Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA – December 23, 2024, GL Communications Inc., a global leader in telecom test and measurement solutions, addressed the press regarding their PacketExpert™ 100G. This is the latest version in the PacketExpert™ series of products, which have been adopted by Internet Service Providers, Equipment Manufacturers, Government Agencies, and Contractors worldwide. The device performs wirespeed Ethernet and IP testing for troubleshooting, service validation and monitoring purposes. Available in both rack-mount and portable form factors, the device can handle diverse network environments and use cases.

Vijay Kulkarni, CEO of GL Communications, states, “GL’s PacketExpert™ 100G is a hardware platform, designed for wirespeed Ethernet and IP testing at speeds up to 100 Gbps. It is a fully integrated PC, featuring 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, and 100 Gbps. The appliance offers up to eight ports, all capable of generating and receiving wirespeed traffic simultaneously.”

The PacketExpert™ 100G hardware platform features high-speed 100 Gbps QSFP ports, supporting optical connections at 1 Gbps, 10 Gbps, 25 Gbps, 40 Gbps, and 100 Gbps with adapters and compatible SFP modules. It is available in portable and rack-mount configurations, offering up to eight ports per appliance. Configurations range from a single port pair to eight ports, allowing users to test multiple speeds simultaneously. For instance, a four-port appliance can operate with two ports at 100 Gbps and the other two at 40 Gbps. GL also provides an accessory kit that includes QSFPs, fiber optic cables, and adapters.

The PacketExpert™ 100G supports various FEC techniques as defined by IEEE 802.3 and Ethernet Consortium standards, such as Fire Code FEC, RS-FEC (528, 514), and RS-FEC (544, 514). These techniques enable robust testing of high-speed networks by detecting and correcting bit errors during data transmission. FEC minimizes the risk of data loss or corruption by incorporating error-detection and correction information, ensuring reliable and dependable data communication.

The PacketExpert™ 100G supports a wide range of testing methodologies, including Bit Error Rate Testing, Smart Loopback Testing, RFC 2544 Testing (covering throughput, packet loss, back-to-back, and latency measurements), ExpertSAM™ (ITU-T Y.1564 for service-level agreement verification), and Multi-Stream Traffic Generator and Analyzer. These applications enable comprehensive testing at Layer 2 (Ethernet), Layer 2.5 (VLAN/MPLS), Layer 3 (IPv4 and IPv6), and Layer 4 (UDP).

The PacketExpert™ 100G features ExpertSAM™, a multi-service testing application based on ITU-T Y.1564, a carrier Ethernet service activation test methodology for validating Ethernet Service-Level Agreements. Supporting up to 16 streams per port, it enables testing of 32 services under full load conditions. ExpertSAM™ evaluates Ethernet services ability to handle voice, data, and video traffic efficiently, addressing limitations of traditional RFC 2544 testing, especially in Wide Area Networks.

The Multi-Stream Traffic Generator and Analyzer generates multiple Ethernet traffic streams with customizable protocol headers, packet sizes, and payloads. Supporting up to 16 streams per port, it is ideal for end-to-end Wide Area Network testing at speeds up to 100 Gbps. Key metrics measured include Throughput, Packet Loss, Delay, Jitter, and more.

The PacketExpert™ 100G features an intuitive web-based interface, enabling multi-user and multi-location access. Users can configure test parameters, control tests, monitor real-time graphs, and export results in PDF or CSV formats. Additionally, individual users can independently control pairs of ports simultaneously, providing enhanced flexibility for collaborative and efficient testing.

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

Other key features include:

• Supports DAC (Direct Attach Cable) and AOC (Active Optical Cable), offering cost-effective, low-latency, and energy-efficient solutions for short-distance connectivity in data centers. These cables are compatible with data rates such as 10G SFP+, 25G SFP28, 40G QSFP+, and 100G QSFP28
• 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 16,000 bytes)
• Bit Error Rate 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
• Bit Error Rate tests at Ethernet (Layer 2), Stacked VLAN (Q-in-Q), Stacked MPLS (Layer 2.5), IP (Layer 3) and UDP (Layer 4)
• Real-time graphs of Throughput, Bit Error Rate and Sync Loss count
• Supports smart loopback with auto layer detection, and allows swapping source and destination addresses at MAC, IP and UDP layers
• RFC 2544 can be tested on Ethernet, VLAN, MPLS, IPv4, IPv6 and UDP layers. Supports Throughput, Latency, Frame Loss, and Back-to-Back performance tests
• Generates traffic at the Committed Information Rate (CIR), Excess Information Rate (EIR), and Traffic Policing Rates to test Ethernet Service Level Agreements
• 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

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