EXFO extends leading 40G/100G lab test capabilities
QUEBEC CITY, CANADA, February 12, 2014 — EXFO Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFO, TSX: EXF) today announced the extension of the 40G/100G optical transport network (OTN) multiplexing test capabilities on its FTB/IQS‑85100G Packet Blazer 40G/100G multiservice test modules. These capabilities include ODUflex at both OTU3 (43.018 Gbit/s) and OTU4 (111.81 Gbit/s) optical rates, in addition to OTU4 multistage multiplexing as per ITU-T G.709 for breakthrough-level 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 maximizing customers’ return on investment (ROI).
In today’s competitive market, service providers are striving to address bandwidth needs by upgrading their core and metro networks to 100G capacity. However, 10G services remain the biggest contributor to service providers’ revenues. Accordingly, network element manufacturers (NEMs) are continuously enhancing their 40G/100G cross-connect offering to ensure that it is able to carry, switch and terminate 10G (and lower) rate services in line with proper bandwidth usage without compromising their quality.
EXFO’s 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 allows carriers to optimize their 40G/100G network bandwidth usage. 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 ensure that all newly deployed 40G/100G muxponders are proven capable of handling the demanding services that will be placed on them in the future.
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 CFPs 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 NEM and NSP 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 meet our customers’ needs.”
For more information about the FTB/IQS-85100G Packet Blazer 40G/100G multiservice test modules, please visit EXFO.com.
About EXFO
Listed on the NASDAQ and TSX stock exchanges, EXFO is among the leading providers of next-generation test and service assurance solutions for wireline and wireless network operators and equipment manufacturers in the global telecommunications industry. The company offers innovative solutions for the development, installation, management and maintenance of converged, IP fixed and mobile networks—from the core to the edge. Key technologies supported include 3G, 4G/LTE, IMS, Ethernet, OTN, FTTx, VDSL2, ADSL2+ and various optical technologies accounting for more than 35% of the portable fiber-optic test market. EXFO has a staff of approximately 1600 people in 25 countries, supporting more than 2000 customers worldwide. For more information, visit www.EXFO.com and follow us on the EXFO Blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube.