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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

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, [email protected], or European Technical Assistance Center,

[email protected]; 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

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Features and capabilities

– Frame verification—You can verify that the size and format of

Ethernet frames conforms to IEEE 802.3 or DIX (Digital/Intel/
Xerox) requirements, ensuring the capability of network elements
to support reliable communications.

– Jumbo frames—You can optionally transmit jumbo frames which

exceed the IEEE 802.3 maximum length of 1518 bytes.

– Loopback frame generation—You can generate loopback frames

to loop up a second FST-2802 at the far end. This feature allows
you to leave one FST-2802 at a central location to measure bi­directional throughput.

– IP Ping testing—You can send ping requests and respond to ping

messages from another Ethernet device to verify connectivity.

– RFC 2544 script—You can run a script which automates the test

procedures recommended in RFC 2544. The script prompts you to
select key parameters for each of the tests, runs the tests, and
then automatically generates a text file of results for the tests.

– User-assigned source MAC address—You can optionally change

the default MAC address assigned to each port of the FST-2802
when you configure tests.

Fibre Channel

features

FST-2000 TestPad

features

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

– Frame verification—You can verify that the size and format of

Fibre Channel frames conforms to ANSI X3T11 requirements,
ensuring the capability of network elements to support reliable
communications.

– Loopback testing—You can generate loopback frames to loop up

a second FST-2802 at the far end. This feature allows you to leave
one FST-2802 at a central location to measure bi-directional
throughput.

The FST-2802 uses the Acterna FST-2000 TestPad Version 6 User
Interface Module (UIM), which runs under the Windows XP operating
system. The FST-2000 provides a variety of connectivity tools which
make installation and troubleshooting more efficient. Options and
accessories are also available which allow you to establish network

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

5

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Configurations and options

connections to the TestPad, use the TestPad to access a local Web
browser, or emulate a VT-100 terminal. Standard features of the FST­2000 include:

– Print capability—You can print test configurations and test results

using the FST-2802. You can generate a print file at timed inter­vals or whenever a test ends. You can also manually print test
configurations, test results, and histograms at any time, and you
can encrypt print file data to ensure the integrity of the data trans­mitted to your supervisor or Technical Support department.

– Email test configurations and test results—If you purchase the

Networking option, you can email test configurations and test
results to your supervisor directly from the FST-2802.

– View Portable Document Format (PDF) files—You can launch and

view PDFs on the FST-2802.

– Command line remote control—You can configure the FST-2802

and perform tests from a remote PC or laptop by issuing remote
control commands.

– Remote GUI—If you purchase the Networking option, you can use

the Remote GUI to run the TestPad GUI from any remote device
with a Web browser, such as a PC or laptop. When viewing the
GUI from a remote device, you can configure and perform tests,
view test results, and do anything you could do using the FST­2802 itself.

– VNC Viewer—You can launch the Virtual Network Computing

(VNC) viewer to run remote applications from the FST-2802.

– FTP—If you purchase the Networking option, you can use FTP to

transfer files to and from the FST-2802.

– FST-2802 Help—You can display FST-2802 Help which includes

detailed instructions for configuring and performing tests, compre­hensive result descriptions, and a glossary of terms.

Configurations and options

When you order a FST-2802, you order a single or dual port configu­ration which allows you to test 1G Ethernet. You can also expand your
testing capabilities by purchasing optional interfaces for the FST-2802,
including a 10/100 BaseT Ethernet interface, a 1G Fibre Channel inter­face, and a 2G Fibre Channel interface. Options are also available for

6 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Configurations and options

the FST-2000 which allow you to launch a Web browser, emulate a VT­100 terminal, run the GUI from a remote device, or automate tests
using test scripts.

Ta bl e 1 lists the FST-2802 configurations.

Table 1 FST-2802 configurations

Configuration Part Number Allows you to test:

Single port 2802-GIGE 1G Ethernet using one GBIC port.

Dual port 2802-DUAL 1G Ethernet using two GBIC ports.

FST-2802 options

The FST-2802 offers the following application module options:

– 10/100 interface (part number 2802-FE)—Using this option, you

can test 10BaseT and 100BaseTX links. If you purchase the
optional dual-port configuration, you can transmit and analyze 10/
100 and/or 1G Ethernet traffic from both ports simultaneously.

– 1G Fibre Channel interface (part number 2802-1G-FC)—Using

this option, you can test 1G Fibre Channel network elements and
services. If you purchase the optional dual-port configuration and
2G Fibre Channel interface, you can transmit and analyze 1G and/
or 2G Fibre Channel traffic from both ports simultaneously.

– 2G Fibre Channel interface (part number 2802-2G-FC)—Using

this option, you can test 2G Fibre Channel network elements and
services. If you purchase the optional dual-port configuration and
1G Fibre Channel interface, you can transmit and analyze 1G and/
or 2G Fibre Channel traffic from both ports simultaneously.

– VLAN Tagging (part number 2802-VLAN)—Using this option, the

FST-2802 can transmit VLAN (virtual LAN) tagged frames,
enabling you to verify that an Ethernet link supports VLAN tagging.
The FST-2802 can also analyze received traffic to verify that the
required bandwidth is allocated to tagged frames on a link and
determine that VLAN prioritization is functioning properly.

– Layer 2 IP Address Filter (part number 2802-IP FILTER)—Using

this option, you can monitor Ethernet traffic for IP addresses, and
view filtered layer 2 link statistics for a selected IP address.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

7

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Accessories

FST-2000 TestPad

options

Accessories

The features provided by FST-2000 TestPad options are available for
any application module you attach to the TestPad.

The FST-2000 TestPad offers the following options:

– Web browser (part number 2000-WEB)—Using this option, you

can launch a Web browser on the FST-2802 to access information
on the Internet or your company’s intranet.

– VT100 emulation (part number 2000-VT100)—Using this option,

the FST-2802 can emulate a VT100 terminal. This option includes
a DB-9 Female to DB-9 Male cable, enabling you to establish a
serial connection for VT100 emulation.

– Scripting (part number 2000-SCR)—Using this option, you can

write your own test scripts using the Tcl/Tk scripting language to
automate and standardize your testing processes.

– Networking (part number 2000-NET)—Using this option, you can

establish network connections to the FST-2802 for a variety of
applications.

You can also purchase accessories for the FST-2802 such as GBICS
for testing GigE Ethernet and Fibre Channel links, card and cables for
establishing remote connections, and printers. To order accessories
for the FST-2802, contact Acterna Customer Care.

8 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Accessories

GBIC accessories

Ta bl e 2 lists the GBICs available for testing GigE Ethernet and Fibre

Channel links. Please consult your GBIC manufacturer’s data sheet
for detailed specifications.

Table 2 GBIC accessories

Accessory Part Number Used to…

Multi-mode GigE GBIC AC-GBIC-SX Test 1G Ethernet on optical links over

distances up to:
– 275 meters with 62.5µm multi-

mode fiber

– 550 meters with 50µm multi-

mode fiber

NOTE: This GBIC is not recom­mended for use with 10µm single­mode fiber.

Single-mode GigE GBIC AC-GBIC-LX Test 1G Ethernet on optical links over

distances up to:
– 275 meters with 62.5µm multi-

mode fiber

– 550 meters with 50µm multi-

mode fiber

– 10,000 meters with 10µm single-

mode fiber

NOTE: This GBIC is not recom­mended for use with multi-mode
fiber.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

9

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Accessories

Table 2 GBIC accessories

Accessory Part Number Used to…

Multi-mode GigE and Fibre
Channel GBIC

AC-GBIC-ALLRATE-SX Test 1G Ethernet, 1G Fibre Channel,

and 2G Fibre Channel on optical
links over distances up to:

1G Ethernet

– 275 meters with 62.5µm multi-

mode fiber

– 550 meters with 50µm multi-

mode fiber

1G Fibre Channel

– 300 meters with 62.5µm multi-

mode fiber

– 550 meters with 50µm multi-

mode fiber

2G Fibre Channel

– 150 meters with 62.5µm multi-

mode fiber

– 300 meters with 50µm multi-

mode fiber

NOTE: This GBIC is not recom­mended for use with 10µm single­mode fiber.

