EXFO enhances Ethernet test capabilities

JANUARY 30, 2007 -- The FTB-8510B Packet Blazer provides support for the growing demand in higher-layer protocol testing and service validation, say company representatives.

Jan. 30, 2007

2 min read

JANUARY 30, 2007 -- EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. (search for EXFO) announced today the release of a new Ethernet test module, the FTB-8510B Packet Blazer, for advanced Ethernet and higher-layer test applications.

Building on the strong technical base of its predecessor, the FTB-8510, the new module enhances EXFO's Ethernet testing capabilities and provides support for the growing demand in higher-layer protocol testing and service validation, say company representatives.

Among its many enhancements, the FTB-8510B delivers wire-speed transmission control protocol (TCP) throughput measurements, adding key test metrics for carrier-grade Ethernet network performance validation. This new feature allows customers to further qualify their service-level agreements (SLAs) by providing performance indicators relevant to the transmission of application data over a reliable TCP connection.

The FTB-8510B Packet Blazer now supports standardized 100-Mbit/sec optical Ethernet connections, while continuing to offer the full range of electrical 10/100/1000 Mbit/sec and 1000 Mbit/sec optical/physical interfaces--all within the same test module. With 100- Mbit/sec optical interfaces at the heart of active Ethernet broadband access deployments worldwide, the FTB-8510B is the ideal product to address active Ethernet link performance validation, claims the company.

"EXFO's innovative TCP throughput measurement feature on the new FTB-8510B Packet Blazer represents an industry first in the portable test equipment market," asserts Etienne Gagnon, EXFO's vice president of protocol and optical product management. "It provides our customers with unmatched capabilities to validate the application performance of their networks. Once again, EXFO has demonstrated its full commitment to the rapidly evolving Ethernet market by adding key features to its technology-leading Packet Blazer test family," he adds.

The FTB-8510B Packet Blazer is available on the FTB-200 Compact Platform and the FTB-400 Universal Test System for field-testing and central office applications. Its counterpart, the IQS-8510B, can be hosted inside the IQS-500 Intelligent Test System for manufacturing and R&D test applications.

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