Press Releases
24 March 2003
Circadiant to Drive Optical Conformance Testing
at University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab
Optical Standards Tester will help move industry towards
multi-vendor interoperability at University of New Hampshire
test period
Allentown PA & Durham NH - Circadiant
Systems, Inc., the company making optical testing simple, today announced
its award-winning Optical Standards Tester will again be used
at the next UNH-IOL Group Test Period to make 10 Gigabit Ethernet
Stressed Receiver Conformance Tests. The next 10 Gigabit Ethernet
Consortium is scheduled for May 5 – 9, 2003. The Stressed
Receiver Conformance Test is an important part of the IEEE 802.3ae
specification and helps ensure 10 Gigabit Ethernet vendor’s
products interoperate.
In May,
UNH-IOL 10 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium members will investigate
interoperability issues and assess their ability to properly
participate in a multi-vendor 10 Gigabit Ethernet network. In
addition to Stressed Receiver Conformance Testing, 10 Gigabit
Ethernet Consortium members will employ a host of Layer 1, Layer
2 and Layer 3 test equipment to characterize component and system
performance. Direct connections between Consortium member’s
systems will be made. As a matter of standard policy, test results
will be kept confidential to each company.
"The
10 Gigabit Ethernet standard was just passed last year and as
companies develop 10 Gigabit Ethernet products, they can bring
them here for interoperability testing," said Bob Noseworthy,
10 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium Manager. "These Group Test
Periods are a great resource for the industry. UNH-IOL has played
a major role in Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet interoperability.
Now we are bringing 10 Gigabit Ethernet companies together through
the 10 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium to help achieve true 10 Gigabit
Ethernet interoperability. All companies are invited to join."
The
Circadiant OST was used at the UNH-IOL January Group Test Period
to check compliance of components and systems to the 10 Gigabit
Ethernet Stressed Receiver Conformance Test specification. "We
verified at the last Group Test Period that systems need to be
tested to the Stressed Receiver Conformance Test," said
Noseworthy. "Inadequate airflow around the optics in a system
can significantly degrade the system’s stressed receiver
conformance test results. One may not rely only on the component
vendors for 10 Gigabit Ethernet system level compliance assurance."
Additional
tests made by the Circadiant OST include receiver sensitivity,
optical overload, BER vs. OSNR, and a variety of Layer 2 and
Layer 3 protocol tests with different amounts of optical degradation
present. "While these tests are typically very difficult
to make, the participants involved in the group test period were
quickly performing these complex tasks using the OST," said
John French, CEO of Circadiant Systems.
About OSTs
OSTs are an important new
class of test instrumentation. They have received
numerous awards as innovative test instruments
that reduce manufacturing test cycle times and
shorten a new product's time-to-market. Components
and instruments that measure layer 1, 2 and 3
that are commonly used to test optical communication
systems are consolidated into an OST. This enables
sophisticated algorithms and complex testing
procedures to be calibrated and automated by
Circadiant, instead of the user, and produces
a test instrument that is fast, accurate and
purpose-built for optical communication system
testing. Individual and group test results are
displayed on appropriate scales with statistical
confidence levels clearly shown to help users
understand the behavior of a Device Under Test.
An OST also allows the user to degrade test signals
to simulate worst-case operating conditions.
Degradation includes control over jitter, OSNR,
interfering source, extinction ratio and optical
power as well as the ability to inject errors
into the layer 2 and 3 protocol signals.
About Circadiant Systems, Inc.
Led by test industry veterans and staffed by a team of distinguished physicists
and engineers, Circadiant is a privately-held company based in Allentown, PA.
The company provides optical component developers, network equipment manufacturers,
and telecom service providers with award-winning test systems. Circadiant’s
Optical Standards Testers generate real-world optical test signals that greatly
improve network reliability and interoperability. Circadiant received venture
funding from EnerTech Capital, Intel Capital, PA Early Stage, and TL Ventures.
About
10 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium
The 10 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium fosters interoperability
among 10 Gigabit Ethernet products and technologies. The consortium’s
staff and engineering students provide high quality, reliable, and accurate
interoperability and standards-based testing of 10 Gigabit Ethernet products
in a non-biased environment. The 10 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium is one of 15
Consortiums housed in the University of New Hampshire’s InterOperability
Laboratory, located in Durham, New Hampshire. More than 200 companies worldwide
are members of the UNH InterOperability Laboratory. For more information, visit
the UNH InterOperability Laboratory.
Media Contacts:
John French
Circadiant Systems, Inc.
610.871.0500 x101
Bob Noseworthy
UNH-IOL
603.862.4342
|
