RTU-310G

Carrier-grade test device that offers performance assurance capabilities for 10 Gigabit Ethernet-based services.

IP Services Test Head—RTU-310G

Applications

• Performance validation of carrier-grade 10 gigabit Ethernet services
• BERT, RFC 2544 and advanced Layer 3 and 4 traffic generation and analysis

Key Features and Benefits

• LAN and WAN PHY capability in a single unit
• Comprehensive functionality for assessing the performance of Ethernet transport networks
• Packet jitter measurement to qualify Ethernet transport networks for transmission of delay-sensitive traffic such as video and voice-over-IP (VoIP)
• Throughput, back-to-back, latency and frame loss measurements as per RFC 2544 (bidirectional)
• EtherBERT™ test functionality for assessing the integrity of 10 Gigabit Ethernet running on WDM networks
• Multistream generation and analysis, allowing quality of service (QoS) verification through VLAN and TOS/DSCP prioritization testing
• MPLS and PBB-TE support for complete carrier Ethernet validation
• Interoperable with the FTB-8510B Packet Blazer Ethernet Test Module, the FTB-8510G Packet Blazer 10 Gigabit Ethernet Test Module and the AXS-200/850 Ethernet Test Set
• Fully remote controllable via EX-Vu application

The Choice for 10 Gigabit Ethernet Perfomance Assurance

EXFO’s RTU-310G IP Services Test Head is a carrier-grade test device that offers performance assurance capabilities for 10 Gigabit Ethernet-based services. Its suite of test applications provides all the measurements required for service turn-up, troubleshooting, as well as validating service-level agreements (SLAs) between service providers and their customers. This 1U rack-mounted, central office (CO)-based device—combined with its portable counterparts, EXFO’s award winning FTB-8510B Packet Blazer Ethernet Test Module and the FTB-8510G Packet Blazer 10 Gigabit Ethernet Test Module or the AXS-200/850 Ethernet Test Set—simplify and accelerate the deployment of Ethernet services. In fact, the RTU-310G is the functional equivalent of the FTB-8510G and supports all the test features found in the portable version.

Flexible End-to-End Testing from a Centralized Point

With the RTU-310G IP Services Test Head, the user can perform end-to-end testing through control of the remote unit via the LAN connection under test. This unique approach gives service providers access to test results for each direction of test, which is essential to fully qualify Ethernet services. It is also possible to perform end-to-end testing by using the Smart Loopback mode where the remote unit will return traffic to the local unit by swapping packet overhead up to layer 4 of the OSI stack. For example, up to ten 1 GbE test patterns can be looped back simultaneously, allowing service providers to run multiple tests from different locations all at the same time. This increases the test set’s flexibility and makes testing more efficient.

The RTU-310G tests connectivity in its native format: 10GBASE-xR or 10GBASE-xW used for transport of Ethernet-based LAN-to-LAN services. It can also be used to test next-generation SONET/SDH, hybrid multiplexers, dark fiber or xWDM networks running 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. The RTU-310G simplifies and speeds up the deployment of Ethernet services.

Key Features

• Measures throughput, back-to-back, latency and frame loss as per RFC 2544 (bidirectional results through dual test set)
• EtherBERT™ for bit-error-rate testing of 10 Gigabit Ethernet circuits
• Performs packet jitter measurement (IP packet-delay variation as per RFC 3393) to qualify Ethernet transport networks for transmission of delay-sensitive traffic such as video and voice-over-IP (VoIP)
• Q-in-Q capability with the ability to go up to three layers of stacked VLANs
• LAN PHY and WAN PHY available in a single module
• Simultaneous traffic generation and reception at 100 % wire speed for 10GBASE-SR, -ER, -LR, -SW, -EW or –LW full-duplex interfaces at all valid frame sizes
• Transmits and analyzes up to ten streams, providing per-stream measurements for throughput, latency, frame loss and packet jitter
• Configurable advanced filters for in-depth network troubleshooting
• PBB-TE and MPLS support for carrier Ethernet
• UDP, TCP and IP header integrity validation
• Expert mode capability for defining test pass/fail thresholds
• Easy-to-use smart user interface (SUI) for configurable screens, customization of test suites, as well as real-time and historical performance reporting
• Remote control capability through Ex-Vu or VNC software
• Smart Loopback
• Service disruption time measurement
• Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) testing

Ethernet Performance Validation

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has put together a test methodology to address the issues of layers 2 and 3 performance verification. RFC 2544, a “Benchmarking Methodology for Network Interconnect Devices,” specifies the requirements and procedures for testing throughput (performance availability), back-to-back frames (link burstability), frame loss (service integrity) and latency (transmission delay).

These measurements provide a baseline for service providers to define customer SLAs. They enable service providers to validate quality of service (QoS), allowing them to create value-added services that can be measured and demonstrated to customers. For example, these tests provide performance statistics and commissioning verification for virtual LANs (VLANs), virtual private networks (VPNs) and transparent LAN services (TLS), all of which use Ethernet as an access technology.

RFC 2544 Test Suite

The RTU-310G IP Services Test Head can perform the RFC 2544 test suite for 10 GbE LAN/WAN interface at all frame sizes and at full line rate, allowing the provider to certify that the circuit is efficient and error-free at 100 % utilization.

The IP services test head supports automated RFC 2544 testing, which helps ensure repeatable results. Automation also provides ease of use for field technicians by enabling accurate, efficient measurements and results through a clear and simple pass/fail indication. In addition, the IP services test head delivers reports that can be given to customers for future reference related to their specific SLAs.