10 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Table 2 GBIC accessories

Accessory Part Number Used to…

Accessories

Single-mode GigE and Fibre
Channel GBIC

AC-GBIC-ALLRATE-LX Test 1G Ethernet, 1G Fibre Channel,

and 2G Fibre Channel over distances
up to:

1G Ethernet

– 275 meters with 62.5µm multi-

mode fiber

– 550 meters with 50µm multi-

mode fiber

1G Fibre Channel

– 300 meters with 62.5µm multi-

mode fiber

– 550 meters with 50µm multi-

mode fiber

2G Fibre Channel

– 225 meters with 62.5µm multi-

mode fiber

– 225 meters with 50µm multi-

mode fiber

– 10,000 meters with 10µm single-

mode fiber

Copper GigE GBIC AC-GBIC-COPPER Test 1G Ethernet on copper links

over distances up to 100 meters.
NOTE: This copper GBIC (AC-GBIC-

COPPER) does not support auto­negotiation; therefore, the FST­2802’s link partner must also use a
copper GBIC that does not support
auto-negotiation.

Single-mode Long-haul GigE
GBIC

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

AC-GBIC-LONGHAUL Test 1G Ethernet over distances up

to 80 kilometers on optical links.
NOTE: This GBIC is not recom-

mended for use with multi-mode
fiber.

11

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Accessories

NOTE:

The optional SX, LX, and copper GBICs offered by Acterna as
accessories comply with the Revision 5.5 GBIC specification. The
long-haul GBIC complies with the Revision 5.4 GBIC specification.
Please refer to your GBIC manufacturer’s site for detailed specifica­tions.

Connectivity

accessories

Ta bl e 3 lists the accessories available for establishing remote connec-

tions.

Table 3 Connectivity accessories

Accessory Part Number Used to…

DB-9 Female to
DB-9 Female null
modem cable

Serial PCMCIA
card

Analog dial-up
modem PCMCIA
card

CB-014491 Connect a laptop to the

serial connector of the Y
cable. Typically used for
remote control command
operation.

2000-SERIAL Provide a second serial

connection to the TestPad.
This allows you to connect
two serial devices to the
TestPad—one to the serial
connector of the Y cable,
and one to the connector
provided on the serial
PCMCIA card.

2000-ANLG­MODEM

Establish an analog dial-up
connection to the TestPad.
Ships with an RJ-11 phone
cable.

RJ-11 phone cable
(replacement)

CB-834011 Connect an Analog Dial-Up

12 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Modem PCMCIA card to a
phone jack.

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Table 3 Connectivity accessories (Continued)

Accessory Part Number Used to…

Accessories

Ethernet 10/100
Base-T LAN PCM­CIA card

Ethernet Type III
LAN PCMCIA card

2000-LAN Establish an Ethernet con-

nection from the TestPad to
a laptop or LAN.

– Ships with an Ethernet

LAN cable for LAN con­nections (replacement
cables can be ordered
if necessary).

– Laptop connections

require an Ethernet
cross-over cable (part
number CB-834251).

2000-LAN-TYPE3 Establish an Ethernet con-

nection from the TestPad to
a laptop or LAN.

– Ships with a 6 ft. Ether-

net LAN extension
cable for LAN connec­tions (replacement
cables can be ordered
if necessary).

– Laptop connections

require an Ethernet
cross-over cable (Part
number: CB-834251).

Ethernet LAN cable

CB-016267 Connect an Ethernet PCM-

(replacement)

802.11b Wireless

2000-WLAN Establish an 802.11 wire-

LAN PCMCIA card

Bluetooth Wireless

2000-BT-MODEM Establish a Bluetooth wire-

PCMCIA card

USB Direct Con-

CB-18944 Establish a direct USB con-

nect cable

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

CIA card in the TestPad to
an Ethernet jack.

less connection to the Test­Pad.

less connection to the Test­Pad.

nection from the TestPad to
a laptop via the USB con­nector on the Y cable.

13

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Accessories

Table 3 Connectivity accessories (Continued)

Accessory Part Number Used to…

Print accessories

Ethernet cross-over
cable (6 ft.)

Y cable (replace­ment)

CB-834251 Connect a PCMCIA Ether-

net card in the TestPad to a
laptop.

CB-45570 Connect to the USB/Serial

port, enabling you to con­nect serial and USB
devices to the TestPad.

Ta bl e 4 lists the available print accessories.

Table 4 Print accessories

Accessory Part Number Used to…

Serial Printer PR-40B Print test configurations,

test results, and histograms
from the TestPad.

– Requires DB-9 Female

to DB-9 Male cable
(part number: CB-

018179) to connect to
the TestPad.

DB-9 Female to DB-9
Male cable

DB-9 Female to DB­25 Male Cable

CB-018179 Connect a PR-40B printer

CB-45766 Connect a PR-40A printer

14 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

to the serial connector of
the Y cable.

to the serial connector of
the Y cable.

NOTE: The PR-40A printer
is no longer available for
purchase.

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Table 4 Print accessories (Continued)

Accessory Part Number Used to…

Exploring the FST-2802

Additional

accessories

USB Printer 2000-USB-

PRINTER

Print test configurations,
test results, and histograms
from the TestPad. The USB
Printer connects to the
USB connector on the Y
cable via a cable (supplied
with the printer).

Ta bl e 5 lists additional accessories available for the FST-2802.

Table 5 Additional accessories

Accessory Part Number Connects to…

USB Portable
Keyboard

USB Mouse 2000-USB-MOUSE The USB connector of the

USB Hub 2000-USB-HUB The USB connector of the

2000-USB-KEYBRD The USB connector of the

Y cable.

Y cable.

Y cable. Connecting a USB
hub enables you to connect
multiple USB devices to the
TestPad simultaneously.

2.5mm Headset 2000-HEADSET The Headset jack on the

ATA PCMCIA
Storage Card

Exploring the FST-2802

The following sections introduce you to the top, bottom, front, and LED
display panels of the FST-2802.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

bottom panel of the Test­Pad.

2000-STORAGE The top or bottom PCMCIA

card slot on the TestPad.

15

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Exploring the FST-2802

Top panel

USB/Serial port

USB/Serial

The top panel provides the USB/Serial port, dual PCMCIA card slot,
RJ-45 connector(s) for 10/100 Ethernet testing, and GBIC port(s) for
1G Ethernet, 1G Fibre Channel, and 2G Fibre Channel testing.

Figure 1 illustrates the single port configuration with one RJ-45

connector and one GBIC port (outlined in grey).

GBIC port

RJ-45 connector

TX RX

1 Gbps / 2Gbps

PORT 1

10/100 Mbps

!

PCMCIA card slots

Figure 1 FST-2802 top panel (single port configuration)

If you purchase the dual port configuration (see Figure 2), a second
RJ-45 connector and GBIC port is available. The Port 1 GBIC port and
RJ-45 connector are outlined on the unit in grey; the Port 2 GBIC port
and RJ-45 connector are outlined on the unit in blue.

NOTE:

You can easily determine which port is currently selected by looking
at the buttons on the main screen. When Port 1 is selected, the
buttons on the main screen are grey. When Port 2 is selected, the
buttons are blue.

USB/Serial port

USB/Serial

PCMCIA card slots

GBIC port GBIC port

RJ-45 connectors

TX RX

1 Gbps / 2Gbps

PORT 1

Figure 2 FST-2802 top panel (dual port configuration)

16 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

10/100 Mbps

TX RX

1 Gbps / 2Gbps

PORT 2

!

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Exploring the FST-2802

USB/Serial port

The USB/Serial port provides a 10-pin connector for the Y cable. By
attaching the Y cable shipped with the FST-2802 (see Figure 3), you
can connect serial devices such as a printer, laptop, or PC, and USB
devices, such as a keyboard, mouse, printer, or hub to the TestPad.
The serial connector of the Y cable is configured as a Data Terminal
Equipment (DTE) connector; the USB port is configured as a USB
host.

USB/Serial port connector

Serial connector

USB connector

Figure 3 Y cable

To connect serial and USB devices to the TestPad, first connect the Y
cable to the TestPad. If you are connecting USB devices such as a
mouse, keyboard, hub, or printer, you connect the device directly to
the USB connector of the Y cable. If you are connecting a serial
device, you connect an intermediate cable to the Y cable, and then
connect the other end of the cable to the device.

PCMCIA card slots

For descriptions of each of the intermediate cables, see Tab l e 3 o n

page 12 and Table 4 on page 14.

Two PCMCIA card slots are provided on the TestPad. PCMCIA cards
are available for the TestPad which allow you to establish modem,
wireless, Ethernet, or serial connections to the TestPad and store test
configurations, test results, and print files.

Ethernet LAN, Ethernet cross-over, and some serial cables are also
attached to associated PCMCIA cards which are inserted in the Test­Pad.

