SONET & SDH optical testing

Up to OC-192/STM-64 Analysis and Emulation

SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Analyzer

Multifunctional test tool for next generation Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)

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Sonetexpert Unchannelized BERT web based application

Overview

Most of the backbone transport for voice, video and data applications continues to be SONET and SDH optical transmission networks. SONET and SDH transmission network also continue to be used for conventional channelized traffic – carrying many TDM T1, E1, T3, and E3 pipes.

GL’s SonetExpert™ portable hardware and application supports SONET/SDH Emulation and Analysis:

  • SonetExpert™ Channelized Emulation/Analysis for OC-3/12, STM-1/4 (for more details, refer to SonetExpert-Channelized-Analyzer-Brochure)
  • SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Emulation/Analysis for OC-3/STM-1 to OC-192/STM-64

GL's SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Analyzer is capable of SONET/SDH testing over OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, OC-48/STM-16 and OC-192/STM-64 transports. It is based on the PacketExpert™/SonetExpert™ hardware platform. Packetexpert™/SonetExpert™ is a versatile hardware platform that supports both Ethernet (up to 10G) and SONET/SDH (up to OC-192/STM-64) testing, two ports support SONET/SDH testing. Multiple hardware units can be connected to a single PC to increase test port density. The hardware/software is controlled through a web interface, and is accessed using any browser running on any device like PC, Laptop, Tablet etc. Unchannelized Analyzer supports RAW format BERT up to OC-192/STM-64 and various applications for OC-3/STM-1 and OC-12/STM-4 ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) and PoS (Packet over SONET).

GL's OC-3 / STM-1 OC-12 / STM-4 ATM Analyzer is used to analyze and decode different ATM protocols like RAW ATM cells, AAL2 Protocols (CPS-SDU, SSSAR-SDU, and SSCS), AAL5 (CPCS), UNI and others across U plane and C plane of UNI and NNI interface. The analyzer can also decode ATM frames constituting Classical IP over ATM, or CIP based networks, and traditional SS7 Stack (ISUP, SCCP, MAP, CAMEL(CAP) etc.) over ATM.

Various platforms are offered, including a High-Density mTOP™ 1U/2U rack mount enclosures within which multiple SonetExpert™ hardware units are stacked to provide high density form factor solution for testing multiple SONET/SDH lines. It is a perfect SONET/SDH test tool for customers who require multi-port testing but are constrained by lab space.

GL also offers stand-alone mTOP™ Probe hardware variant of SonetExpert™, where a SonetExpert™ hardware unit is coupled with a built in SBC (Single Board Computer), to make it a compact, portable toll, ideal for field testing.