Throughput

Throughput is the maximum rate at which none of the offered frames are dropped by the device under test (DUT) or network under test (NUT). For example, the throughput test can be used to measure the rate-limiting capability of a switch. The throughput is essentially equivalent to the bandwidth.

The throughput test allows vendors to report a single value, which has proven to be useful in the marketplace. Since even the loss of one frame in a data stream can cause significant delays while waiting for the higher level protocols to time out, it is useful to know the actual maximum data rate that the device can support. Measurements should be taken over an assortment of frame sizes.

Burst (Back-to-Back)

In this test, fixed-length frames are presented at a rate such that there is the minimum legal separation for a given medium between frames over a configurable period of time, starting from an idle state. The back-to-back value is the number of frames in the longest burst that the DUT/NUT will handle without the loss of any frames.

Frame Loss

Frame loss is the percentage of frames that should have been forwarded by a DUT/NUT under steady state (constant) loads that were not forwarded due to lack of resources. This measurement can be used in reporting the performance of a network device in an overloaded state. This can be a useful indication of how a device would perform under pathological network conditions such as broadcast storms.

Latency

Round-trip latency is the time it takes a bit (cut-through devices) or a frame (store and forward devices) to come back to its starting point. Variability of latency can be a problem. With technologies like voice- and video-over-IP, a variable or long latency can cause significant degradation in quality.

Efficient Testing Leads to Reliable Performance

PBB-TE and MPLS: Carrier Ethernet Transport Solution Testing

As technologically sophisticated business and residential consumers continue to drive demand for premium, high-bandwidth data services such as voice and video, service providers worldwide are evolving their transport infrastructures to support these bandwidth and quality-intensive services. No longer is an all-IP core sufficient—providers must now expand their IP convergence to the edge/metro network, in a cost-effective, quality-assured manner. Ethernet has long been accepted as an inexpensive, scalable, data-networking solution in LAN environments. The stringent QoS expectations require solutions that tap into the cost-effectiveness of Ethernet without sacrificing the benefits of connection-oriented (albeit it costly) TDM solutions such as SONET/SDH.

Two Ethernet tunneling technologies address these requirements: provider backbone bridge-traffic engineering or PBB-TE (also referred to as PBT) and transport multiprotocol label switching (MPLS). These two technologies enable connection-oriented Ethernet, providing carriers with a means of offering scalable, reliable and resilient Ethernet services. The PBB-TE and MPLS options on the RTU-310G offer service providers a comprehensive field tool to efficiently qualify Ethernet services from end to end, validating metro and core tunneling technologies.

EtherBERT™

Ethernet is increasingly carried across a variety of layer 1 media over longer distances. This creates a growing need for the certification of Ethernet transport on a bit-per-bit basis, which can be done using bit-error-rate testing (BERT).

BERT uses a pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS) encapsulated into an Ethernet frame, making it possible to go from a frame-based error measurement to a bit-error-rate measurement. This provides the bit-per-bit error count accuracy required for acceptance testing of physical-medium transport systems. BERT-over-Ethernet should usually be used when Ethernet is carried transparently over layer 1 media, in cases such as Ethernet over DWDM, CWDM or dark fiber.

Ethernet QoS Measurement

Data services are making a significant shift toward supporting a variety of applications on the same network. Multiservice offerings such as triple-play services have fuelled the need for QoS testing to ensure the condition and reliability of each service and fully qualify SLA parameters. The RTU-310G allows service providers to simultaneously simulate and qualify different applications through its multistream application. The user has the capability to configure up to ten streams with different Ethernet and IP QoS parameters such as VLAN ID (802.1Q), VLAN Priority (802.1p), VLAN stacking (802.1ad Q-in-Q), ToS and DSCP. Specific stream profiles to transmit VoIP, video and data can be selected for each stream. Throughput, latency, frame loss and packet jitter (RFC 3393) measurements are also available simultaneously for each stream, allowing fast and in-depth qualification of all SLA criteria.

Ethernet Advanced Troubleshooting

The RTU-310G provides a number of advanced features essential for in-depth troubleshooting in the event of network failures or impairments. The advanced filtering option allows the user to configure up to ten filters with each up to four operands, which will be applied to the received Ethernet traffic. Detailed statistics are available for each configured filter, providing the user with critical information required to pinpoint specific problems.

Command and Control

Remote Management

The user interface for the RTU-310G IP Services Test Head is accessible via EX-Vu remote management software. It enables a remote connection to the instrument, as well as providing the graphical user interface (GUI) for test setup and device management. The EX-Vu application is supported on any Windows based workstation and allows for simplified remote testing and data analysis, as well as remote monitoring. Up to five simultaneous EX-Vu sessions can be supported via a standard Ethernet connection to the platform.

Automated Test Scripting

The RTU-310G supports .NET programming environment for users who prefer to build their automation test routines. The unit comes with a built-in macro-recorder, which allows users to easily record their test actions and automatically create test scripts; this also enables them to build standard test routines that can easily be accessed and run by technicians with little or no manual intervention. Scripts from the macro-recorder can be used as the basis for larger automation routines, which can be created or edited in any .NET environment.

Test Logger and Reporting

The RTU-310G supports a detailed test logger and test reporting tools, enabling users to view any errors/alarms that occurred during the test interval, which can then be used for post-processing of results or SLA conformance validation.