For descriptions of each of the connectivity cards offered as an acces­sory by Acterna, see Table 3 on page 12.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

17

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Exploring the FST-2802

Bottom panel

Battery access panel

Headset jack

The bottom panel provides the battery access panel, headset jack, DC
IN jack (used with the AC adapter to power the TestPad), and the
power switch. See Figure 4.

DC IN jack

HEADSET DC IN

01

Power switch

Figure 4 FST-2802 bottom panel

18 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Exploring the FST-2802

Front panel

Microphone

Speaker

The front panel provides a touch-sensitive LCD screen that displays
the user interface. The user interface allows you to set up the TestPad,
configure tests, and display test results (see “Navigating the user inter-

face” on page 21). The power LEDs, status LEDs, speaker, and micro-

phone are also located on the front panel. See Figure 5.

Power LEDs

CHARGEPOWER LOW BATTERY

User interface

LED Panel

Port 1

10/100 Mbps

SYNC

LINK ACTIVE

FRAME

SUMMARY

1 Gbps/2 Gbps

SIGNAL

SYNC

LINK ACTIVE

FRAME

SUMMARY

History

Port 2

Figure 5 FST-2802 front panel

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

19

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Powering the TestPad

LED display panel

The LED display panel provides current and historical Status and
Alarm LEDs for each port. The inside column of LEDs indicates the
current condition or state of the link; the outside column of LEDs indi­cates the historical condition of the link. See Figure 6.

Figure 6 LED display panel

For a detailed description of each LED, see Chapter 7 “Test Results”.

Powering the TestPad

Port 1

10/100 Mbps

SYNC

LINK ACTIVE

FRAME

SUMMARY

1 Gbps/2 Gbps

SIGNAL

SYNC

LINK ACTIVE

FRAME

SUMMARY

History

Port 2

Power is supplied to the FST-2802 by the battery or the AC power
adapter. To supply power using the adapter, plug the adapter into the
DC IN jack located on the bottom panel of the FST-2802. For power
specifications see “Electrical specifications” on page 247.

WARNING:

RISK OF DAMAGE TO UNIT. Do not use the adapter supplied with
the Acterna FST-2000 User Interface Module (UIM) with older UIMs
labeled TTC 2000 or TestPad 2000. Do not use the adapter sup­plied with older UIMs with the Acterna FST-2000 UIM.

To power the TestPad

– Turn the power switch to the ON position.

The Power LED, located on the front panel, illuminates green when the
TestPad is powered.

20 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Navigating the user interface

The user interface lets you set up the TestPad, configure tests, and
display test results. The touch-sensitive screen is divided into separate
areas for TestPad set up, test configuration, and test results.

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Navigating the user interface

Configuration
summary bar

Result buttons

Result display

Action buttons

Message
display

Application buttons

RFC 2544

PORT Swap

System buttons

SETUP

Figure 7 FST-2802 dual port user interface

NOTE:

We recommend using the stylus supplied with the TestPad to acti­vate functions on the touch-sensitive screen.

Extended
keypad

Application

buttons

The application buttons, located on the upper-left corner of the inter­face, provide quick access to each test for the currently selected port.
The buttons are organized by operating mode (MON, TERM, and for
dual port units, THRU), rate and protocol (for example, 1G Ethernet),
and then test.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

21

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Navigating the user interface

RFC 2544 button

Port Swap button

SETUP button

The RFC 2544 button runs a script which automates the Ethernet test
procedures recommended in RFC 2544. The script prompts you for
key parameters, runs the tests, and then automatically generates a
text file of results for the tests.

If you have a dual port FST-2802, the Port Swap button toggles
between Port 1 (grey) and Port 2 (blue), and allows you to select a port
before choosing a test application, configuring a test, or performing an
action (such as turning the laser on).

The default port is Port 1. When Port 1 is selected, the buttons on the
main screen are grey, and “Port 1 Selected” appears on the button.
When Port 2 is selected, the buttons are blue, and “Port 2 Selected”
appears on the button. The THRU button for dual port units is always
blue and grey, since thru mode applies to both ports.

The Port Swap button does not appear on the single port user inter­face.

The SETUP button provides access to the tabs used to configure your
tests. After you select the port and application for a test, you select the
Setup button to configure the test. For details on configuring a test, see

“Step 1: Configuring a test” on page 94.

Configuration

summary bar

22 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

The configuration summary bar displays the application selected for
each port. For example, if you select and configure a 1G Ethernet
traffic generation test on Port 1, and a 1G Ethernet pattern test appli­cation on Port 2, the following information appears in the configuration
summary bar:

PORT 1:Term 1G Ethernet Traffic Port 2:Term 1G
Ethernet Pattern Test

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Navigating the user interface

Result buttons

Result display

Action buttons

Message display

In each result pane there is a Result Group and Result Category
button. The Result Group button allows you to set the port for the
results; the Result Category button allows you to set the results cate­gory. By selecting a different port or category for each pane, you can
view two sets of results at the same time.

The test results for the TestPad appear in the result display.

The action buttons are located above the message display. The action
buttons perform additional functions specific to the application you
specified for the currently selected port. A different set of action
buttons appears each time you select a mode of operation. For
example, if you configure a port for a 1G Ethernet, 1G Fibre Channel,
or 2G Fibre Channel test, the Laser On/Off action button appears,
enabling you to turn the laser on and off. The buttons may or may not
be active depending on the application you select.

The message display shows the operating mode, protocol, rate,
status, and current events for each active port. For example, the
message display might display a confirmation message informing you
that a TestPad on the far end of a circuit is in loopback mode.

System buttons

– To view historical messages, select the up arrow in the message

display. The Message History Pane appears, listing up to ten
historical messages.

– To close the pane and return to the main screen, select the down

arrow.

Two system buttons are located to the right of the message display.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

23

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Navigating the user interface

Tools button

Selecting the Tools button displays the Tools menu which lists the
commands in Ta bl e 6 .

Table 6 Tools menu commands

Command… Used to…

Programs Access a variety of applications, such as the

On-screen Keyboard, PDF Viewer, and VNC
Viewer. If you purchase the Web browser or
VT-100 emulation options, the associated
applications are also listed as menu com­mands.

TestPad Settings Specify screen saver, brightness, speaker, and

date and time settings.

Connectivity Specify parameters for printer, network, Serial

Remote Command Line, and Remote GUI con­nections.

File Management Access the File Management dialog box to

manage files and transfer files to and from the
TestPad using FTP.

FST-2802 Settings Access the FST-2802 revision information and

load upgrades and options. You can also reset
the FST-2802 by clearing NOVRAM and
returning the unit to factory default settings.

Print Management Set up and schedule print events, create head-

ings for print output, and print test configura­tions, test results, and histograms.

Store/Recall Setups Access the Saved Setups dialog box. Using the

options on the screen, you can store test con­figurations. After you store a configuration, you
can recall and load the configuration to auto­matically configure a test.

AutoMATE If you purchase the scripting option, access the

automated test scripts you develop using Tcl/
Tk.

Help Launch FST-2802 Help.

Restart Port 1 Restart the test on Port 1.

Restart Port 2 Restart the test on Port 2.

24 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Navigating the user interface

Table 6 Tools menu commands (Continued)

Command… Used to…

Restart Both Ports Restart tests on Port 1 and Port 2.

NOTE: You can also restart tests on both ports
using the Test Restart button on the Extended
Keypad.

Power Status button

Extended Keypad

The Power Status button displays current battery strength by bar
graph and percentage and indicates whether the TestPad is powered
using an AC power adapter.

The Extended Keypad is located to the right of the touch-sensitive
screen. The keys are used to initiate specific operations on the
TestPad (such as a test restart or screen toggle), launch the on-screen
keyboard or online help, or access dialog boxes to control the bright­ness of the screen and to set up print events. Table 7 describes the
function of each key.

Table 7 Extended Keypad keys

Icon Description

Restart—Press this key to restart the tests on each active
port simultaneously. When you restart a test, the TestPad
resets the current test result totals and clears any errors
and/or alarms.

NOTE: If you want to restart a test on a specific port, select
Tools > Restart Port 1 or Tools > Restart Port 2.

Toggle Screen—Press this key to toggle between applica­tions. For example, if you launched the Web browser, press
this key to toggle between the TestPad user interface and
the browser.

Brightness—Press this key to access the Screen Brightness
tab.

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

25

Chapter 1 FST-2802 TestPad Overview

Navigating the user interface

Table 7 Extended Keypad keys (Continued)

Icon Description

NOTE:

When you use the Remote GUI, you can use the Tools menu to
access each of the commands associated with the Extended Key­pad keys.