Main Features

  • Bit Error Rate testing (BERT):
    SonetExpert™ can perform Unchannelized BER Testing over OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, OC-48/STM-16 and OC-192/STM-64 SONET/SDH rates. It treats the entire OC-3 to OC-192 as a single big pipe and transmits/analyzes BERT traffic as a whole for the entire pipe i.e using concatenated STS-3c/STS-12c/STS-48c/STS-192c signals. This helps to test and qualify the entire SONET/SDH pipe, before delving into smaller pipes carried within. Also supports BER testing over Packet Over SONET (PoS) and ATM payloads on OC-3/STM-1 and OC-12/STM-4
  • Alarms/Error Monitoring:
    GL’s SonetExpert™ application monitors and reports various SONET/SDH Alarms (Section/Path/Line as well as BERT Alarms) in real time. Alarms are also plotted in a graph and up to 7 days of alarm data can be viewed in the graph. Supports Alarm generation and Error insertion. Also Supports Loss of Signal and Loss of Frames hardware alarms indication
  • Protocol Analysis
    PoS/ATM/Raw captured traffic can be analyzed in real time (for OC-3/STM-1 and OC-12/STM-4). Protocol Analysis provides detailed analysis of higher layer protocols (for PoS and ATM) and decode of SONET/SDH frames in real time on both ports simultaneously
  • Record and Playback
    SonetExpert™ supports capturing wirespeed traffic (for OC-3/STM-1 and OC-12/STM-4) traffic on two ports simultaneously to a file on hard disk, with hardware filtering and timestamping. The captured traffic can be played back from file on both ports simultaneously. In PoS mode, PPP packets are captured, in ATM mode ATM cells are captured, and in Raw mode, Raw SONET/SDH frames are captured. Similarly for playback, PPP packets/ATM cells/Raw SONET/SDH frames can be played back on single port or on both ports
  • Scan incoming SONET/SDH traffic and identify the traffic structure:
    GL’s SonetExpert™ Unchannelized application includes the Scan feature which scans the incoming traffic on SONET/SDH interfaces, identifies and displays the traffic structure. The results of the scan are displayed in an intuitive multi color graphical display, which clearly shows the sub channels within the main pipe. Traffic structure up-to STS-3c is identified and displayed in the main display, with different colors clearly indicating equipped or unequipped channels. On clicking any equipped channel, further details of the subchannel like the sub structure up-to the T1 E1 level is also displayed. This feature gives a complete overview of the incoming SONET/SDH traffic in an easy and intuitive Graphical display and helps technicians to quickly identify the structure of unknown SONET/SDH traffic
  • Web based software:
    Software is provided as a web interface, accessed from any standard web browser, allowing access from different devices like PCs/Laptops/Tablets etc. and also from different operating systems like Windows®/Linux®/Android® etc. The web interface enables multiple users to connect to a single web server and independently run tests on different hardware units. Using the mTOP™ probe unit to run the web server facilitates portable field testing, allowing users to access the software features using a Tablet running a browser

SonetExpert™ Portable Hardware Unit

SonetExpert™ Hardware Unit

SonetExpert™ Hardware Unit

SonetExpert™ with SFPs Configuration

SonetExpert™ with SFPs Configuration


SonetExpert™ contains four ports, out of which two ports (Port 3 and Port 4) are designated for SONET/SDH Channelized and Unchannelized carrying many Channelized unframed/framed T1 or E1 streams, and Unchannelized RAW, PoS, and ATM streams for OC-3/STM-1 and OC-12/STM-4

Connecting the optical SFPs to the fiber optic ports, the two ports (Port 3 and Port 4) on the unit are available for OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, OC-48/STM-16 and OC-192/STM-64 Unchannelized testing.

Specifications

Interfaces

  • 2 - Unchannelized Ports (OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, OC-48/STM-16 and OC-192/STM-64)
  • Single Mode or Multi Mode Fiber SFP/SFP+ support with LC connector
  • USB 3.0 Port

Dimensions:

  • Length: 8.45 in. (214.63 mm)
  • Width: 5.55 in. (140.97 mm)
  • Height: 1.60 in (40.64 mm)

Power

  • +12 Volts (Medical Grade), 3 Amps (For portable units having serial number ≥ 188400)

mTOP™ SonetExpert™ Probe

Specifications
SonetExpert™ mTOP™ Probe

SonetExpert™ mTOP™ Probe
(Front Panel View)

SonetExpert™ mTOP™ Probe

SonetExpert™ mTOP™ Probe
(Rear Panel View)

Dimensions:

  • Length: 10.4 inches
  • Height: 3 inches
  • Width: 8.4 inches

SonetExpert™ Interfaces

  • 4x 1G Base-X Optical OR 10/100/1000 Base-T Electrical
  • 2x 10G Base-SR, -LR -ER Optical option
  • 2 x 100 Mbps Base-FX optical interface
  • Single Mode or Multi Mode Fiber SFP support with LC connector
  • Optional 4-Port SMA Jack Trigger Board (TTL Input/Output)
  • External USB based Wi-Fi adaptor

External Power Supply

  • +12 Volts (Medical Grade), 3 Amps

SBC Specifications -

  • Intel Core i3 or optional i7 NUC Equivalent, Windows® 10 64-bit Pro Operating System
  • USB 2.0 and 3.0 Ports, ATX Power Supply
  • USB Type C ports, Ethernet 2.5GigE port
  • 256 GB Hard drive, 16GB Memory (Min)
  • Two HDMI ports for display

