Acterna FST-2802 User Manual

Acterna FST-2802 TestPad

Gigabit Ethernet Services Module

User’s Guide

Acterna FST-2802 TestPad

Gigabit Ethernet Services Module

User’s Guide

Notice

Every effort was made to ensure that the information in this document
was accurate at the time of printing. However, information is subject to
change without notice, and Acterna reserves the right to provide an
addendum to this document with information not available at the time
that this document was created.

Copyright

Trademarks

© Copyright 2003 Acterna, LLC. All rights reserved. Acterna, The
Keepers of Communications, and its logo are trademarks of Acterna,
LLC. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property
of their respective owners. No part of this guide may be reproduced or
transmitted electronically or otherwise without written permission of
the publisher.

Acrobat Reader is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorpo­rated in the United States and/or other countries.

Acterna and FST-2802 are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Acterna in the United States and/or other countries.

HyperTerminal is a registered trademark of Hilgraeve Inc. in the United
States and/or other countries.

Microsoft, Microsoft Internet Explorer, On-screen Keyboard, Windows,
Windows CE, Windows NT, and Windows XP are either trademarks or
registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries.

Specifications, terms, and conditions are subject to change without
notice. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of
their respective companies.

Ordering information

This guide is a product of Acterna's Technical Information Develop­ment Department, issued as part of the Acterna FST-2802 Gigabit
Ethernet Services Module. The ordering number for a published guide
is ML-2802-1103.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A v

Federal

Communications

Commission (FCC)

Notice

This product was tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interfer­ence when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment.
This product generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy
and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction
manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
Operation of this product in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference, in which case you will be required to correct the interfer­ence at your own expense.

This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is
subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause
harmful interference, and (2) This device must accept any interference
received including interference that may cause undesired operation.

The authority to operate this product is conditioned by the require­ments that no modifications be made to the equipment unless the
changes or modifications are expressly approved by Acterna.

Industry Canada

Requirements

EMC Directive

Compliance

vi FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

This Class A digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe A est conforme à la norme NMB­003 du Canada.

This product was tested and conforms to the EMC Directive, 89/336/
EEC as amended by 92/31/EEC and 93/68/EEC for electromagnetic
compatibility. A copy of the Declaration of Conformity is provided with
this manual.

If you purchase the 2802-FE to perform 10/100 Ethernet testing, you
must use the shielded twisted pair cable (STP) provided to maintain
CE compliance.

Warning: This is a class A product. In a domestic environment this
product may cause radio interference in which case the user may be
required to take adequate measures.

Low Voltage Directive

Compliance

This product was tested and conforms to the Low Voltage Directive,
73/23/EEC as amended by 93/68/EEC. Conformity with this directive
is based upon compliance with the harmonized safety standard,
EN60950. A copy of the Declaration of Conformity is provided with this
manual.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A vii

Declaration of

conformity

viii FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Important Safety Instructions

The following table defines safety terms. Failure to observe these
precautions while using the FST-2802, violates the intended use of this
product.

Safety definitions

Term Description

DANGER Indicates an imminently hazardous situation which, if

not avoided, will result in death or serious injury.

WARNING Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if

not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.

CAUTION Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if

not avoided, may result in minor or moderate injury. It
may also be used to alert against unsafe practices.

When using this product, always follow basic safety precautions to
reduce the risk of fire, shock, and injury to persons. Basic safety
precautions are as follows:

1 Read and follow all warning notices and instructions marked on

the product and included in the manual.

2 Use only the AC Adapter/Charger supplied with the product.

3 Do not use AC Adapter/Charger outdoors or in wet or damp loca-

tions.

4 Connect the AC Adapter/Charger to the correct mains voltage, as

indicated on the ratings label.

5 Do not allow anything to rest on the power cord, and do not locate

the product where people can walk on the power cord.

6 Avoid using this product during an electrical storm. There may be

a remote risk of electric shock from lightning.

7 Do not use this product in the vicinity of a gas leak or in any explo-

sive environment.

8 Do not attempt to service this product yourself, as opening or

removing covers may expose you to dangerous, high voltage
points and other hazards. Contact qualified service personnel for
all service.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A ix

9 CAUTION: Danger of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced.

Replace only with (part number 11-18066). Dispose of used
batteries according to the manufacturer's instructions.

