March 11, 2005 Germantown, MD -- Acterna, a developer of test and management devices for broadband communications, has introduced its ONT-506, which the company calls a portable multi-port, multi-technology, and multi-channel platform that enables carriers to test the handling of voice, data, and video traffic over SONET/SDH networks. According to the company, the platform's single, compact chassis enables desktop or field testing under realistic load conditions.
The company's ONT line of optical network testers is aimed at test engineers of multi-service provisioning platforms (MSPPs), cross connects, ADMs, and next-generation network elements, and is designed to addresses testing challenges presented by highly integrated SONET/SDH platforms with high port densities, multiple rings, and integrated Ethernet technologies. The product family also includes the portable, four-port ONT-50 and the 12-port, rack-mountable ONT-512.
The company says its ONT-506 platform enables a variety of test applications and technologies, covering SONET/SDH, G.709 FEC, VCAT/LCAS/GFP, Ethernet, PoS, jitter, wander, and OSA. With its multi-channel option, the platform tests and verifies SONET/SDH devices by measuring the performance of thousands of channels simultaneously, which the company says minimizes the performance risks of relying on a single test channel.
With its 15-inch color touch screen display and multi-user capability, the platform also tests SONET/SDH grooming and switching performance, while its multiple ports enable simultaneous loading and analyzing of line interfaces, as well as local and remote control capabilities. The platform's six slots enable upgrades and reconfiguration in the field or lab, and can employ any combination of modules for testing SONET/SDH (2.5-G/10-G), Ethernet over SONET/SDH, Ethernet, OTN, and jitter/wander (10-G/10.7-G). According to the company, the platform's multi-channel capability also suits it for interoperability and production testing.
"Because of the ONT-506's multiple port and multiple applications capabilities that provide for realistic network simulation and full-load analysis, single-channel testing becomes inferior," contends Bernhard Mueller, general manager for Acterna's optical transport unit. "With an open, PC-based Linux architecture, the ONT-506 is also intuitive and provides the most advanced applications that can be integrated into each user's working environment."
The platform is on display this week at CeBIT (Hall 13, B20) and at OFC/NFOEC (booth 2391).