Keyboard—Press this key to launch the on-screen key­board.

Printer Setup—Displays a series of tabs which allow you to
schedule or generate print output on the TestPad.

Help—Launches FST-2802 Help.

26 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Chapter2

Basic Operations

2

This chapter provides step-by-step instructions for each of the basic
operations you can perform using the FST-2802. Topics discussed in
this chapter are as follows:

– “Connecting and swapping application modules” on page 28

– “Maintaining the battery” on page 30

– “Connecting a USB device” on page 33

– “Setting up the FST-2802” on page 34

– “Defining the Custom result category” on page 45

– “Restoring factory defaults” on page 46

– “Printing test configurations, test results, and histograms” on

page 47

– “Using the on-screen keyboard” on page 61

– “Sending e-mail” on page 62

– “Launching Adobe Acrobat Reader” on page 66

– “Launching the VNC Viewer” on page 67

– “Launching the Web browser” on page 68

– “Emulating a VT100 terminal” on page 69

– “Using the Remote GUI” on page 69

– “Managing files” on page 71

FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A 27

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Connecting and swapping application modules

Connecting and swapping application modules

Connecting an application module involves holding it at a slight angle
to the UIM, inserting the UIM into the application module slot, gently
rotating the application module into a parallel position with the UIM,
and then sliding the application module into the UIM.

Swapping application modules involves turning the TestPad off,
disconnecting the attached application module from the UIM, and then
attaching the new application module to the UIM.

NOTE:

FST-2802’s which are compatible with the Version 6 UIM are identi­fied with a “Version 6 Compatible” label on the back of the applica­tion module.

FST-2802 application modules running software version 3.0 and
higher require a Version 6 or higher UIM. If you connect a FST-2802
application module running software version 3.0 or higher to an
older UIM, a message will appear on the user interface instructing
you to remove the application module and attach it to a newer UIM.

To connect or swap application modules

1 If an application module is connected to the UIM and the TestPad

is on, turn off the TestPad.

2 If you are swapping application modules, turn the screw on the

front of the application module counter-clockwise to release the
application module; otherwise, proceed to step 4.

3 Disconnect the application module from the UIM by slowly pulling

the two modules apart, and then gently rotating the right side of
the UIM into an upwards position.

4 On the back of the application module you are about to connect,

verify that the following labels appear (indicating that the applica­tion module is compatible with a Version 6 or higher UIM):

– If you are connecting a FST-2802, verify that a label appears

stating “Version 6 Compatible”.

– If you are connecting any other application module, verify that

a label appears stating “FST-2000 INTEROPERABLE”.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Connecting and swapping application modules

5 While holding the application module at a slight angle (see

Figure 8), insert the bottom right corner of the UIM no more than

1/4 inch into the inside bottom edge of the application module slot.

Application moduleUIM

Figure 8 UIM insertion into application module slot

6 Gently rotate the application module into a parallel position with

the UIM (see Figure 9 on page 29).

Rotate

Figure 9 Rotating the application module

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Maintaining the battery

CAUTION: DAMAGE TO TESTPAD

If you attempt to connect the UIM and application module at an
angle, you may damage the TestPad. Be certain to align the UIM
and application module in a parallel position before connecting the
modules.

7 Slide the application module into the UIM, keeping the two

modules parallel at all times (see Figure 10).

Figure 10 UIM and application module connection

8 Turn the screw clockwise to secure the TestPad.

The TestPad is ready for use.

NOTE:

When you turn the TestPad on for the first time, the UIM and the
application module require several minutes to initialize the software.
Do not turn the power off during initialization or you may corrupt the
files.

Maintaining the battery

The TestPad comes equipped with a rechargeable Nickel-Metal
Hydride (NiMH) battery. The battery life of a fully-charged battery
varies depending on the type of functions that you are performing.

30 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Maintaining the battery

If the battery is not charged with sufficient capacity to power the
TestPad, the TestPad will not completely power up, and the LOW
BATTERY LED will illuminate. You can power the TestPad and
recharge the battery using the supplied AC adapter.

To prolong the life span of the battery, follow the guidelines below:

– Store the battery in a cool, dry, and clean environment. Do not

leave the battery in a car or truck, particularly during extremely
warm weather.

– Use the AC adapter to power up the TestPad the first time you use

the TestPad, or after prolonged storage.

– Before using the battery to power the TestPad, check the battery

capacity.

– If the battery capacity is depleted or if the battery has been stored

for a prolonged period, use the Acterna battery charger to charge
the battery. Do not use an un-approved charger.

– Condition the battery after prolonged storage or 30 cycles of use.

To condition the battery, deeply discharge the battery, and then
recharge the battery fully three times.

– If the TestPad will not be used for more than a week, remove the

battery.

– Do not charge the battery after exposure to extremely hot or cold

temperatures.

– If the battery capacity is depleted and you are not ready to

recharge the battery, turn the TestPad power OFF.

– Always carry a fully charged spare battery.

Viewing the

battery charge

status

To view the battery charge status

– Look at the Power Status button on the user interface. The button

displays the current battery strength using a bar graph and
percentage.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Maintaining the battery

Charging the

battery

The Low Battery LED illuminates when the battery is below 25 percent
capacity. You can recharge the battery using an AC adapter.

NOTE:

Environmental conditions such as the temperature of the battery
may cause the charging process to terminate before the battery is
completely recharged. The internal battery charger can operate
when the TestPad is on; however, to ensure a complete recharge,
turn the TestPad off, remove the AC adapter, and then verify that
the battery is cool to the touch before beginning a new charge
cycle.

To charge the battery

1 Turn off the TestPad.

2 Verify that the battery is cool to the touch. If the battery is warm,

wait for it to cool down before proceeding to step 3.

3 To start a new charge cycle, or to restart a charge cycle that was

terminated, do one of the following:

– If the battery is already in the TestPad, insert or reinsert the AC

adapter.

– If the AC adapter is already plugged in, insert or reinsert the

battery into the TestPad.

4 Let the battery charge for up to two hours depending on the

current charge state of the battery.

The battery is charged.

Replacing the

battery

32 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

The following procedure describes how to replace the battery in a
TestPad.

CAUTION: DANGER OF EXPLOSION

Risk of explosion if battery is replaced with an incorrect type.

Replace with the same or equivalent type recommended by the
manufacturer. Dispose of used batteries according to the manufac­turer’s instructions.

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Connecting a USB device

NOTE:

The battery can be “hot swapped” which means if AC power is con­nected, you can replace the battery without affecting the current
test.

To replace the battery

1 Turn off the TestPad or connect AC power.

2 Unlock the battery access panel by turning the screw counter-

clockwise. See Figure 4 on page 18.

3 Open the battery access panel.

4 Pull the strap to remove the battery.

5 Align the new battery with the terminals facing up and pointing

toward the battery compartment.

6 Verify that you can read the terminal markings (-) V D C (+) at the

top end of the battery.

7 Slide the new battery into the battery compartment until the termi-

nals click into place.

The bottom of the battery should be about 0.25 inches (0.635
centimeters) inside the compartment.

8 Close the battery access door, and then lock the door by turning

the screw clockwise.

9 If the TestPad is on, you can resume testing. If you turned the

TestPad off, turn it on to resume testing.

The battery is replaced.

Connecting a USB device

You can connect a USB keyboard, mouse, or printer to the TestPad. If
you want to use more than one USB device simultaneously, you can
connect a USB hub to the TestPad, and then connect each device to
one of the four ports available on the hub.

To connect a USB device to the TestPad

1 Turn the TestPad power ON.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Setting up the FST-2802

2 Insert a Y cable into the USB/Serial port. This cable provides a

USB connector.

NOTE:

You must connect the Y cable to the USB/Serial port before you
connect the keyboard, mouse, printer, or hub cable to the USB con­nector.

3 Do one of the following:

To… Do th i s …

Connect a keyboard or mouse Insert the keyboard or mouse

cable into the USB connector of
the Y cable.

Connect a printer Attach one end of the printer

cable (supplied with the printer)
to the printer, and then attach the
other end to the USB connector
of the Y cable.

Connect a USB hub Attach the hub cable to the USB

connector of the Y cable, and
then connect the USB devices to
the hub.

The USB device is connected.

NOTE:

The TestPad also provides an on-screen keyboard which allows
you to type by tapping keys on a keyboard displayed on the touch­sensitive screen. For instructions on using the on-screen keyboard,
see “Using the on-screen keyboard” on page 61.