10 CAUTION: Use of controls or adjustments or performance of

procedures other than those specified herein may result in
hazardous radiation exposure.

11 CAUTION: The FST-2802 is a Class 1 laser product.

Save these instructions

Symbols

The following safety symbol is used on the FST-2802. All safety
precautions must be observed when operating, servicing, or repairing
the FST-2802. Failure to comply with the following safety precautions
or with hazard cautions and warnings used throughout this manual
violates the intended use of this instrument.

GENERAL HAZARD

This icon represents a general warning or caution.

x FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Contents

About This Guide xxi

Purpose and scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii

Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii

Related information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii

Technical assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii

Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiv

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview 1

About the FST-2802 TestPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

What’s new. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Features and capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Ethernet features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Fibre Channel features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

FST-2000 TestPad features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Configurations and options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

FST-2802 options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

FST-2000 TestPad options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

GBIC accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Connectivity accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Print accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Additional accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A xi

Contents

Exploring the FST-2802. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Top panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

USB/Serial port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

PCMCIA card slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Bottom panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Front panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

LED display panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Powering the TestPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Navigating the user interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Application buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

RFC 2544 button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Port Swap button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

SETUP button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Configuration summary bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Result buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Result display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Action buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Message display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

System buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Tools button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Power Status button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Extended Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Chapter 2 Basic Operations 27

Connecting and swapping application modules . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Maintaining the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Viewing the battery charge status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Charging the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Replacing the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Connecting a USB device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Setting up the FST-2802 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Specifying a Remote GUI password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Specifying date and time settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Setting up the screen saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Setting the screen brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Specifying speaker settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Loading options and software upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Loading options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Loading an FST-2802 software upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Defining the Custom result category. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Restoring factory defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

xii FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Contents

Printing test configurations, test results, and histograms . . . . 47

Printing to text files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Encrypting print files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Sending an encrypted print file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Reading an encrypted print file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Print modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Print types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Print event triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Connecting a printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Configuring a serial printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Creating a heading for print output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Generating print output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Setting up a histogram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Viewing stored print files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Printing a stored print file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Using the on-screen keyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Sending e-mail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Launching Adobe Acrobat Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Launching the VNC Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Launching the Web browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Emulating a VT100 terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Using the Remote GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Determining the TestPad’s IP address or computer name . . . . 70

Running the Remote GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Managing files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Selecting files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Filtering files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Viewing, running, deleting, or renaming a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Copying and pasting files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Connecting to an FTP server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Connecting to the TestPad’s FTP server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Chapter 3 Serial and Network Connections 79

About serial and network connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Requirements for serial and network connections . . . . . . . . . . 80

Establishing serial connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Establishing modem dial-out connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Establishing modem dial-in connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Establishing LAN connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Establishing IP socket connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

xiii

Contents

Chapter 4 Basic Testing 93

Running a test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Step 1: Configuring a test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Step 2: Connecting the TestPad for testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Connecting to a splitter to monitor 1G/2G traffic. . . . . . . . . 97

Connecting to monitor 1G/2G traffic in single port

THRU mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Connecting to monitor 1G/2G traffic in dual port

THRU mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Connecting to monitor 10/100 traffic in Thru mode. . . . . . 101

Connecting for Ethernet Loopback testing . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Connecting for Fibre Channel loopback testing . . . . . . . . 103

Connecting for a dual port loopback connection. . . . . . . . 103

Connecting for end-to-end testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Step 3: Starting a test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Step 4: Viewing test results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Managing test configurations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Storing test configurations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Loading test configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Running test scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Running a test script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Viewing, renaming, and deleting script and results print files . 110

Chapter 5 Ethernet Testing 111

About Ethernet testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Ethernet link initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Auto-negotiation and flow control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Ethernet traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Ethernet frame formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

DIX frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

802.3 frames. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

VLAN tagged frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Ethernet switching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Traffic loads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Constant traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Bursty traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Ramped traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Traffic profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Transmit profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Receive profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

xiv FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Contents

Out-of-service testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Establishing connectivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Specifying link initialization parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Troubleshooting 1G connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Configuring the traffic load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Defining receive profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Defining transmit profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

