GL Communications Inc., a global leader in telecom test and measurement solutions, addressed the press regarding their comprehensive Ethernet and IP testing solution - PacketExpert™ 100G. Designed for testing Ethernet and IP speeds up to 100 Gbps, PacketExpert 100G is ideal for evaluating high-speed backhaul networks and data center interconnects.

“GL’s PacketExpert 100G is a hardware platform designed for wire-speed Ethernet and IP testing up to 100 Gbps. It is a full-fledged PC with specialized Network Interface Cards, GL’s proprietary PacketExpert software, optimized RAM, storage, processing, and cooling. The Ethernet ports support speeds of 1 Gbps up to 100 Gbps.” said Vijay Kulkarni, CEO of GL Communications.

He further added, “Available in both portable and rack-mount configurations, it can accommodate up to eight 100 Gbps ports in a single appliance. The intuitive web-based user interface supports multi-user and multi-location access, allowing users to configure test parameters, start and stop tests, view real-time graphs, and export results. Furthermore, users can run Python scripts to automate complex testing scenarios.”

The PacketExpert 100G hardware platform includes two high-speed 100 Gbps QSFP ports (Port 1 and Port 2). These versatile QSFP ports also support 1 Gbps, 10 Gbps, 25 Gbps, 40 Gbps, and 50 Gbps optical connections by utilizing QSFP+ adapters with respective SFP modules. This flexibility enables the platform to provide two optical ports for comprehensive Ethernet testing. 

PacketExpert 100G can perform Bit Error Rate Testing (BERT), Loopback Testing, RFC 2544 Testing (throughput, packet loss, and latency measurements), and ITU-T Y.1564 methodologies. Each 100G port provides independent Ethernet/VLAN/MPLS/IP/UDP layer-wise testing at wire speed. BERT, RFC 2544, and Loopback applications are implemented on all transport layers including Layer 2 (Ethernet), Layer 2.5 (VLAN/MPLS), Layer 3 (IPv4/IPv6), and Layer 4 (UDP). ITU-T Y.1564 is a standard carrier ethernet Service Activation Test methodology that allows for complete validation of ethernet service-level agreements in a single test.

Key Features

• Portable and Upgradable Hardware: Supports 2 x 100G ports, upgradeable to eight ports in two-port increments, using the QSFP28 form factor
• High-Performance Testing: Can generate and receive Ethernet traffic at 100% wire-speed (bidirectional 100 Gbps rate) with support for frame lengths from 64 bytes to jumbo frames (up to 16000 bytes)
• Real-Time Monitoring: Graphical representation of throughput, bit error rate, and sync loss count for BERT testing
• Advanced RFC 2544 Testing: Includes throughput, latency, frame loss, and back-to-back performance tests on various layers
• Smart Loopback Support: Auto layer detection and address swapping at MAC, IP, and UDP layers
• KPI Validation: Generates traffic at CIR, EIR, and Traffic Policing rates to ensure KPI validation, displaying metrics such as Information Rate, packet loss, round-trip delay and jitter for multiple streams, with pass/fail verdicts
• Comprehensive BERT Testing: Supports industry-standard PRBS patterns including 29-1, 211-1, 215-1, 220-1, 223-1, 229-1, and 231-1, as well as user-defined patterns. It can perform BERT at Ethernet (Layer 2), up to 3 Stacked VLAN (Q-in-Q), up to 3 Stacked MPLS (Layer 2.5), IP (Layer 3), and UDP (Layer 4). The platform handles full wire-speed BERT in both directions for electrical/optical ports, providing real-time graphical representation of throughput, bit error rate, and sync loss count over time
• Multi-device Support: Supports multi-device configurations for simultaneous wire-speed BERT, RFC 2544, and loopback testing on multiple ports
• Python API: Enables scripting and automation for complex testing scenarios