SonetExpert™ mTOP™ 1U Rack Solution

Specifications
SonetExpert™ mTOP™ 1U rack solution

SonetExpert™ mTOP™ 1U rack solution
(Front Panel View)

SonetExpert™ mTOP™ 1U rack solution

SonetExpert™ mTOP™ 1U rack solution
(Rear Panel View)

Dimensions:

  • Height: 1U Rack
  • Length: 16 Inches
  • Width: 19 Inches

SonetExpert™ interfaces (1 unit)

  • Two-Unchannelized Ports (OC-3/STM-1/, OC-12/STM-4, OC-48/STM-16 and OC-192/STM-64)
  • Single Mode or Multi Mode Fiber SFP support with LC connector

SBC specifications

  • Embedded SBC, 1x SonetExpert™
  • Intel Core i3 or optional i7 NUC Equivalent, Windows® 11 64-bit Pro operating system
  • USB Type C ports, Ethernet 2.5GigE port
  • USB 2.0 and 3.0 Ports, ATX Power Supply
  • 240GB Hard drive, 16GB Memory (Min)
  • Two HDMI ports for display

Order information

  • MT001/MT001E - 1U mTOP™ rack with SBC (Intel Core i7)
  • SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Analyzer part numbers as required (OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, OC-48/STM-16 and OC-192/STM-64)

BER Testing

BERT:

  • BERT over RAW SONET/SDH supported over OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, OC-48/STM-16 and OC-192/STM-64
  • BERT over PoS supported over OC-3/STM-1 and OC-12/STM-4
  • BERT over ATM supported over OC-3/STM-1 and OC-12/STM-4
  • Whole Pipe Testing

    Whole Pipe Testing


  • BER testing can be done on two ports simultaneously
  • Support industry standard PRBS patterns - 29-1, 211-1, 215-1, 220-1, 223-1, 229-1, 231-1
  • Reports Pattern Sync loss count and seconds, Bit Error Rate/count and seconds, Error/Error free seconds
  • Bit Error and Sync Loss Alarms are displayed along with other alarms for comprehensive alarm monitoring in a single screen
All Alarms

All Alarms

Bert Results

BERT Results


Graph:

  • All SONET/SDH alarms, Interface related alarms like Tx/Rx Frequency, Power, Sync Loss, and Bit Error events are plotted in a real time “Event Graph”
  • Events are grouped into major groups and plotted in the graph. E.g: Bit Error and Sync loss events are grouped under Bert group, all Path alarms under Path group, all Line alarms under Line group, all Section alarms under Section group, all Interface related alarms under Interface group. User can click any event plotted on the graph, and the details of all the alarms present for the event will be displayed next to the graph including all the alarms present within each group
  • Graph

    Graph


  • Up to 7 days of history data for all events are available in the graph and can be drilled down to the second level
  • Minute/Hour/Day/7 days views available. User can switch between views anytime. At larger time scales, the results are summarized over appropriate time periods for easy event viewing

PoS and ATM Bert:

  • User defined PoS Header fields – define various IP/UDP fields like Source/Destination IP Addresses/ UDP ports etc.
  • PoS Header fields

    PoS Header fields


  • User defined ATM Header fields – define various ATM header fields like UNI/NNI choice, GFC, VPI/VCI etc.
  • ATM Header fields

    ATM Header fields


  • Bandwidth control for PoS Bert - set bandwidth in Mbps, link percentage etc.
  • Bandwidth control for PoS Bert

    Bandwidth control for PoS Bert


  • Bandwidth control for ATM Bert - set percentage or Traffic Cell to Idle cell ratio
  • Bandwidth control for ATM Bert

    Bandwidth control for ATM Bert


Impairment Generation:

