Keysight Technologies N4877A Getting Started

Keysight N4877A
Clock Data Recovery and
Demultiplexer 1:2

Getting
Started

Getting Started

with the

Keysight N4877A
Clock Data Recovery and
Demultiplexer 1:2

You only need a few minutes to get started
with the N4877A.

This Getting Started Brochure helps you to
quickly install and check the instrument.

If you need more detailed information on
the N4877A, refer to the Help of your N4877A.
For more information, visit

www.keysight.com/find/N4877

The Help also offers printable versions of the
User Guide.

Notice

Safety Summary

Copyright

© Keysight Technologies 2012, 2014

Edition

Edition 2, November 2014
Manual Part Number
N4877-91010
Printed in Malaysia
Keysight Technologies, Deutschland GmbH
Herrenberger Str. 130
71034 Boeblingen, Germany

Technology Licenses

The hardware and/or software described in this

document are furnished under a license and may

be used or copied only in accordance with

Warranty

The material contained in this document is provided
“as is,” and is subject to being changed, without
notice, in future editions. Further, to the maximum
extent permitted by applicable law, Keysight disclaims
all warranties, either express or implied, with regard to
this manual and any information contained herein,
including but not limited to the implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
Keysight shall not be liable for errors or for incidental
or consequential damages in connection with the
furnishing, use or performance of this document or of
any information contained herein. Should Keysight and
the user have a separate written agreement with
warranty terms covering the material in this document
that conflict with these terms, the warranty terms in
the separate agreement shall control.

Restricted Rights Legend

U.S. Government Restricted Rights.

Software and technical data rights granted to

the federal government include only those rights

customarily provided to end user customers.

Keysight provides this customary commercial license
in Software and technical data pursuant to FAR 12.211
(Technical Data) and 12.212 (Computer Software) and,

for the Department of Defense, DFARS 252.227-7015

(Technical Data - Commercial Items) and

DFARS 227.7202-3 (Rights in Commercial Computer

Software or Computer Software Documentation).

terms of such license.

General Safety Precautions

The following general safety precautions must be
observed during all phases of operation of this
instrument. Failure to comply with these precautions
or with specific warnings elsewhere in this manual
violates safety standards of design, manufacture,
and intended use of the instrument.

Keysight Technologies assumes no liability for
the customer's failure to comply with these
requirements.

Before operation, review the instrument and manual
for safety markings and instructions. You must follow
these to ensure safe operation and to maintain the
instrument in safe condition.

This product is a Safety Class 1 instrument
(provided with a protective earth terminal).

The protective features of this product may be

impaired if it is used in a manner not specified in

All Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) used in this

product are Class 1 LEDs as per IEC 60825-1.

This product is marked with a warning

symbol when it is necessary for the user

to refer the instructions in the manual.

the operation instructions.

Environmental Conditions

This instrument is intended for indoor use in an
installation category II, pollution degree
2 environment. It is designed to operate within
a temperature range of 10 – 40 °C (50 – 105 °F)
at a maximum relative humidity of 95% and
at altitudes of up to 2000 meters.

Refer to the specifications tables for the ac mains
voltage requirements and ambient operating
temperature range.

Before Applying Power

Verify that all safety precautions are taken.

The power cable inlet of the instrument

serves as a device to disconnect from the

The instrument must be positioned so that

the operator can easily access the power

cable inlet. When the instrument is rack-

mounted the rack must be provided with

an easily accessible mains switch.

General

Instrument Markings

mains in case of hazard.

ESD Sensitive Device

2

All front-panel connectors of N4877A are very sensitive
to Electrostatic Discharge (ESD).
We urgently recommend to operate the instrument in
an electrostatic safe environment.
There is a high risk of instrument damage causing
expensive repairs when connecting a not fully
discharged device or cable to a front-panel connector
or when touching a connector.
Please follow these instructions:
Before connecting any coaxial cable to the connectors,
short the center and outer conductor with ground.
Before touching the front-panel connectors, discharge
yourself by touching the properly grounded frame of
the instrument.

