As the volume of data moving over the Internet and the number of data centers around the world increases, proper testing of Ethernet cable components becomes critical. Because DAC cables are the most economical solution for short data connections, they are widely used in high-speed networks and data centers. The installation includes many of these DAC cables whose performance is critical to the overall system. The data transfer rate of IEEE 802.3bj and IEEE 802.3by is 25Gbps/lane, and the data transfer rate of IEEE 802.3cd is 50Gbps/lane.
The latest IEEE 802.3CK standard doubles the data rate to 100Gbps per channel, allowing configurations of 100GBase-Cr1, 200GBase-Cr2, 400GBase-Cr4, and 800GBase-CR8 cable components.
The R&S ZnRun-K410 is designed to automatically test cable assemblies by and CD according to IEEE 802.3BJ, saving users a lot of time. Rohde & Schwarz has addressed these challenges with two new options for the R&S ZNrun Vector Network Analyzer automation suite. The solution includes measurement automation, post-processing of COM and ERL results, pass/fail and margin analysis, and generation of test reports, resulting in significantly reduced overall test time. According to the IEEE 802.3CK Ethernet standard, the suite is ready for testing cable assemblies with data rates up to 800Gbps in 800GBASE-CR8 configurations.
To reduce the user's operating workload, the R&S OSP open switch and control platform is supported to provide an economical multi-port solution. The entire setup is controlled by the R&S ZNrun Vector Network Analyzer automation suite with compliance options R&S ZnRun-K410 or -K411, which automatically performs complete test sequences, data collection, post-processing and test report generation. The test setup is based on the corresponding vector network analyzer, such as R&S ZNA or R&S ZNB.