Setting up the FST-2802

Setting up the FST-2802 involves specifying a password for the
Remote GUI, and specifying various settings for the TestPad such as
the date and time format, screen saver, screen brightness, and
speaker volume. It may also involve loading software upgrades and
options.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Setting up the FST-2802

Specifying a

Remote GUI

password

If you intend to use the Remote GUI to control the TestPad from a
remote PC or laptop, you must specify a Remote GUI password to
secure access to the TestPad. Each time you initiate a Remote GUI
session, you’ll be required to enter the password.

The default Remote GUI password is acterna.

To specify a Remote GUI password

1 Select Tools > Connectivity.

The Connectivity Menu appears.

2 Select Remote GUI.

The Remote GUI Password dialog box appears.

Specifying date

and time settings

3 In Remote GUI Password, type a password using up to eight

characters, and then select OK.

The Connectivity Menu appears, and the Remote GUI password is set.

By default, the TestPad presents dates on print files using a standard
MM/DD/YYYY format, and time using a standard Hour:Minute:Second
format. You can change the date, time, or format at any time.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Setting up the FST-2802

To specify date and time settings

1 Select Tools > TestPad Settings.

A series of setup tabs appears.

2 Select Time/Date.

3 To specify the settings, do the following:

To… Do t h i s …

Set the date format In Set Date Format, select a date format.

Set the time format In Set Time Format, select a time format.

Set the date Select the arrow to the right of the Set Date

field. A calendar appears. Do one of the fol­lowing:

– To select a date from the month and

year displayed, simply select the date.

– To navigate through the calendar to

select a date from a different month or
year, use the arrows at the top of the
calendar to display the month, and then
select the date.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Setting up the FST-2802

To… Do t h i s …

Set the time In Set Time, select the hour, minutes, or

seconds you want to modify, and then select
the up or down arrow to the right of the field
to increase or decrease the value in incre­ments of one.

4 Select OK.

The date and time settings are specified.

Setting up the

screen saver

The TestPad is equipped with a screen saver. You can setup the
TestPad to use the screen saver, or you can disable the screen saver
entirely. If you use the screen saver, you can specify how much time
must elapse before the TestPad displays the screen saver, and you
can optionally display a blank screen or a scrolling message whenever
the screen saver appears.

To set up the screen saver

1 Select Too l s > TestPad Settings.

A series of setup tabs appears.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Setting up the FST-2802

2 Select Screen Saver.

3 If you do not want to use a screen saver, under User a Screen

Saver, select Never, and then proceed to step 4.

If you do want to use a screen saver, do the following:

a Select an option for Use a Screen Saver.

b Select a screen saver style: Blank Screen or Scrolling

Message.

c If you selected Scrolling Message, select Edit to display the

Enter new message dialog box, and then type the message.

Select OK to return to the Screen Saver tab.

d Select the time to elapse before the screen saver appears.

4 Select OK.

The screen saver is set up.

Setting the screen

brightness

38 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

You can control the screen brightness on the TestPad. Higher bright­ness provides greater clarity when viewing the user interface.

To set the screen brightness

1 Select Too l s > TestPad Settings.

A series of setup tabs appears.

2 Select Brightness.

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Setting up the FST-2802

Specifying

speaker settings

3 Under Brightness Setting, drag the pointer to the level of bright-

ness you want to use for the screen.

4 Select OK.

The screen brightness is set.

You can control the speaker volume on the TestPad or mute the
speaker entirely. You can also setup the TestPad to beep whenever
you insert or remove a PCMCIA card or whenever you select a button
on the user interface.

To specify speaker settings

1 Select Too l s > TestPad Settings.

A series of setup tabs appears.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Setting up the FST-2802

2 Select Speaker.

3 To control the speaker’s volume, do one of the following:

– If you want to adjust the speaker volume, under Speaker

Volume, drag the pointer to the level of volume you want the
speaker to use.

– If you want to mute the speaker volume entirely, select Mute

Speaker.

4 To set up the TestPad to beep whenever you insert or remove a

PCMCIA card or select a button on the user interface, select

Enable Beep.

5 Select OK.

The speaker settings are specified.

Loading options

and software

upgrades

40 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

If you purchase options or obtain an FST-2802 or UIM software
upgrade, you receive a PCMCIA card with the software for the options
or upgrade. Loading options or FST-2802 software upgrades involves
inserting the PCMCIA card into a PCMCIA card slot, loading the soft­ware, and then waiting for the TestPad to reboot. Loading options is
typically a quick process; loading an FST-2802 software upgrade
takes longer.

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Setting up the FST-2802

For instructions on loading UIM software upgrades, refer to the
upgrade instructions provided with the upgrade card.

Loading options

You can load options from a single PCMCIA card or from two separate
PCMCIA cards simultaneously.

To load options

1 Insert the PCMCIA card or cards with the options in a PCMCIA

card slot.

2 Select the Tools button, and then do one of the following:

– To load UIM options, select TestPad Settings, and then select

the Revisions/Options tab.

– To load FST-2802 settings, select FST-2802 Settings. The

Revisions/Options tab appears.

Currently installed options on the TestPad appear under TestPad
Options or FST-2802 Options.

3 Select Install Options.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Setting up the FST-2802

The Options Installation dialog box appears, listing the options
available on the PCMCIA card (or cards).

NOTE:

If you inserted two PCMCIA optioning cards into the TestPad, and
both cards include the same option, the option appears twice in the
list of options.

The Number Remaining field indicates the remaining copies of the
option which are available for installation. Each time you install an
option, the TestPad decreases the number remaining by one.

4 Select the option or options you want to install.

5 Select Install & Reboot.

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Setting up the FST-2802

The TestPad installs the options, and then the Install Options
dialog box appears.

6 Select OK to acknowledge the message.

The TestPad reboots and the options are available.

Loading an FST-2802

software upgrade

Before you load an FST-2802 software upgrade, you must power the
TestPad using an AC adapter. We also recommend using a battery
charged to at least 50 percent capacity as a backup power supply.

If you insert a PCMCIA card into the TestPad with an FST-2802 soft­ware upgrade before you turn the TestPad on, the TestPad automati­cally detects a new version of the software when it boots up and asks
if you want to upgrade the software.

Loading the upgrade typically takes about forty-five minutes.

CAUTION: DAMAGE TO TESTPAD

When you load a software upgrade, the TestPad deletes all existing
application module software, automatically reboots, and then loads
the upgrade. Therefore, if power is interrupted during the course of
the upgrade, the TestPad may require factory service to operate.

To load a software upgrade

1 Insert the software upgrade card into a PCMCIA card slot.

2 Connect the AC adapter to the DC IN jack (located on the bottom

panel of the TestPad), and then plug it in to an electrical outlet.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Setting up the FST-2802

3 Turn the TestPad power ON.

The TestPad displays a series of boot-up messages. When the
boot-up is complete, a dialog box appears informing you that a
newer version of the application module software has been
detected and prompts you to upgrade the software.

4 Select OK.

The TestPad displays the following warning:

WARNING

DO NOT TURN POWER OFF AT THIS TIME.

Transfer of system files in progress. System may
require factory service if power fails during
transfer.

At the bottom of the screen, a box appears which shows the
percentage of each file transferred during the upgrade.

NOTE:

Between file transfers, a message appears informing you that the
TestPad is preparing the system for another file transfer and advis­ing you to be patient. It may take a couple of minutes for the Test­Pad to begin transferring the next file.

After the last file is transferred, the TestPad reboots.

The software upgrade is loaded.

NOTE:

If you insert a PCMCIA upgrade card after you turn the TestPad on,
you can select Tools > FST-2802 Settings to display the Revisions/
Options tab, and then select the Revision Upgrade option to load
the upgrade.

44 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Defining the Custom result category

You can define a Custom result category with results from a variety of
categories. This allows you to quickly view the results on a single result
pane without navigating through each individual category.

To define the Custom result category

1 Select Too l s > FST-2802 Settings.

The Reset tab appears.

2 Select the Custom Results tab.

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Defining the Custom result category

3 Select the results you want to view in the Custom category from

the Available list, and then do one of the following:

–Use the > and < arrows to move single results between the

Available and Selected list boxes.

–Use the << arrows to move all selected results back to the

Available list box.

4 Select OK to return to the main screen.

Results are selected for the Custom result category.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Restoring factory defaults

Restoring factory defaults

You can restore the FST-2802 settings to the factory defaults using the
Clear NOVRAM feature. When you clear NOVRAM, the TestPad
restores the following settings for each port:

– Test applications. All test applications for the FST-2802 are

restored to their default values.

