FTBx-8870/8880 Power Blazer -

Complete and agile testing of 10G services

From development in the lab to troubleshooting in the field, EXFO’s FTBx-8870/8880 Power Blazer features a full suite of test capabilities with a range of technologies up to 10G.

Key DSn/PDH and SONET/SDH

• Preconfigure user-defined bit-error-rate (BER) thresholds prior to running tests. Results are easy to interpret thanks to a simple pass/fail verdict at the conclusion of tests.   

Key Ethernet features

• Intelligent network discovery mode enables you to single-handedly scan the network and connect to any available EXFO datacom remote tester, with no need for an additional technician at the far-end to relay information.
• Smart Loopback functionality offers five distinct loopback modes adjusting to all unique loopback situations.
• Dual-port testing makes it possible for a single technician to launch EtherSAM or RFC 2544 tests using a single module and to obtain bidirectional results.
• Support for virtual-local-area-network (VLAN) tags, Q-in-Q VLAN tags and multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) to enhance security, scalability, reliability and performance.

EtherSAM: the new standard in Ethernet testing

EXFO’s EtherSAM test suite—based on the ITU-T Y.1564 Ethernet service activation methodology—provides comprehensive field testing for mobile backhaul and commercial services, including critical service-level agreement (SLA) criteria such as packet jitter and quality-of-service (QoS) measurements.

EtherSam bidirectional results

Key SLA parameters are measured independently in each test direction, providing 100% first-time-right service activation—the highest level of confidence in service testing.

EtherSAM service configuration test

Sequential testing of each service to validate that it is properly provisioned and that all specific key performance indicators (KPIs) or SLA parameters have been met.

EtherSAM service performance test

Once the configuration of each individual service has been validated, the service performance test simultaneously validates the quality of all the services over time.

EtherSAM bidirectional results

• Executes the complete ITU-T Y.1564 test with bidirectional measurements.
• Key SLA parameters are measured independently in each test direction for 100% first-time-right service activation.

iSAM: simplified Y.1564 (EtherSAM) and RFC 6349 testing

• With iSAM, the emphasis is on minimalism and simplicity, making both the Y.1564 (EtherSAM) and RFC 6349 testing methodologies as straightforward as possible for all users.
• Only a small number of steps are required to set up, run and receive valid test results.
• One-page setup facilitates the setup and running of iSAM tests for field technicians of all skill levels.

Cable test with power over Ethernet (PoE)

• Technicians can troubleshoot any cabling or installation issue by checking the cable’s actual pin-out, wire map, cable length, distance-to-fault measurement and propagation delay.
• Adding PoE means technicians can check for the following: presence of power, the power-supply equipment type, power class rating, voltage, current and power in watts.

FTTA Testing

The FTBx-8870/8800 CPRI protocol feature verifies that a remote radio head (RRH) is fully operational and that the correct small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceivers are installed and properly connected.

• With the layer-2 CPRI protocol, technicians can easily connect to the RRH without having to climb the cell tower.
• Once connected to the RRH, the Power Blazer is able to supply the technician with a complete analysis of vital CPRI statistics.

Traffic generation and monitoring

• Technicians can configure up to 32 streams of traffic in order to test just about any frame format including: Ethernet II, 802.3, SNAP, IPv4, IPv6, three levels of VLANs, MPLS, UDP and TCP.
• A new virtual frame display that allows field technicians to easily configure multiple streams and their parameters makes it possible to test layer-2 protocols, including: Cisco discover protocol (CDP), VLAN trunking protocol (VTP) and link-layer discovery protocols (LLDP) 

RFC 6349 service activation methodology

• RFC 6349 validates end-to end TCP services and helps correctly locate and diagnose issues as they arise.
• The RFC 6349 test helps resolve discrepancies between service-provider networks and customer premise equipment through:
  • Maximum-transmission-unit (MTU) size discovery
  • Baseline round-trip delay determination
  • Single or multiple TCP connections to enable full pipe testing

Carrier Ethernet operations, administration and maintenance (OAM)

• The FTBx-8870/8880 adds extra packet-capturing capabilities, including comprehensive filtering, triggering and truncation methods to target specific traffic and quickly pinpoint issues in the lab and in the field.
• Advanced traffic filtering using up to four fields and operands makes it possible to troubleshoot a particular traffic flow.

Performance assessment of Fibre Channel services

Since most storage area networks (SANs) cover large distances, and because Fibre Channel has stringent performance requirements, it is imperative to test each phase of network deployments to ensure appropriate service levels. In addition to full wire-speed traffic generation at the FC2 layer, the FTX-8870/8880 modules also support:

• Proper characterization of latency for FC services.
• Buffer-to-buffer credit estimation, a configuration parameter that estimates buffer credit values with respect to latency by calculating the distance according to round-trip latency times.
• Switch-fabric login capability to support connections to a remote location through a fabric or semitransparent network.