Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA - October 15, 2024, GL Communications Inc., a global leader in telecom test and measurement solutions, addressed the press regarding their advanced Ethernet and IP testing solution, PacketExpert™ 100G. This tool tests high-speed networks at wirespeed, making it perfect for network engineers in search of precision and adaptability. With the ability to seamlessly interface to industry-standard equipment, PacketExpert™ 100G ensures smooth incorporation into the existing testing environments.

“GL’s PacketExpert™ 100G is a hardware platform designed for wirespeed Ethernet and IP testing at speeds of up to 100 Gbps. The PacketExpert™ 100G functions as a full-fledged PC, equipped with specialized network interface cards, GL’s proprietary PacketExpert™ software, optimized RAM, storage, processing, and cooling systems. The Ethernet ports support speeds of 1 Gbps, 10 Gbps, 25 Gbps, 40 Gbps, 50 Gbps, and 100 Gbps. The appliance comes with up to eight ports, all of which can generate and receive traffic simultaneously.” said Vijay Kulkarni, CEO of GL Communications.

The PacketExpert™ 100G, available in portable and rack-mount configurations, supports up to eight ports per appliance and offers a user-friendly web interface for multi-user, multi-location access. Users can configure tests, monitor real-time graphs, and export results to PDF and CSV, with Python scripting available for automation of complex tests.

Featuring high-speed 100 Gbps QSFP ports, the PacketExpert™ 100G supports various optical speeds—1 Gbps, 10 Gbps, 25 Gbps, 40 Gbps, 50 Gbps, and 100 Gbps by utilizing adapters with the respective SFP modules. GL provides a full accessory kit with QSFPs, fiber optic cables, and adapters for enhanced flexibility.

PacketExpert™ 100G provides robust support for Forward Error Correction (FEC) in compliance with IEEE 802.3 standards, a crucial feature for maintaining data integrity in high-speed, long-distance networks. FEC enhances network reliability and performance by detecting and correcting bit errors during transmission. The supported FEC types include Fire Code FEC, RS-FEC (528, 514), and RS-FEC (544, 514).

The Multi-Stream Traffic Generator and Analyzer allows the device to generate multiple streams of Ethernet traffic with customizable protocol headers, packet sizes, and payloads. Supporting up to 16 streams per port, it is ideal for end-to-end testing of Wide Area Networks at speeds up to 100 Gbps. Key metrics measured include throughput, packet loss, delay, jitter and more.

ITU-T Y.1564 is a Service Activation test methodology that allows for comprehensive validation of Ethernet Service-Level Agreements. GL’s ExpertSAM™ is optimized for multiservice applications, measuring maximum network performance. Each port supports up to 16 streams. This enables users to assess Ethernet service capabilities for voice, data and video traffic, surpassing traditional RFC 2544 testing, especially in Wide Area Network scenarios.

PacketExpert™ 100G supports Python automation, which allows for seamless integration into automated testing environments. Through the PacketExpert™ Python client APIs, users can control all functionalities of the device remotely, making it ideal for regression testing in network validation setups.

Python Sample Script

Key features of the PacketExpert™ 100G include:

• PCIe based hardware supports up to 8 x 100G ports in either portable or rack-mount form factors
• Detects Layer 1 alarms and errors
• Simultaneously generate and receive Ethernet traffic at 100% wirespeed (bidirectional 100 Gbps rate)
• Generates traffic from Layer 2 to Layer 4 at up to 100 Gbps with varying protocol headers and packet sizes
• Generate frames with lengths ranging from 64 bytes to Jumbo frames (up to 16000 bytes)
• BERT 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
• BERT can be tested 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)
• Capable of handling full wirespeed BERT, in both directions Electrical/Optical ports
• Supports smart loopback with auto layer detection, and allows swapping source and destination addresses at MAC, IP and UDP layers
• Generates traffic at throughput of CIR (guaranteed traffic), EIR (best effort bandwidth) and Traffic Policing Rates (dropped bandwidth) ensuring key performance indicators validation
• Supports multiple streams with customizable configurations, including MAC/VLAN/IP/UDP headers, rate, and frame size, allowing prioritization of different traffic types (e.g., voice, video, data)
• Measures packet loss, delay, and jitter for each stream, providing real-time graphs to visualize these metrics across all streams

 Back to Press Releases Index Page