– Print Management settings. The print management settings are

restored to their default values.

To restore factory defaults

1 Select Tools > FST-2802 Settings.

The Reset tab appears.

2 Select Clear NOVRAM.

The TestPad restores the FST-2802 settings back to the factory
defaults. This typically takes about ten seconds, and then a
message appears informing you that the settings are restored.

3 Select OK to acknowledge the message.

The TestPad reboots, and the settings are restored.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Printing test configurations, test results, and histograms

Printing test configurations, test results, and histograms

You can print test configurations, test results, and histograms from the
TestPad. Printing involves connecting a printer, and then specifying
print parameters such as the print mode, print type, and print event
triggers. If you connected a serial printer, you must also configure the
printer.

After you specify the print parameters, you are ready to generate print
output. When you generate print output, you can do the following:

– Encrypt the output to ensure the integrity of the data you sent to

your supervisor or Technical Support department.

– Send the output directly to a printer.

– Store the output in a file on the TestPad to print at a later time.

– Automatically e-mail the output. For example, if you want your

Technical Support department to review your test results, you can
set up the TestPad to automatically e-mail the results to the
department.

Printing to text

files

NOTE:

If your FST-2802 has two ports, and both ports are active, the Test­Pad generates output for each active port. For example, if you are
testing using both Port 1 and Port 2, print output of test results will
list test results for Port 1 first, and then the test results for Port 2.

The following sections introduce you to some basic concepts about
printing, and then describe how to connect a printer, configure a serial
printer, specify print parameters, and print your print files.

The first time you generate print output, by default, the TestPad
appends the output to the default print file, default.txt in the
following directory:

Acterna\Files\FST-2802

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When you specify print parameters for the output, you can do the
following:

– You can clear the output in the default.txt file, and then

repopulate the file with new output.

– You can direct the print output to a new or different .txt file.

Encrypting print

files

Sending an encrypted

print file

Reading an encrypted

print file

You can optionally encrypt print files by selecting the Encrypt print file
option on the Print Setup tab. When you generate an encrypted print
file, the TestPad creates two files: the standard text (.txt) file, and
an additional encrypted (.crp) file. For example, if you generate a
print file named “1GPatt”, the TestPad creates the following files:

– 1GPatt.txt

– 1GPatt.crp

You can send an encrypted print file to your supervisor or Technical
Support department by selecting the option to automatically email the
file after it is generated (see “Sending e-mail” on page 62) or using
FTP (see “Managing files” on page 71).

The first time you send an encrypted (.crp) file to your supervisor or
Technical Support department, you need to send the decrypt.exe
executable which enables them to read the encrypted file. The file is
located at:

[SYS] Z:/decrypt.exe

To read an encrypted print file, you must launch decrypt.exe using
the print filename as a parameter. For example, if the encrypted file’s
name is 1GPatt.crp, use the following command to launch the
executable:

decrypt.exe 1GPatt.crp

The executable converts the encrypted (.crp) file to a text (.txt) file.

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Print modes

Print types

Print event

triggers

Connecting a

printer

Print modes identify the way you want to generate print output: manu­ally, at timed intervals, or when a test ends. You specify the print mode
for your print output in the Print Mode field of the Setup tab.

Print types represent the type of information you want to include in the
print output (all test results, test results for a selected group of catego­ries, test configurations, or histograms). When you specify print
parameters, you specify the print type for your print output in the Print
Type field of the Setup tab.

NOTE:

To print test configurations (controls) and histograms, you must
generate print output in manual mode.

Print event triggers cause the TestPad to generate print output when­ever the event (a result change, test restart, or a remote user connects
or disconnects to the TestPad) occurs. The event output includes a
date and time stamp indicating when the event occurred.

The USB/Serial port, located on the top panel, is used to connect the
standard Y cable provided with the TestPad. The Y cable provides a
USB connector and a serial connector, allowing you to connect a USB
printer, such as the 2000-USB-PRINTER, or serial printer, such as the
PR-40B to the TestPad.

To connect the printer

1 Turn on the TestPad.

2 Attach the Y cable to the USB/Serial port.

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3 Do one of the following:

– If you are connecting a serial printer, using the supplied printer

cable, connect the DB-9 female connector on the printer cable
to the serial connector on the Y cable, and then connect the
DB-9 male connector on the printer cable to the printer.

– If you are connecting a USB printer, using the supplied printer

cable, connect the cable to the USB connector of the Y cable,
and then connect the other end of the printer cable to the
printer.

NOTE:

When connecting to the PR-40B serial printer, use the printer cable
provided with the printer. Operability of the printer port cannot be
guaranteed if you use a cable longer than 3 meters.

By default, the baud rate for the serial printer interface is 9600, and the
parity method is none. If you need to change these settings, see

“Configuring a serial printer” on page 50.

Configuring a

serial printer

50 FST-2802 TestPad User’s Guide Revision A

Configuring a serial printer involves specifying the printer device, and
then specifying the communications parameters, such as the baud
rate, data bits, parity, stop bits, and flow control.

To configure a printer

1 Select Tools > Connectivity.

The Connectivity Menu appears.

2 Select Serial Printer.

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Printing test configurations, test results, and histograms

The Printer Configuration dialog box appears.

3 If you have either a serial card or a Y cable connected to the

TestPad, the serial printer device available appears automatically
under Serial Printer Device.

If you have both a serial card and a Y cable connected to the
TestPad, under Serial Printer Device, select Serial Card to
connect via a card, or Serial Port to connect via the serial port on
the Y cable.

4 Specify the settings for the printer, and then select OK. Default

values for each of the settings are as follows:

– Baud rate: 9600

– Data bits: eight

– Parity: None

– Stop bits: None

– Flow control: None

The printer is configured.

NOTE:

You can also use the Configure option on the Setup tab to configure
a printer when you specify print parameters.

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Creating a

heading for print

output

You can create a custom heading for print output. These headings are
particularly helpful if you append print output to the same print file each
time you print. By defining unique headings for your print output, you
can easily identify the output associated with each test.

To create a heading

1 Select Tools > Print Management.

A series of print management tabs appear.

2 Select Headings.

3 In Heading Line 1, type the first heading you want to appear on

the print file.

4 If you want a second and third heading, type the headings in the

corresponding fields.

5 Select Setup to return to the Setup tab, or OK to return to the

main screen.

The heading is created and will appear above your print output.

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Generating print

output

Generating print output involves specifying the print mode, specifying
a print type (and defining print type parameters, if necessary), and
then selecting the Generate button to generate the print output imme­diately, or scheduling the TestPad to automatically generate print
output.

To generate print output

1 Select Too l s > Print Management.

The Setup tab appears.

2 In Mode, select one of the following print modes:

Select To…

Manual Manually generate print output. Proceed to

step 4.

Timed (Repeating) Generate print output at regularly scheduled

intervals.
For example, if you want the TestPad to gen-

erate test results output every ten minutes,
select the Timed (Repeating) print mode,
and then proceed to step 3 to specify the
interval between generated print output.

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Select To…

Timed (Test End) Generate print output whenever a test ends.

NOTE:

You must select Manual mode to print test configurations (controls)
and histograms.

If you selected Timed (Repeating) or Timed (Test End), fields
appear on the Setup tab which allow you to specify the interval
between TestPad generated print output or the amount of time that
will pass after a test restart before a test ends.

For example, if you want the TestPad to gen­erate test results output when a test ends in
thirty minutes, select the Timed (Test End)
print mode, and then proceed to step 3 to
specify the amount of time after a test restart
(thirty minutes) that will pass before the test
ends.

3 In Hours and Mins, type the hours or minutes, or select the up

and down arrows next to the fields to increase or decrease the
displayed value.

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Printing test configurations, test results, and histograms

4 In Typ e , select one of the following print types:

Select… To…

All Results Print all test results for a test. Proceed to

step 7.

Selected Categories Print test results for a specific group of cate-

gories. Proceed to step 5.

Controls Print the configuration for a test. Proceed to

step 7.

Histogram Print specific results based upon the histo-

gram configuration. Proceed to step 6.

5 If you chose Selected Categories as the print type in step 4, select

the Categories tab to choose the categories for the print output,
and then do the following:

a To select categories, use the > and < arrows to move single

categories between the Available and Selected list boxes, or
use the >> and << arrows to move all categories.

b Proceed to step 7.

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6 If you selected Histogram as the print type in step 4, see “Setting

up a histogram” on page 57 for instructions on setting up histo-

gram output, and then proceed to step 7.

