Speeding Up Synchronization Testing of Telecom Networks

Incorrect synchronization in digital communication networks can cause severe transmission problems. Voice calls (fixed or cellular) will be lost, fax machines will misprint, and data will be lost or frequently retransmitted. In any case, network performance is degraded, the operators’ service costs are increased and revenues are down.

The main cause for synchronization problems in transport networks is wander of the synchronization clock. Quality control of the synchronization clock requires monitoring of wander over a long period (hours or days), using an ultra-stable clock as a reference. To date, wander measurement has involved bulky, complex and very expensive instrumentation. Until now, viewing MTIE and TDEV wander parameters specified in international standards often required external rubidium standards and/or external computers.

EXFO’s FTB-8080 advanced synchronization analyzer solves this problem. It enables multi-application synchronization testing at a multitude of data rates in SDH, PDH, SONET, wireless video and frequency reference distribution networks.