100G Ethernet includes a process that continually monitors the performance of  received PCS data and triggers an alarm condition in the event that an excessive error ratio is detected. When receiving data at the PCS each lane is checked for errors in the 2 bit sync header in each 66b block. A counter is maintained…(Read More)

Understanding which network layers you are deploying is critical to developing a deployment test strategy…(Read More)

100G testing plans must include specific attention to the physical interface. The CFP interface is no longer a single transmitter and receiver pair that can simply be checked with simple tests such as a basic optical power measurement or receiver sensitivity measurement. Utilising multiple optical lanes simultaneously makes testing the interface more complex and also…(Read More)

The multi-lane architecture within 100G Ethernet that comprises the PCS Lanes, CAUI and Gearbox (depending on CFP) represent a whole new sublayer of the network that must be specifically tested. This new sublayer exists only between two directly adjacent network elements that are connected via the CFP interfaces. To support this there are a…(Read More)

The client interface for 100Gb/s Ethernet is standardised in IEEE802.3ba as an amendment to the full 802.3 specification. The client interface for Ethernet at 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s is fundamentally different from the earlier 10Gb/s and lower rates. At these lower rates the interface is specified as a serial stream…(Read More)

So what exactly is the difference between the line side and client side of the network?   The client side of the network is where traffic will come on-ramp into the optical backbone. In this case the client side interface will be used to interconnect between the metro networks and the optical backbone. So…(Read More)