Tektronix Debuts 40GBASE-CR4 Debug Solution

March 4, 2014. Tektronix today released Option 40G-CR4 for use with the Tektronix DPO/MSO70000 Series of high-performance oscilloscopes. The new solution meets the compliance test and debug needs of engineers working on IEEE 802.3-2012 40GBASE-CR4 designs and can reduce transmitter testing times by up to 80 percent compared to manual testing.

40GBASE-CR4 is a 40-gigabit Ethernet technology that uses four lanes to achieve a 40-Gb/s data rate (4*10.3125 Gb/s) over copper cabling up to 7 m in length. It is one of the emerging Ethernet standards designed to address a range of computing, network aggregation, and core networking applications.

“Physical layer validation and debug of high-speed specifications such as 40GBASE-CR4 can be extremely complex and time consuming,” said Brian Reich, general manager, Performance Oscilloscopes, at Tektronix. “The new Option 40G-CR4 for our performance oscilloscopes—the the platform of choice for most design engineers—makes the full range of tasks associated with physical-layer testing much easier by allowing engineers to seamlessly move from compliance testing to a debug environment using our DPOJET debug toolset.”

In addition to the compliance software, Tektronix also offers engineers working on 40GBASE-CR4 a complete testing solution that includes required test fixtures, eliminating the need for engineers to design their own fixtures.

Another notable capability is return loss plotting support. The Option 40G-CR4 solution provides the ability to take an .s16p file as an input to map results against limits. This feature gives designers an option to use common reporting and plotting mechanisms on one instrument. Additional measurements have also been added to the compliance suit to provide design engineers with greater insight into their designs. These measurements include Total Jitter, Deterministic Jitter, J2, J9 and Transition Time.

Option 40G-CR4 is available now worldwide for use with Tektronix DPO/MSO70000 Series Oscilloscopes. Price is $6,500.