  • Alarm Generation – generate LOF, AIS-L, RDI-L, AIS-P, LOP-P, RDI-P, UNEQ-P alarms
  • Error Insertion – insert B1/B2/B3, REI-L, REI-P errors – both Single as well as rate (10-4 to 10-9)
  • Bit Error Insertion – insert single as well as Rate bit errors rate (10-3 to 10-9)
  • Sonet Pointer and Justification – inserts new pointer value
  • Insert Justification – it increments (Positive) or decrements (Negative) the pointer value by one
Impairment Generation

Impairment Generation

Alarms/Error Monitoring

  • Monitors and reports all SONET/SDH alarms - Section, Line, Path alarms (SONET) or RSOH, MSOH, HP alarms (SDH)
  • Section/RSOH Alarms

    SONET (Section) SDH (RSOH)
    Loss of Frame
    B1 BIP
    Out of Frame alarm

    Line/MSOH Alarms

    SONET (Line) SDH (MSOH)
    AIS-L MS-AIS
    RDI-L MS-RDI
    B2 BIP B2 BIP
    REI-L MS-REI

    Path/HP Alarms

    SONET (Path) SDH (HP)
    AIS-P AU-AIS
    LOP-P AU-LOP
    Loss Loss
    RDI-P HP-RDI
    UNEQ-P HP-UNEQ
    B3 BIP B3 BIP
    REI-P HP-REI
    PLM PLM
    All Ones All Ones
    OC Levels STM Levels
    Pointer Adjustment Pointer Adjustment
    New Pointers New Pointers
  • Display of LED status for each alarm shows No Error (Green), History (Yellow) and Error (Red) for easy identification at a glance
  • Display count and seconds for each alarm
  • User selectable SONET or SDH terminology
  • SONET/SDH alarms

    SONET/SDH alarms


  • Monitor and report alarms for Tx/Rx Clock Frequency and the frequency deviation (in ppm)
  • Monitor and report alarms for SFP power (Tx/Rx power) and SFP temperature, including the SFP Power/Temperature Alarm and Warning thresholds, read from the SFP itself
  • SFP alarms

  • Summary of the alarms for all ports, so that user will know all the port status at a glance
  • Port Alarm Summary

  • Different colors for alarms summary for easy identification of problems - Red (Alarm Active), Yellow (Alarm History) and Green (No Alarms)
  • Port Alarm Summary with errors

Record & Playback

Record Application

  • Capture on both ports simultaneously to a file on hard disk in GL's proprietary HDL format
  • Capture PoS traffic (PPP packets), ATM traffic (ATM cells), or Raw SONET/SDH traffic (Raw SONET/SDH frames)
  • Multiple Versatile filters (e.g PPP, IP, UDP etc for PoS, VPI, VCI and other ATM Header fields for ATM) can be applied for incoming PoS/ATM traffic to capture traffic of interest. Up to 16 hardware filters can be applied to each port. Hardware filters work at wire speed
  • Hardware timestamping of captured traffic
  • Onboard 8GB of DDR3 RAM memory to temporarily store the captured traffic before transferring it to the PC. Out of this 8GB, 4GB is used for the Record application and 4GB for the Playback application
  • Capture based on different criteria - Size, Number of frames etc.
  • Split capture into multiple files, for easy handling of small size files
  • Multiple Record instances supported in parallel
Record application

Record Application


Playback Application

  • Playback from file (previously captured file) on both ports simultaneously
  • Playback PoS traffic (PPP packets), ATM traffic (ATM cells), or Raw SONET/SDH traffic (Raw SONET/SDH frames)
  • Playback on the same ports as captured, or playback on User selected ports
  • One shot playback - stop playback once end of file is reached, or Continuous playback - start over from the beginning once end of file is reached
  • Playback specified number of frames only and stop
  • Supports multiple playback instances in parallel, but only when multiple devices are connected. For example, one instance can playback on one device, while another instance can playback on another device
Playback application

Playback Application

ATM Analyzer

GL’s OC-3 / STM-1 OC-12 / STM-4 ATM analyzer is used to analyze and decode different ATM protocols like RAW ATM, AAL2 Protocols (CPS-SDU, SSSAR-SDU, and SSCS), AAL5 (CPCS-Common Part Convergence Sublayer), UNI and others across U plane and C plane of UNI and NNI interface. ATM analyzer can also decode ATM frames constituting Classical IP over ATM, or CIP based networks, and traditional SS7 Stack (ISUP, SCCP, MAP, CAMEL(CAP) etc.) over ATM.

ATM in an OC-3 / STM-1 OC-12 / STM-4 Network

ATM in an OC-3 / STM-1 OC-12 / STM-4 Network

The ATM analyzer can capture, decode, filter, and reassemble AAL-2 and AAL-5 frames in real-time, from within the ATM cells according to user defined VPI/VCI.



Summary, Detail, and Hex_Dump Views

The ATM protocol analyzer application is invoked from the application menu of GL's OC-3 / STM-1 OC-12 / STM-4 ATM Analyzer for real-time analysis. The analyzer displays Summary, Detail, Hex Dump, Statistics, and Call Detail Views in different panes. The Summary pane displays Dev#, Frame#, Time, Length, Error, VPI/VCI, PT and so on. User can select a frame in Summary View to analyze and decode each frame in the Detail View. The Hex Dump View displays the frame information in HEX and ASCII format.

Protocol Summary, Detail, and Hex Dump Views in ATM Protocol Analysis

Protocol Summary, Detail, and Hex Dump Views in ATM Protocol Analysis

PoS Analyzer

The PoS analyzer captures a host of PoS protocols exchanged between the two nodes over SONET and provides useful analysis, which includes distribution of protocols, protocol fields, frame lengths, and frame status. User can obtain detailed analysis of the protocol and can perform various statistics measurements.

PoS analyzer supports Packet Data Analysis (PDA) module, an outstanding tool for live monitoring of signaling and traffic over IP. Packet Data Analysis (PDA) is distributed with GL’s Packet Analyzers, allows users to monitor live IP networks including capture, analysis, and reporting of every call in detail. Supported protocols include SIP, MEGACO, MGCP, H.323, SCCP, RANAP (UMTS IuCS), and GSM A. PoS can capture IP packets over different transmission lines, including IP, T1, E1, T3, E3, and OC-3 STM-1 / OC-12 STM-4. PDA then processes the captured packets, identifies, and segregates calls based on signaling and traffic parameters.

Analysis of PoS frames over OC-3 / STM-1 OC-12 / STM-4 lines

Analysis of PoS frames over OC-3 / STM-1 OC-12 / STM-4 lines



Summary, Detail, and Hex_Dump Views

The PoS analyzer application is invoked from the application menu of GL's OC-3 / STM-1 OC-12 / STM-4 Analyzer for real-time analysis. The analyzer displays Summary, Detail, Statistics, and Hex Dump Views in different panes. The Summary pane displays Dev#, Frame #, Time relative, Len, Error, Layer 3 protocol, LCP code, IPCP code, BCP code, PoS Message type, Source/Destination IP address, TCP Source/Destination Port, UDP Source/Destination Port, Message Type, and so on. The user can select a frame in Summary View to analyze and decode each frame in the Detail View. The Hex Dump View displays the frame information in HEX and ASCII format.

Protocol Summary, Detail, and Hex Dump Views in PoS Protocol Analysis

Protocol Summary, Detail, and Hex Dump Views in PoS Protocol Analysis

RAW Analyzer

GL's SonetExpert™ RAW Analyzer used to analyze and decode RAW Sonet/SDH packets.

Analysis of RAW Packets over OC-3 / STM-1 to OC-192 / STM-64 lines

Analysis of RAW Packets over OC-3 / STM-1 to OC-192 / STM-64 lines


The RAW analyzer application is invoked from the application menu of GL's OC-3 / STM-1 OC-12 / STM-4 Analyzer for real-time analysis.