End-to-end testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

BER testing on unswitched (layer 1) networks . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

BER testing on switched (layer 2) networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Measuring service disruption time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Transmitting patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Loopback testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Using the Line Loopback feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Using the Automatic Loopback feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Inserting an FCS error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Measuring round trip delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Ping testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Running the RFC 2544 script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Running the script from the TestPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Running the script from a Remote GUI session . . . . . . . . 169

Assigning a source address to a TestPad port . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

In-service testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Monitoring 1G traffic using a splitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Monitoring 1G Ethernet traffic in single port THRU mode . . . 174

Monitoring 1G Ethernet traffic in dual port THRU mode. . . . . 175

Monitoring IP addresses on 1G Ethernet traffic . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Monitoring 10/100 traffic in dual port THRU mode . . . . . . . . . 177

Chapter 6 Fibre Channel Testing 181

About Fibre Channel testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Link initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Fibre Channel traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Fibre Channel frame format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Traffic loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Traffic profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Transmit profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Receive profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Out-of-service testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Establishing connectivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Troubleshooting connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Configuring the traffic load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

xv

Contents

Defining receive profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Defining transmit profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

End-to-end testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

BER testing on unswitched (layer 1) networks . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

BER testing on switched (layer 2) networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Measuring service disruption time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Transmitting patterns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Loopback testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Using the Line Loopback feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Using the Automatic Loopback feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Inserting a CRC error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Measuring round trip delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

In-service testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Monitoring traffic using a splitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Monitoring Fibre Channel traffic in single port THRU mode . . 215
Monitoring Fibre Channel traffic in dual port THRU mode . . . 216

Chapter 7 Test Results 219

About test results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Summary results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

LED results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

About status and alarm LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Status LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Alarm LEDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

LED results category. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Signal results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Time results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

AutoNeg Status results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Link Stats results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Link Counts results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Filter Stats results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Filter Counts results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Error Stats results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Pattern Stats results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Ping Stats results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

L1 Bert Stats results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

L2 Bert Stats results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Custom results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

xvi FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Contents

Chapter 8 Troubleshooting 241

About troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Resolving problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Installing and setting up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Operating the TestPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Performing tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Appendix A Specifications 245

Physical specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Environmental specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Power specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Electrical specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

GBIC specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Appendix B Remote Control Commands 249

About the remote control function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Characteristics of remote control commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Configuration commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Remark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

config:all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Remark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

config:value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Remark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

config:id . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Remark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

config:test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Result commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

xvii

Contents

result:all. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Remark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

result:id . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

result:summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Remark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

LED result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Signal result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Link Stats result field IDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Link Counts result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Filter Stats result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Filter Counts result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Error Stats result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

AutoNeg Status result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Pattern Stats result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Ping Stats result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

L1 Bert Stats result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

L2 Bert Stats result field IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Event commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Remark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Event commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Miscellaneous commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

hello. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

id . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Remark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

rev . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

xviii FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Contents

Appendix C Customer Services 289

About our services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Customer care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Technical assistance (business hours) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Instrument repair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Equipment return instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Warranty information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Global services and solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

System deployment and field engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Instructor-led training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Alternative learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Product support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Consulting services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Integrated service programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Glossary 301

Index 307

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

xix

Contents

xx FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

About This Guide

The topics discussed in this chapter are as follows:

– “Purpose and scope” on page xxii

– “Assumptions” on page xxii

– “Related information” on page xxii

– “Technical assistance” on page xxiii

– “Conventions” on page xxiv

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A xxi

About This Guide

Purpose and scope

Purpose and scope

The purpose of this guide is to help you successfully use the FST-2802
TestPad features and capabilities. This guide includes task-based
instructions that describe how to install, configure, use, and trouble­shoot the FST-2802 TestPad. Additionally, this guide provides a
complete description of Acterna’s warranty, services, and repair infor­mation, including terms and conditions of the licensing agreement.

Assumptions

This guide is intended for novice, intermediate, and experienced users
who want to use the FST-2802 TestPad effectively and efficiently. We
are assuming that you have basic computer, mouse/track ball, and
networking experience and are familiar with basic telecommunication
concepts and terminology.

Related information

Use this guide in conjunction with the FST-2802 Online Help.

xxii FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Technical assistance

If you need assistance or have questions related to the use of this
product, call or e-mail Acterna’s Technical Assistance Center for
customer support.

Table 1 Technical assistance centers

Region Phone Number

About This Guide

Technical assistance

Americas (except Brazil) 1-866-ACTERNA

301-353-1550

Brazil 0800-7015370

4617 3839
4617 3729

Europe, Africa, and Mid­East

Asia and the Pacific [phone]

Australia [phone]

[phone]
(European Freephone)

(Acterna UK)

[phone]
(Acterna Germany)

[phone]
(Acterna France)

(Hong Kong)

[phone]
(Beijing-China)

(1-866-228-3762)

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

During off-hours, you can request assistance by doing one of the
following: leave a voice mail message at the Technical Assistance
number in your region; e-mail North American Technical Assistance
Center, [e-mail], or European Technical Assistance Center,

[e-mail]; or submit your question using our online

Technical Assistance Request form at www.acterna.com.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

xxiii

About This Guide

Conventions

Conventions

This guide uses naming conventions and symbols, as described in the
following tables.

Table 2 Typographical conventions

Description Example

User interface actions appear in
this typeface.

Buttons or switches that you press
on a unit appear in this Typ eface.

Code and output messages
appear in this typeface.

Text you must type exactly as
shown appears in this typeface.

Variables appear in this typeface. Type the new hostname.

Book references appear in this
typeface.

A vertical bar | means “or”: only
one option can appear in a single
command.

Square brackets [ ] indicate an
optional argument.

Slanted brackets < > group
required arguments.

On the Status bar, click Start.

Press the On

All results OK

Type: a:\set.exe in the dialog
box.

Refer to Newton’s Telecom Dictio-

nary

platform [a|b|e]

login [platform name]

<password>

switch.

Table 3 Keyboard and menu conventions

Description Example

A plus sign + indicates simulta­neous keystrokes.

A comma indicates consecutive
key strokes.

A slanted bracket indicates choos­ing a submenu from menu.

Press Ctrl+s

Press Alt+f,s

On the menu bar, click

Start > Program Files.

xxiv FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

About This Guide

Conventions

Table 4 Symbol conventions

This symbol represents a general hazard.

This symbol represents a risk of electrical shock.

NOTE:

This symbol represents a Note indicating related information or tip.

Table 5 Safety definitions

WARNING:

Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided,
could result in death or serious injury.

CAUTION:

Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided,
may result in minor or moderate injury.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

xxv

About This Guide

Conventions

xxvi FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Chapter1

FST-2802 TestPad Overview

1

This chapter provides a general description of the FST-2802 TestPad.
Topics discussed in this chapter are as follows:

– “About the FST-2802 TestPad” on page 2

– “What’s new” on page 2

– “Features and capabilities” on page 3

– “Configurations and options” on page 6

– “Accessories” on page 8

– “Exploring the FST-2802” on page 15

– “Powering the TestPad” on page 20

– “Navigating the user interface” on page 21

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A 1

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

About the FST-2802 TestPad

About the FST-2802 TestPad

The FST-2802 TestPad Gigabit Ethernet Services Module is the ideal
telecommunications solution for testing and verifying Ethernet and
Fibre Channel network elements and services. The FST-2802 is opti­mized for field use because it is portable and easy-to-use. As a
member of the Acterna TestPad 2000 family of products, the FST-2802
has an easy-to-use touch screen user interface that simplifies test
setup and reduces test configuration time. The “smart tester” icon­driven interface is easy to learn, and the large display provides ample
space for viewing test results.

The following items ship with the FST-2802:

– FST-2802 application module—The application module connects

to the UIM, allowing you to test 1G Ethernet links. Options are
available which enable you to test 10BaseT/100BaseT Ethernet,
1G Fibre Channel, and 2G Fibre Channel links. You can also
purchase the optional dual port configuration to generate and
analyze Ethernet or Fibre Channel traffic from two ports simulta­neously.