Ground the Instrument

To minimize shock hazard, the instrument chassis
and cover must be connected to an electrical
protective earth ground. The instrument must be
connected to the ac power mains through a
grounded power cable, with the ground wire firmly
connected to an electrical ground (safety ground)
at the power outlet. Any interruption of the
protective (grounding) conductor or disconnection
of the protective earth terminal will cause a
potential shock hazard that could result in
personal injury.

Do Not Operate in an Explosive Atmosphere

Do not operate the instrument in the presence of

Do Not Remove the Instrument Cover

Operating personnel must not remove instrument
covers. Component replacement and internal
adjustments must be made only by qualified
personnel.
Instruments that appear damaged or defective
should be made inoperative and secured against
unintended operation until they can be repaired by
qualified service personnel.

Any adjustment, maintenance, or repair of this

product must be performed by qualified personnel.

Contact your customer engineer through your local

Keysight Technologies Service Center. You can find

a list of local service representatives on the Web at:

http://www.keysight.com/find/techsupport

flammable gases or fumes.

Services and Support

Installing the Keysight N4877A

Inspect Shipment

Check if the Keysight N4877A shipping container
contains the following standard deliverables:

If the contents are incomplete, if there is mechanical
damage, or if the instrument does not work within its
specifications, notify the nearest Keysight office. The
Keysight office will arrange for repair or replacement
without awaiting settlement.

For the complete content of your delivery
please refer to the Box Contents List.

Clock Data Recovery and Multiplexer

Keysight N4877A

connected to

N4903B Serial BERT

In addition, the box will contain an
installation media, 4 x 50 Ohm termination
resistors, 2 x 3.5mm/2.4mm adapter and
Certification of Calibration
(Uk6 report) RoHS.

Installation Media

Box Content

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List Contents

Box Contents

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Box Content

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Box Contents List

Power Cable

Power Requirements

The instrument can operate from any single-phase
AC power source supplying 100 – 240 V in the
frequency range from 50 – 60 Hz.
The maximum allowed voltage fluctuation is 10%.
The maximum power consumption is 90 VA.
The power supply automatically adapts to the
applied AC power (Auto Selection) and monitors
the AC power range.

The mains plug may only be inserted in a socket
outlet that provides protective earth contact. Any
interruption of the protective earth contact inside or
outside the instrument makes any operation of the
instrument dangerous. Intentional interruption is
prohibited.

All data and clock input and output connectors
of the PG that are not used in your test setup
must be terminated with 50 Ohm.

Use a 3.5mm/2.4mm adapter to connect
ParBERT 81250 or N4903A.

USB Cable

Connections of the N4877A

The N4877A is controlled via USB or LAN. When
controlling the N4877A interactively with the N4877A
remote GUI, then the preferred interface is USB. The
N4877A Remote GUI can be installed on any Windows
PC that fulfills the system requirements.

This document assumes that the N4877A remote GUI
is to be installed on a N4903B Serial BERT and that
the N4877A is being controlled interactively using the
USB interface.

In a regular test setup the Data In connectors of the
N4877A will be connected to the device under test
and the Recovered Clock Out connector will be
connected to the Error Detector's Clock Input
connector.

In some applications, when the serial data rate is
above the Error Detector's maximum data rate, the
Error Detector's Data Input will be connected to the
Demux Data Out connector of the N4877A.

For bringing up the N4877A together with the
N4903B, connect the Pattern Generator's
Data Out to the N4877A Data In.

Allow a warm-up phase of 30 minutes prior

to performing any measurements.

Ventilation Requirements

Make sure that there is adequate clearance of 50 mm (2 in) at the rear and right side

of the instrument to ensure adequate air flow. If the air flow is restricted, the internal

operating temperature will be higher, reducing the instrument's reliability.

Do not cover the ventilation holes.

3

Installing the Keysight N4877A

Check the Software Status of your Serial BERT N4903B

You may wish to connect a keyboard and

1

mouse to your Serial BERT N4903B.
This is not mandatory but convenient
and should be done when the instrument
is switched off.

2

Switch on the Serial BERT
N4903B.

Inspect the Keysight

4

IO Control icon in the
Windows task bar.