7 Optional. If you want the TestPad to generate print output when-

ever you restart a test, a result changes, or a remote user
connects or disconnects to the TestPad, select the Event tab, and
then select Test Restart, Result Change, or Remote User

Connect/Disconnect.

8 Return to the Setup tab.

9 Optional. If you want to clear the displayed print file, or direct the

print output to a new or different file, do one of the following:

To… Do this…

Clear the displayed
print file, and then re­populate the file with
new output

Direct the print output
to a new file

Direct the print output
to a different file

Select

Clear File.

Choose Select File to display the File Man­agement dialog box, and then do the fol­lowing:

– Select the File Name field. An Acterna

keypad appears.
– Type the new file name.
–Select OK to return to the Setup tab.

Choose Select File to display the File Man­agement dialog box, and then do the fol­lowing:

– Under File Name, select the file you

want to direct the output to.
–Select OK to return to the Setup tab.

10 Optional. If you want to send the output directly to a printer, select

Send output directly to a printer, and then select the printer you
want to direct the output to (Serial or USB).

11 Optional. If you want to email the output when it is generated,

select Email on print. See “Sending e-mail” on page 62 for
instructions on sending e-mail from the TestPad.

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12 Optional. If you want to encrypt the output, select Encrypt print

file.

13 Select Generate or Print File.

14 If you want to store the print settings you specified, select OK to

return to the Main Screen. If you do not want to store the print
settings, select Cancel.

If you sent the print output directly to a printer, the TestPad prints the
output and sends the output to the .txt file you specified. If you sent
the print output to a file, the output is stored in the .txt file to be
printed at a later time.

Setting up a

histogram

A histogram is print output of test results in a bar graph format. Histo­grams enable you to quickly identify spikes and patterns of errors over
a specific interval of time. Figure 11 shows a sample Histogram
printout.

Figure 11 Histogram printout

Each time you run a test, the TestPad automatically accumulates data
for a histogram in the histogram buffer. Whenever you start a new test,
the histogram buffer clears, and then populates with data from the new
test.

You can choose which results to collect for the histogram print output,
and when the TestPad will collect the samples. If your FST-2802 has
two ports and you are running tests on both ports, the TestPad will
create a separate histogram for each test.

To set up histogram print output

1 Select the Tools button.

The Tools Menu appears.

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2 Select Print Management.

The Setup tab appears.

3 In Mode, select Manual.

NOTE:

You cannot print histograms in Timed (Repeating) or Timed (Test
End) modes.

4 In Type, select Histogram.

5 Select the Histogram Setup tab.

6 Under Start, do one of the following:

–Select First Sample to select all available data for the print

output from the moment the test starts.

–Select Start Date/Time to specify the start data and time for

data collection for the histogram. If you select this option, you
must type the date and time the TestPad will start collecting
data in the associated fields.

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7 Under End, do one of the following:

–Select Last Sample to select all available data for the print

output from the moment you select Generate to generate
output for the histogram.

–Select Set Duration to specify a duration of time during which

the TestPad will collect data for the histogram. If you select this
option, you must type the days, hours, and minutes for the
duration in the associated fields.

8 Under Bar Interval, type the hours and minutes represented in

each histogram bar.

9 Select the Histogram Results tab.

10 To select the result categories for the histogram, do one of the

following:

a Select the categories you would like to include in the print

output. Use the > and < arrows to move single categories
between the Available and Selected list boxes. Use the >> and

<< arrows to move all categories.

b Select OK.

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NOTE:

The result categories available for a histogram depend on the cur­rent test configuration. Each time you configure a test using the
same settings, the histogram categories you selected previously for
the configuration are automatically available; however, you can edit
the categories at any time.

11 In Printer, select the printer you want to direct the histogram output

to (Serial or USB).

12 Optional. If you want to send the histogram directly to a printer,

select Send output directly to a printer.

13 Optional. If you want to email the histogram when it is generated,

select Email on print. See “Sending e-mail” on page 62 for
instructions on sending e-mail from the TestPad.

14 Select Generate or Print File.

If you sent the histogram directly to a printer, the TestPad prints the
histogram and sends the output to the .txt file you specified. If you
sent the histogram to a file, the output is stored in the .txt file to be
printed at a later time.

Viewing stored

print files

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You can view stored print files using the View File button on the Setup
tab.

NOTE:

You can also view stored print files from the File Management dia­log box. See “Viewing, running, deleting, or renaming a file” on

page 75.

To view a stored print file

1 Select Tools > Print Management.

The Setup tab appears.

2 Under File, the most recently created print file appears. Do one of

the following:

– To view the displayed print file, proceed to step 3.

– To view a different print file, choose Select File, and then

select the print file you want to view.

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Using the on-screen keyboard

3 Select View File.

The print file appears in the Print Viewer dialog box.

Printing a stored

print file

You can print stored print files using the Print File button on the Setup
tab.

To print a stored print file

1 Select Too l s > Print Management.

The Setup tab appears.

2 Under File, the most recently created print file appears. Do one of

the following:

– To print the displayed print file, proceed to step 3.

– To print a different print file, choose Select File, and then

select the print file you want to print.

3 Select Print File.

The print file is printed.

Using the on-screen keyboard

The FST-2802 provides an on-screen keyboard, which you can use to
type information in the active window when you use the Web browser,
use the VNC Viewer, or emulate a VT100 terminal using the TestPad.

NOTE:

You do not need to use the on-screen keyboard to type data in the
FST-2802 user interface; a virtual keyboard is available whenever
typing is required. If you need to type a lot of information, we recom­mend using a USB keyboard.

To use the on-screen keyboard

1 Press the Keyboard key.

The on-screen keyboard appears.

2 In the active window, tap the field you need to type in.

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Sending e-mail

3 Tap the keys on the on-screen keyboard to type text in the field. To

type a symbol, tap the Shift key. The numeric keys change to
symbol keys. Type the symbol. The symbol keys change back to
numeric keys. You must tap the Shift key each time you need to
type a symbol.

After you launch the on-screen keyboard, you can:

– Move the keyboard to a different location by dragging the title bar.

– Minimize the keyboard.

– Maximize the keyboard by pressing the Keyboard key.

– Type all capital letters by first tapping the Caps Lock key.

NOTE:

To optimize performance of the TestPad, secondary features of the
on-screen keyboard such as online help have been disabled.

If you purchased the Networking option, you can send e-mail from the
TestPad. Before you send e-mail, you must establish a modem dial­out, modem dial-in, or LAN connection to connect to a Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server.

When you compose e-mail, you can:

– Populate the Address Book with e-mail addresses.

– Type messages.

– Attach print files containing test results, test configurations, or

histogram data.

NOTE:

The first time you compose an e-mail on the TestPad, you must
specify the address for an SMTP server. Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) typically provide an SMTP server. After you specify the
SMTP server for the first e-mail, the TestPad stores the server
address and provides it automatically each time you compose a
new e-mail.

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Sending e-mail

To send an e-mail

1 Establish a modem dial-out, modem dial-in, or LAN connection

from the TestPad to a network for Internet access.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a modem dial-out

connection, see “Establishing modem dial-out connections” on

page 83.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a modem dial-in

connection, see “Establishing modem dial-in connections” on

page 85.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a LAN connection, see

“Establishing LAN connections” on page 87.

2 On the TestPad, select the Tools > Connectivity.

The Connectivity Menu appears.

3 Select Email.

The E-mail dialog box appears.

4 In SMTP, type the SMTP server address. The SMTP server

address is typically one of the following:

– smtp.internet provider name.com

– smtp.internet provider name.net

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where internet provider name represents the name of the
company providing your internet service.

5 In From, type the address of an e-mail account you can retrieve

messages from.

NOTE:

You can not retrieve and read e-mail messages using the FST-2802
user interface; however, if you purchased the Networking and the
Web browser option, you can use the browser to access e-mail from
an ISP account.

6 In Subject, type the subject of the e-mail.

7 To specify the destination e-mail address, under To:, select Add.

The Address Maintenance dialog box appears.

If you added addresses to the Address Book previously, the
addresses appear in the Address Book.

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8 Do one of the following:

To… Do th i s …

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Sending e-mail

Select an existing address from
the address book

Add a new address to the
address book

Add a new address without add­ing it to the address book

– Under Address Book, select

the address, and then select
>> to copy the address to the
“To” List.

– Proceed to step 10.

–Select Add to Address

Book. A keyboard dialog box
appears allowing you to type
the new address.

– Proceed to step 9.