Protocol Summary, Detail, and Hex Dump Views in RAW Protocol Analysis

Protocol Summary, Detail, and Hex Dump Views in RAW Protocol Analysis

Scan Application

SonetExpert™ scans incoming SONET/SDH traffic, analyzes the frames, detects and reports the structure of the incoming traffic, down to the T1 E1 level. It identifies the various sub pipes within the main pipe, and also the entire structure of each sub pipe right down to the T1 E1 level.

  • Supported on OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, OC-48/STM-16 and OC-192/STM-64 rates
  • Graphical display of the traffic structure for easy visualization
  • Identifies and displays sub channels up to STS-1
  • Indicates equipped and unequipped sub channels in different colors for easy identification
  • Shows substructure of each STS-1 pipe, right down to the T1 E1 level
  • User selectable SONET or SDH terminology
  • Supported on both the ports independently

The below screenshot shows result of scanning incoming traffic on OC-192. The scan shows that the OC-192 contains 4 OC-48 pipes within, and shows details of each of the 4 OC-48s in a separate tab. For each OC-48 further shows details of the OC-12s, and in turn details of the OC-3s within the OC-12s, down to the STS-1 level. For each STS-1, shows the details of the traffic structure contained within the STS-1. The equipped channels are clearly marked in Blue so that user can easily make out which channel is equipped with a quick glance.

OC-192 with substructure

OC-192 with substructure


The above screenshot depicts, OC48 #1 contains an equipped channel → OC12 #1 (OC12 #1_1) → OC-3 #4 (OC-3 #1_1_4) → STS-1 #1 (STS #10 overall STS numbering). The STS-1 #1 is equipped channel, which contains VT1.5s within it, as shown. On clicking on the substructure button, the detailed substructure is shown above. It shows 28 VT1.5 channels, and within it, the VT1.5 on Row2, column 3 is equipped as shown in Green.

OC-192 Concatenated

OC-192 Concatenated


The above screenshot shows result of scanning incoming concatenated OC-192 traffic. It just shows a single pipe containing STS-192C signal.



The below screenshot shows exact scan result as OC-192 with substructure, but with the terminology changed to SDH instead of SONET. User can change the terminology anytime.

STM-64 with substructure

STM-64 with substructure

STM-64 Concatenated

STM-64 Concatenated

Resources

Item No Item Description
SEU100 SonetExpert™ Dual OC3/12 STM1/4 USB Unit

Accessories
Includes OC-3/OC-12/STM-1/STM-4 SFPs (customer preference of MM or SM)
USB Cable 3.0 (1)
Power adapter +12 Volts, 3 Amps (1)
SEU901 SonetExpert™ Unchannelized RAW BERT for OC-3/STM-1 and OC-12/STM-4 Rates
SEU902 SonetExpert™ Unchannelized RAW BERT for OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4 Rates, OC-48/STM-16, OC-192/STM-64 Rates
SEU300 SonetExpert™ Unchannelized OC-3/STM-1/OC-12/STM-4 ATM Monitor, BERT, Tx/Rx Test
SEU301 SonetExpert™ Unchannelized OC-3/STM-1/OC-12/STM-4 PoS Monitor, BERT, Tx/Rx Test
SEU302 SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Record Playback for OC-3/STM-1/OC-12/STM-4 ATM
SEU303 SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Record Playback for OC-3/STM-1/OC-12/STM-4 PoS
SEU304 SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Protocol Analysis for OC-3/STM-1/OC-12/STM-4 ATM
SEU305 SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Protocol Analysis for OC-3/STM-1/OC-12/STM-4 PoS
SEU503 SonetExpert™ Unchannelized RAW Record Playback for OC-3/STM-1/OC-12/STM-4 includes SCAN feature
SEU315 SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Packet Data Analysis (PDA) for PoS
Optional Applications
SEU110 SonetExpert™ Upgrade to PXN100
SEU120 SonetExpert™ Upgrade to PXN101
PXN100 PacketExpert™ 10GX
PXN101 10G option for PXN100
Optional Applications
PXN101 10G option for PXN100