New software suite automates operation of optical network test modules to enable carriers to significantly reduce their costs
Exfo Electro-Optical Engineering has announced the launch of an integrated applications suite for the FTB-400 universal test system that enables telecommunications carriers to significantly reduce their cost of operations.
This new software suite, which leverages the industry's widest range of physical-, optical- and protocol-layer test modules, raises the FTB-400 platform to the next integration level by allowing field technicians to seamlessly automate their test applications.
The first of several end-products within Exfo's integrated applications suite, the Lambda Auto-Sweeper, automates the interaction and common reporting of three test modules for the FTB-400 platform: FTB-8000 SONET/SDH analyser, FTB-5240 optical spectrum analyzer and FTB-9310 channel selector.
The Lambda Auto-Sweeper automatically identifies a DWDM system's populated channels, measures the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) and simultaneously calculates the bit-error rate (BER) for each individual channel, then generates a fully integrated report that includes both optical- and protocol-layer test parameters with a single touch of a button.
"Our customers have been clamouring for a portable lab-in-a-box solution that integrates all the test modules they need to turn-up optical networks and also allows these tools to work together in an automated fashion," said Giovanni Forte, vice-president of product management at Exfo Protocol, a wholly owned subsidiary of Exfo. "Unleashing the automation power of the FTB-400 field-testing platform with our integrated applications suite demonstrates that Exfo not only has the broadest offering of test modules on the market, but also that we know how to piece them together to create applications that can truly help carriers reduce their operational costs." "Exfo pioneered the development of the first PC-centric, Windows-driven test platform that can host the largest suite of test technologies, including Sonet/SDH testers, gigabit ethernet analysers, fibre channel testers, optical spectrum analysers (OSAs), polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) analysers, chromatic dispersion (CD) analysers and optical time domain reflectomers (OTDRs)." added Germain Lamonde, chairman, president, and CEO of Exfo.
"With in excess of 10,000 test platforms entrenched with customers worldwide, only Exfo could take modular platform testing to the automation level and enable these customers to further leverage their past product investments in order to simplify and accelerate network deployments."
