting. It is the only portable solution that performs multiport inverse multiplexing analysis (IMA), according to the company.

The STM-4/OC-12 LIM eliminates the need for multiple test access ports and analyzers to gain visibility into every DS-1 and DS-3 access trunk at a network site. Reducing these test access resources can lower maintenance costs by a factor of 10 per network site.

The IMA LIM's subchannel analysis enables network engineers and technicians to analyze traffic and troubleshoot problems on thousands of access trunks and channels from a single analyzer connected to a single test access port.

Features of the STM-4/OC-12 LIM include the following:
• 100% full line-rate capture at 622 Mbits/sec and 155 Mbits/sec,
• Real-time expert analysis, traffic and performance statistics, protocol decodes,
• ATM and packet over SONET bulk-rate and subchannel analysis,
•: Real-time ATM AAL2 and AAL5 segmentation and reassembly,
• ISDN PRI decodes on 64-kbit/sec D channels,
• Supports singlemode and multimode fiber.