Test and measurement company EXFO Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFO, TSX: EXF) has extended the 40G/100G Optical Transport Network (OTN) multiplexing test capabilities on its FTB/IQS 85100G Packet Blazer 40G/100G multiservice test modules. These new capabilities include ODUflex at both OTU3 (43.018 Gbps) and OTU4 (111.81 Gbps) optical rates, in addition to OTU4 multistage multiplexing as per ITU-T G.709 for qualification of 40G/100G muxponders. These additional capabilities are available as software options for existing FTB/IQS-85100G Packet Blazer modules, requiring no additional hardware.
While service providers have begun to address bandwidth needs by upgrading their core and metro networks to 100G, 10G services remain the biggest contributor to their revenues, EXFO points out. Accordingly, network equipment manufacturers are continuously enhancing their 40G/100G crossconnect offerings to ensure that they are able to carry, switch, and terminate 10G (and lower) rate services in line with actual service usage.
EXFO says its new ODUflex capability provides an in-depth test suite for full simulation and analysis of different client payload sizes when mapped over their required OTN bandwidth. This flexibility enables carriers to optimize their 40G/100G network bandwidth use, the company says.
Furthermore, EXFO's FTB/IQS-85100G Packet Blazer modules now support OTU4 multistage multiplexing schemes along with full access to control and monitoring of OTN overhead bytes, tandem-connection-monitoring (TCM) traces, and forward error correction (FEC) algorithms. These functionalities enable service providers to check that all newly deployed 40G/100G muxponders will be capable of handling the demanding services that will be placed on them in the future, EXFO says.
In addition to newly launched OTN testing capabilities, EXFO's FTB/IQS-85100G Packet Blazer modules now support 40G SONET/SDH and OTN testing capabilities over 40G serial CFP modules for qualification of OC 768/STM-256 and OTU3 circuits and services.
"Over the past few years, EXFO has been a leading provider of high-speed multiservice testing solutions, and the extension of our 40G/100G OTN test capabilities continues on that trend," said Claudio Mazzuca, vice-president of EXFO's transport and service assurance division. "Our network equipment manufacturer and service provider customers are under pressure to speed up their development and time-to-market to generate more revenues, and we're more determined than ever to support our customers' needs."
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