Ixia expands 100GbE test support via additional optical transceiver interfaces

Ixia (NASDAQ: XXIA) has added new 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100 GbE) transceiver interfaces to its Xcellon-Multis and Xcellon-Lava portfolio of test and measurement products.

The new QSFP28 adapters and native QSFP28 and CFP4 load modules based on the 4x25-Gbps electrical interface are a first for the industry, the company claims. Network equipment manufacturers can now test their new 100GbE network devices prior to deployment.

With Ixia’s new support for CFP4 and QSFP28 optical transceivers, equipment manufacturers can use Ixia’s high-density 100GbE load module to assist the move from four or eight 100GbE ports per blade to up to 32 ports. For data centers this means more efficient use of resources, reducing rack space and power consumption per port – all while delivering greater network bandwidth.

Specifically, the Xcellon-Lava test system supports a CFP-to-QSFP28 interface adapter while the Xcellon-Multis supports both CFP4 and native QSFP28 interfaces. With these interfaces, Ixia’s testers can:

• perform multi-vendor interoperability between different QSFP28 and CFP4 optical transceivers and cable media such as active optical cables
• conduct stress tests to determine error-free network data transmission with long-term stability and high reliability
• detect and de-bug errors in data transmission using 100G line rate packet capture and decode tools
• provide a test platform for 100GBASE-SR4 and 100GBASE-LR4 100GE ASIC designs, FPGAs, and hardware switch fabrics at full line rate 100G
• measure the data plane and protocol performance of 100GbE network equipment using industry-standard RFC benchmark tests in 100GbE test beds with hundreds of 100GbE ports in a single test.

“Enterprises and service providers are expecting 100GbE technologies to carry the large amounts of data needed to enable cloud computing and deliver on the promise of software-defined networking,” said Robert Coenen, silicon photonics business development manager at Intel. “Using Ixia’s Xcellon solutions has helped us to accelerate time-to-market for Intel silicon photonics products by providing an important validation step on the path to broad data center adoption.”

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.