– Y cable—The Y cable connects to the USB/Serial port, enabling

you to connect USB and serial devices to the FST-2802.

– User documentation—The FST-2802 ships with a User’s Guide

and a comprehensive help system.

Before testing, the FST-2802 must be connected to a FST-2000 user
interface module (UIM), which can be ordered separately (part number
2000-V6). The UIM ships with a VGA display, a battery, and an AC
adapter, which you use to supply power to the TestPad.

What’s new

The FST-2802 is a significant enhancement over previous TestPads.
The primary changes are as follows:

– BER testing—You can now use the FST-2802 to verify circuit

performance by sending BER patterns over switched (layer 2) and
unswitched (layer 1) networks.

2 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Features and capabilities

– 1G and 2G Fibre Channel testing—1G and 2G Fibre Channel

options are now available for the FST-2802 which enable you to
test and verify Fibre Channel network elements and services by
testing connectivity, measuring service disruption time and round
trip delay, and transmitting patterns to stress the jitter and noise
characteristics of Fibre Channel network elements and systems.

– Dual port configuration—An optional dual port configuration is now

available which allows you to generate and analyze Ethernet or
Fibre Channel traffic from two ports simultaneously.

– THRU mode for 10/100 Ethernet testing—If you purchase the

optional dual port configuration and the 10/100 option, you can
now monitor 10/100 traffic in THRU mode.

– Optional single-mode and multi-mode GigE and Fibre Channel

GBICs—You can now test Fibre Channel (and GigE Ethernet) on
an optical link using a single-mode or multi-mode GigE and Fibre
Channel GBIC.

– Optional copper GigE GBIC—You can now test 1G Ethernet on a

copper link using a copper GBIC.

– Optional single-mode long-haul GBIC—You can now test 1G

Ethernet over very long distances using a long-haul GBIC.

Features and capabilities

The FST-2802 provides you with the tools you need to provision
Ethernet or Fibre Channel service, verify end-to-end connectivity, and
analyze link performance by simulating different traffic conditions.

Features and capabilities of the FST-2802 include the following:

– Traffic generation—Using the FST-2802, you can generate frames

and configure traffic parameters such as bandwidth utilization,
frame length, and frame rate. You can simulate different network
traffic conditions and analyze the performance of a link by config­uring traffic loads for constant, bursty, and ramped traffic.

– Filtered traffic—Using the FST-2802, you can filter received traffic

by defining a profile which specifies the frame characteristics of
the traffic you want to monitor.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

3

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Features and capabilities

– Link status—Using the easy-to-interpret LEDs on the FST-2802,

you can obtain a quick summary of the state of the link you are
analyzing. The LEDs indicate the status of the link or a specific
traffic stream, allowing you to quickly verify circuit integrity or iden­tify the source of a problem.

– Verify end-to-end connectivity—Using the FST-2802, you can

ensure physical layer integrity and verify end-to-end connectivity
of a circuit.

– Link utilization and throughput verification—Using the FST-2802,

you can generate traffic at a specific bandwidth to verify the error
free throughput of a link. The FST-2802 allows you to loopback
frames at the far end to qualify the link in both directions.

– Identify problems with faulty interfaces—Using the FST-2802, you

can perform basic troubleshooting of links and verify the capability
of network elements to support reliable communications by trans­mitting standard frames over a circuit.

– Round trip delay measurement—Using the FST-2802, you can

verify that a link complies with round trip delay requirements as
specified in a customer’s service level agreement. You can also
ensure frame loss and frame error statistics fall within the range
specified as acceptable.

– Service disruption time measurement—Using the FST-2802, you

can measure the amount of time it takes to switch service to a
protect line.

– Pattern transmission—Using the FST-2802, you can stress the

jitter and noise characteristics of Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre
Channel components and systems on physical layer networks by
transmitting continuous random test patterns (CRPAT), continuous
jitter test patterns (CJPAT), and the compliant supply noise pattern
(CSPAT).

Ethernet features

In addition to the standard features, the following features are avail­able when performing Ethernet tests using the FST-2802:

– Auto-negotiation—You can configure auto-negotiation before

establishing the link, which ensures compatibility between the
FST-2802 and any installed Ethernet interface.

4 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A