Littleton, MA (PRWEB). octoScope has introduced the latest addition to the octoBox product line, the compact, stackable, and rackable BOX-18 test chamber. Like all octoBox models, BOX-18 provisions an optimal environment for isolated over-the-air (OTA) testing. With 16 RF connectors (eight on each side) addressing even advanced MIMO configurations, BOX-18 is suitable for testing and evaluating the performance of a variety of wireless mesh and Internet of Things (IoT) topologies, including Wi-Fi extenders, handoff behavior, load balancing, and performance optimization.
Measuring 18 inches wide by 12 inches high by 29 inches deep and fully rack-mountable, BOX-18 is suitable for high-density, compact installations where each individual DUT requires its own isolated environment. This is particularly important in mesh, IoT, and similar test situations, where collocating devices in a single larger chamber could result in mutual interference. BOX-18 makes it easy to customize test configurations, and to modify these with minimal effort. BOX-18 is thus suitable for a broad range of wireless testing scenarios, with complete interoperability with the larger BOX-26 and BOX-38 octoBox models and the remainder of the octoScope product line, including the quadAtten programmable attenuator, iGen interference generator, Pal client and AP emulators, monitors, load generators, MPE2 multipath emulator, and an array of test and analysis software. octoScope provides the most robust and capable wireless testing solutions available today. BOX-18 enables flexible new testbed topologies for product developers, manufacturers, and carriers and operators everywhere.
Benefits of complete environmental isolation
It’s nearly impossible to test and evaluate wireless devices in open-air, “freespace” settings, especially in the unlicensed bands used by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and many other products. Radio-wave propagation cannot be controlled, or even predicted, and interference is always a concern.
The octoBox product line provisions complete isolation from the unmanageable real world, creating a controlled and repeatable environment that enables level-playing-field comparisons, precise reproducibility, and productivity-optimizing ease of use. Such common tests as throughput vs. range, throughput vs. orientation, throughput vs. interference, channel- and rate-adaptation behavior, and error-rate analysis are made easy via the octoBox and other members of the octoScope product family.
BOX-18 provides the same set of capabilities and benefits as the other members of the octoBox family. Standard features include complete isolation from outside interference, filtered ventilation and filtered data and power ports, and a replaceable door gasket. The octoBox is effective across a very board range frequencies, from 700 MHz to 6 GHz.
“We’ve been testing wireless products for more than two decades, and the octoBox has dramatically improved both our productivity and the accuracy of our results,” said Craig Mathias of the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group. “BOX-18’s compact size means we can configure tests of meaningful scale in minimal physical space, especially important when examining the behavior of mesh and IoT products.”
BOX-18 and wireless mesh networks
Wireless mesh networks are self-organizing, building wireless relay links between mesh nodes on the fly for optimum Wi-Fi reliability and throughput performance. Because the operational behavior of a mesh network can be complex, it’s important to isolate each mesh node in its own test chamber and interconnect the chambers in order to evaluate this behavior effectively and productively. BOX-18 is suitable for this application—its small size enables as many nodes as required to be configured for test in minimal lab space.
BOX-18 and Internet of Things (IoT) devices
The testing and evaluation of IoT devices similarly requires the isolation of each device. BOX-18 makes it easy to configure connections between multiple devices simply by stringing cables between the RF connectors on each BOX-18 and integrating other octoBox RF building blocks, such as quadAttens, Pals, multipath emulators, iGen interference generators, and MIMO RF splitters. BOX-18 thus makes it easy to configure and evaluate a vast set of possible alternatives with minimal time and effort, and maximum flexibility and reproducibility.
Roaming without motion
Testing and evaluating roaming behavior is essential for all mobile client devices. BOX-18, coupled with octoScope’s quadAtten programmable attenuator and Pal partner devices can provide accurate and reproducible roaming behavior for mesh, IoT, and many other test scenarios, enabling the evaluation of roaming speed and other handoff behavior with minimal engineering effort.
For more, see the octoScope roaming video. For more information on BOX-18, see here.