–Select Add to “To” List. A

keyboard dialog box appears
allowing you to type the new
address.

– Proceed to step 9.

9 If you are adding an address, do the following:

a Type the address in the field provided. To type the “@” symbol,

select the Shift key.

The numeric keys change to symbol keys.

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Launching Adobe Acrobat Reader

10 Select OK to return to the E-mail dialog box.

11 If you want to attach a file to the e-mail, do the following:

12 In Message, type the message to send with the e-mail, using up

13 Select Send.

The TestPad sends the e-mail to the address you specified.

b Select OK to return to the Address Maintenance dialog box.

The new address appears in the Address Book or “To” List.

The To: address is automatically populated.

a Under Attach, select Add.

The Select Attachment dialog box appears.

b Navigate to the file you want to attach, and then select the file.

c Select OK to return to the E-mail dialog box.

The file appears in the attached box.

to 100 characters.

Launching Adobe Acrobat Reader

The FST-2802 provides Adobe Acrobat Reader, which enables you to
read .PDF files on the TestPad.

To launch Adobe Acrobat Reader

– Select the Tools > Programs > PDFReader.

Acrobat Reader is launched.

NOTE:

To optimize performance of the TestPad, secondary features of
Acrobat Reader such as online help have been disabled.

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Launching the VNC Viewer

If you purchased the Networking option, you can run remote applica­tions from the TestPad using the VNC Viewer.

For example, if you have a laptop in your truck which is running a work
order application and a VNC server, and you are using the TestPad to
test a circuit, after you complete the test, you can close out the work
order from the TestPad without returning to your truck. To close the
work order, you do the following:

– Establish an 802.11b or Bluetooth connection from the TestPad to

the laptop.

– Launch the VNC Viewer on the TestPad.

– View the laptop’s work order application.

– Close the work order.

Before you launch the VNC Viewer, you must first establish a modem
dial-out, modem dial-in, or LAN connection to the network or laptop the
VNC server is running on.

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Launching the VNC Viewer

To launch the VNC Viewer

1 Establish a modem dial-out, modem dial-in, or LAN connection

from the TestPad to the network or laptop the server is running on.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a modem dial-out

connection, see “Establishing modem dial-out connections” on

page 83.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a modem dial-in

connection, see “Establishing modem dial-in connections” on

page 85.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a LAN connection, see

“Establishing LAN connections” on page 87.

2 Connect a USB keyboard, or press the Keyboard key to launch

the on-screen keyboard.

3 Select Tools > Programs > VNC Viewer.

The Connection Details dialog box appears.

4 In VNC server, type the IP address or computer name of the

device running the server.

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Launching the Web browser

5 If required, log into the server by typing a password.

The desktop for the device running the VNC server appears.

NOTE:

To optimize performance of the TestPad, secondary features of the
VNC Viewer such as online help have been disabled.

Launching the Web browser

If you purchased the Networking and Web browser options, you can
launch a Web browser from the FST-2802. You can use the Web
browser to view and retrieve intranet or Internet content (such as
methods and procedures or engineering records) and configure
network equipment.

Before you launch the Web browser, you must first establish a modem
dial-out or LAN connection to a network.

To launch the Web browser

1 Establish a modem dial-out or LAN connection.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a modem dial-out

connection, see “Establishing modem dial-out connections” on

page 83.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a LAN connection, see

“Establishing LAN connections” on page 87.

2 Connect a USB keyboard, or press the Keyboard key to launch

the on-screen keyboard.

3 Select Tools > Programs > Web browser.

The Internet Explorer browser appears.

4 Verify your browser connection by typing the address for the site

you want to access. If the browser displays the site, the connec­tion is established.

NOTE:

To optimize performance of the TestPad, secondary features of the
Web browser such as online help have been disabled.

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Emulating a VT100 terminal

If you purchased the VT100 option, the FST-2802 can emulate a
VT100 terminal. When you use the TestPad to emulate a VT100
terminal, the TestPad launches a HyperTerminal session. You can use
the session to retrieve performance information from network
elements and configure the elements.

Before starting VT100 emulation, you must first establish a serial
connection to the network element.

To emulate a VT100 terminal

1 Establish a serial connection. For detailed instructions on estab-

lishing a serial connection, see “Establishing serial connections”

on page 81.

2 Press the Keyboard key to launch the on-screen keyboard.

3 Select Tools > Programs > VT100.

The HyperTerminal session window appears.

Chapter 2 Basic Operations

Emulating a VT100 terminal

4 The menu for the network element appears after a few seconds.

Verify that you can retrieve information from the network element.

5 Use the menu selections to retrieve performance information or

configure the element.

6 Select File > Exit to end the HyperTerminal session.

NOTE:

To optimize performance of the TestPad, secondary HyperTerminal
features such as the ability to add a printer and online help have
been disabled.

Using the Remote GUI

If you purchased the Networking option, you can run the TestPad
remotely from any device with a Web browser using a VNC session.
You can use the Remote GUI to perform any of the tests available for
the FST-2802.

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Using the Remote GUI

When you set up the TestPad, you should specify a Remote GUI pass­word to restrict remote access to the TestPad. For detailed instruc­tions, see “Specifying a Remote GUI password” on page 35.

Before you run the Remote GUI, the TestPad must be connected to the
network your PC or laptop is connected to via a modem dial-in, modem
dial-out, or LAN connection, or locally via a USB connection. You also
need the IP address or computer name of the TestPad.

Determining the

TestPad’s IP

address or

computer name

Running the

Remote GUI

To determine the TestPad’s IP address or computer name

1 On the TestPad, select Tools > Connectivity.

The Connectivity Menu appears.

2 Select the Network Info tab.

The TestPad’s IP address and computer name appear.

To run the Remote GUI

1 Establish a network connection to the TestPad.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a modem dial-out

connection, see “Establishing modem dial-out connections” on

page 83.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a modem dial-in

connection, see “Establishing modem dial-in connections” on

page 85.

– For detailed instructions on establishing a LAN connection, see

“Establishing LAN connections” on page 87.

2 From the laptop or PC, launch a Web browser.

3 Type the following address:

http://ip address:5800

Where ip address is the IP address of the TestPad.

A dialog box appears prompting you to enter the Remote GUI
password.

4 Type the Remote GUI password, and then select OK.

The Remote GUI for the TestPad appears on your screen.

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5 Verify the connection for the Remote GUI by doing the following:

– Using the Remote GUI, change the default configuration for the

Te st P ad .

– Verify the configuration settings in the configuration summary

bar of the Remote GUI.

6 To use the Remote GUI:

– Use your mouse to select the elements on the GUI that you

would typically “tap” on the TestPad. For example, if you want
to select the Setup button to configure a test, using your
mouse, simply click the Setup button on the Remote GUI.

– To access the Extended Keys for the TestPad, select the Tools

button at the bottom right corner of the main screen to display
the Tools menu, and then select the command that corre­sponds to the Extended key on the TestPad.

You are running the Remote GUI.

NOTE:

If you are running the RFC 2544 script from a Remote GUI session,
you must use the Windows Task Manager to run the script. See

“Running the script from a Remote GUI session” on page 169 for

detailed instructions.

Managing files

Selecting files

You can view, run, delete, rename, copy, and paste files (for example,
print files and test scripts) on the TestPad from the File Management
dialog box. For example, you can rename print files, copy print files to
a PCMCIA card, or delete print files. If you establish a network connec­tion, you can also transfer files to and from local drives and FTP
servers.

Before you view, run, rename, copy, or delete a file, you must first
select the file.

To select a file

1 Select Tools > File Management.

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Managing files

Current drive/
folder

File selection
box

The File Management dialog box appears with the local drive for
the TestPad displayed as the current drive.

Button bar

2 To navigate to the file, select the Current Drive/Folder drop-down

arrow.

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A drop-down list of drives and folders appears under the current
drive/folder.

3 Do the following:

a Select + to expand a drive or folder.

b Tap or click the folder to select the folder with the file.

c Tap or click the Current Drive/Folder drop-down arrow to select

the drive and folder and close the drop-down list.

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The drop-down list of drives and folders disappears, the
selected folder appears in the Current Drive/Folder field, and
the files in the folder appear in the File Selection box.

4 Select a file from the File Selection box.

The file is selected.

Filtering files

You can filter the files in the File Selection box to display only specific
types of files, such as print files or test scripts.

NOTE:

The print files you generate and store on the TestPad are stored as
text (.txt) files.

To filter the displayed files

– Select the File Type drop-down arrow, and then select Print,

Scripts or All.

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