High-Performance SONET and SDH Network Testing and Monitoring

Welcome to another edition of GL’s newsletter! Here, we discuss our solutions for testing Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) networks. GL’s solutions can generate and monitor traffic over both channelized TDM and unchannelized Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Packet over SONET (PoS) traffic. The hardware device, known as SonetExpert™, supports up to OC-192/STM-64 networks and features automatic detection of SONET/SDH structures and their components.

SonetExpert

Overview

GL’s SonetExpert™ is a powerful network testing tool designed to generate traffic and monitor existing traffic over SONET and SDH networks. The device monitors the network in real-time and provides detailed analysis, reporting features of various types of SONET/SDH channels including STS-1, STS-3c, STS-12c, STS-48c, and STS-192c. The software provides a graphical user interface and is accessed through a web browser.

This device can effectively analyze SONET and SDH networks, including channelized and unchannelized interfaces. The tool offers scanning and detection of incoming traffic and in-depth analysis of ATM/PoS networks. It also supports test and measurement capabilities, such as Bit Error Rate Testing (BERT), to evaluate the performance of the network.

GL’s SonetExpert™ supports SONET and SDH Emulation and Analysis in two modes:

  • Channelized Mode – Emulation and analysis for OC-3/STM-1 and OC-12/STM-4
  • Unchannelized Mode – Emulation and analysis for OC-3/STM-1 to OC-192/STM-64

GL also offers a rack-mount enclosure that can include up to three SonetExpert™ devices. This form factor is ideal for lab testing. For portable field testing, the SonetExpert™ can be controlled by a PC through a USB connection.

SonetExpert™ Channelized Analyzer

GL’s SonetExpert™ Channelized Analyzer is a powerful network testing tool for analyzing, monitoring, and testing SONET and SDH networks. It enables real-time network monitoring with detailed analysis and reporting of up to OC-12/STM-4 channels. The SonetExpert™ hardware platform supports wirespeed processing of up to OC-12/STM-4 on two optical ports (Port 1 and Port 2), handling multiple independent unframed and framed T1 or E1 streams.

Advanced Protocol Analysis with SonetExpert™

The SonetExpert™ Channelized Analyzer includes both hardware and software for capturing, monitoring, emulating, and analyzing protocols over SONET and SDH links. The hardware transmits and receives SONET and SDH traffic, which is processed by Soft T1 E1 analyzer application. This application offers the same functionality as GL’s hardware-based T1 E1 Analyzers, with the key difference that T1 or E1 frames are multiplexed into SONET/SDH frames and transmitted over optical lines.

Simplified Channelized Testing and Emulation

The analyzer supports channelized SONET and SDH mapping of T1 and E1 payloads, providing direct access to all 84 T1s or 63 E1s on an OC-3/STM-1 and 336 T1s or 252 E1s on an OC-12/STM-4 for analysis and emulation within a single PC. A key advantage is that T1, E1, or DS0 testing can be performed without electrical access, complex cabling, or lengthy setup.

SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Analyzer

GL’s SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Analyzer is capable of SONET/SDH testing up to OC-192/STM-64 networks. Each device contains two high-speed ports (SFP cages). The device control is via a web-based interface accessible from any browser on devices such as PCs, laptops, and tablets. The analyzer supports BERT over RAW SONET/SDH testing up to OC-192/STM-64 and various applications such as ATM and PoS for up to OC-12/STM-4 rates.

SonetExpert™ Unchannelized Analyzer

End-to-End Bit Error Rate Testing

SonetExpert™ performs BERT up to OC-192/STM-64 rates, treating the entire OC-3 to OC-192 as a single pipe. It transmits and analyzes bit patterns using concatenated STS-3c, STS-12c, STS-48c, and STS-192c signals, enabling end-to-end SONET/SDH pipe qualification before examining smaller subchannels. It also supports BERT for PoS and ATM payloads up to OC-12/STM-4.

Real-Time Alarm Monitoring and Analysis

SonetExpert™ monitors and reports various SONET and SDH alarms in real-time, including Section, Path, Line, and BERT alarms. It plots alarms on a graph, enabling up to seven days of historical alarm data to be viewed. The analyzer also supports alarm generation, error insertion, and hardware indications for Loss of Signal and Frame errors.

Real-Time Traffic Capture and Protocol Analysis

SonetExpert™ enables real-time analysis of PoS, ATM, and RAW captured traffic. Its Protocol Analysis feature provides in-depth examination of higher-layer protocols for PoS, ATM, and RAW while decoding SONET/SDH frames on both ports simultaneously.

High-Speed Traffic Capture and Playback

SonetExpert™ captures wirespeed traffic on two ports simultaneously, storing it on a hard disk with hardware filtering and timestamping. The recorded traffic can be played back on both ports at the same time. In PoS mode, it captures PPP packets. In ATM mode, ATM cells are captured. In RAW mode, SONET/SDH frames are captured. Likewise, for playback, it can replay PPP packets, ATM cells, or RAW frames on one or both ports.

Traffic Analysis and Visualization

SonetExpert™ analyzes incoming traffic to identify and display its structure. An intuitive, multicolor graphical interface highlights subchannels within the main pipe down to the STS-3 level, using different colors to distinguish equipped and unequipped channels. Selecting an equipped channel reveals detailed substructures down to T1 or E1.

Key Features

  • Allows direct access to everything on SONET and SDH – Framing and Payload, including structured traffic (T1, E1, STS-3 and STS-12)
  • Analyze or emulate voice, data, fax, protocols, analog and digital signals, including echo and voice quality
  • Supports Single-mode and Multi-mode fiber optics
  • Comprehensive protocol analysis and emulation - HDLC, SS7, ISDN, CAS, PPP, Frame Relay, ATM, UMTS, and more
  • Capture and transmit at wirespeed to/from hard disk on all interfaces
  • Two ports per SonetExpert™ for emulating and monitoring in both directions
  • Configure the number of T1 E1 channels to multiplexed or demultiplexed to/from OC-3/12 STM-1/4
  • Broadcasts the selected T1 E1 channel data on all the 252 E1’s or 336 T1’s
  • Direct access to any or all T1s and E1s
    • 2 x 336 T1’s x 24 DS0s = 16,128 DS0s
    • 2 x 252 E1’s x 31 DS0s = 15,624 DS0s
  • BERT over RAW SONET or SDH for up to OC-192/STM-64
  • BERT over PoS and ATM up to OC-12/STM-4
  • Monitors and reports various alarms (Section/Path/ Line as well as BERT Alarms) in real time
  • Provides Loss of Signal and Loss of Frames Hardware Alarms indication, Service logging, External Clock, Line and Diagnostic Loopback options, Through mode and Port Swap Cross-port options
  • Protocol analysis provides detailed analysis of higher layer protocols (for PoS and ATM) and decode of frames in real time on both ports simultaneously
  • Capture RAW or PoS/ATM at wirespeed (up to OC-12/STM-4) traffic on two ports simultaneously to a file on hard disk, with hardware filtering and timestamping
  • Playback captured RAW or PoS/ATM wirespeed traffic (up to OC-12/STM-4) traffic on two ports simultaneously from a file on hard disk with highly accurate timing (as captured in the traffic file)
  • View incoming traffic in an easy and intuitive graphical display to quickly identify the structure of unknown SONET/SDH traffic
  • Web interface allows multiple users to connect to a single web server and independently run tests on different devices

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