If you see this icon,
the revision of the
Keysight IO Libraries
Suite is 15.5 or later.

Open the Utility menu

3

and click Minimize GUI.

You can use the Keysight
Connection Expert which
makes it easy to configure
USB instruments.

4

Installing the Keysight N4877A

Establish the USB Connection

Keep the user interface of

1

the Serial BERT N4903B
minimized.

Connect the N4877A to

2

mains and switch it on.

Connect the USB cable between

3

the USB port of the N4877A and
one of the rear USB ports of your
N4903B.

Rear panel view of N4903B

When you connect the N4877A

4

for the first time, the Windows
Found New Hardware Wizard
appears and asks whether it should
connect to Windows Update.

Answer No.

The necessary USB driver is part
of the Keysight IO Libraries Suite.

Click Next until

5

the wizard finishes.

Windows will automatically
identify the N4877A as a USB
Test and Measurement Device.

Rear panel view of N4877A

5

Installing the Keysight N4877A

Installing N4877A Remote GUI

Follow the given steps to install Keysight N4877A Remote GUI on N4903B.

Double-click the installer (AgtN4877A.msi).

1

This installer file will be available either on
CD, USB Flash drive or Web.

On the successful installation of

3

N4877A Remote GUI, the following
window will appear.

Follow the onscreen instructions

2

to continue the installation process.

Launching N4877A Remote GUI

To launch the N4877A Remote GUI,

1

go to Start > Programs N4877A ­Clock and Data Recovery and click on
N4877A - Clock and Data Recovery

>

The N4877A Remote GUI will be launched as shown below:.

.

6

Checking the Keysight N4877A

Connect the N4877A to the N4903B

Disable the outputs of the

1

J-BERT and use a 2.4 mm
cable (m-m) and connect
the pattern generator's
Data Out port to the
Input port of the N4877A.

Configure The N4877A to

6

–

Input Source: Electrical Data Differential

–

Nominal Data Rate: 8 Gb/s

–

Loop Bandwidth: Rate Dependant

–

Data Rate Divider: 1667

–

Enable Auto Re-Lock: Checked

–

Clock Out Divide Ratio: Auto unchecked,

Select 1÷ 2

Minimize the N4903B

10

user interface and
maximize the N4877A
Remote GUI.

Mount the SMA 50 Ohm

2

termination on the unused
Data Out port of the pattern
generator using the SMA
to 2.4 mm adapter.

Launch the N4877A Remote

5

GUI from the Windows Start
Menu.

Restore the N4903B

Set the N4903B ED to:

9

Pattern: PRBS 2^15-1

–

Input Configuration: Single Ended Normal

–

7

user interface from
the windows taskbar.

Using a 3.5 mm SMA cable (m-m)

3

and connect the Recovered Clock Out
port of the N4877A with CLK IN port
of the N4903B Error Detector.

Using a 3.5 mm/2.4 mm

4

adapter to connect the
Demux Data Out1 port
to the Error Detector's
Data Input port.

Set the N4903B PG to:

8

Bit rate: 8 Gb/s

–

Jitter Generation: Off

–

Data Out Levels:

–

- 0.5 V Amplitude
0 V Offset

-

Pattern: PRBS 2^15-1

–

Enable the outputs of

–

the J-BERT.

Check whether the N4877A

11

is locked, if the CDR is not
locked, then click the
Re-Lock button.

BER should be 0.0 after

14

Auto Alignment on the
PRBS bitstream.

After the N4877A entered locked

12

state, maximize the N4903B user
interface. The Error Detector should
no longer report clock loss.

Perform Auto-Alignment

13

on the Error Detector.

Verify whether the N4877A is working properly.
The indications are:

N4877A reports locked.

–

N4903B displays the expected frequency at the Error Detector

–

(Calculated from settings at the N4877A:
Nominal Data Rate/Output Divider)

For more details, refer to the Help and the

User Guide of N4877A and N4903B.

7

This information is subject to change without notice.

© Keysight Technologies 2012, 2014

Edition 2, November 2014

*N4877-91010*

N4877-91010

www.keysight.com