Expands Portfolio of Test Automation Solutions for Enterprise Storage and Data Center Applications
Granite River Labs (GRL), a global leader in engineering services and test solutions for high speed connectivity, and Tektronix, a leading worldwide provider of measurement solutions, today announced availability of three new software products that enable automated calibration of the BERTScope™ BSA Bit Error Rate Tester (BERT) for electrical conformance testing to the 10G SFP+/QSFP+ and PCI Express® (PCIe) 4.0 Base specifications, and allow BERTScope users to easily test receivers to their own application-specific requirements. These solutions provide an automated, simple, and efficient way for R&D engineers to test their designs to the demanding requirements of enterprise storage and data center applications, and high speed serial physical layer interfaces in general.
Receiver physical layer testing requires complex, step-by-step calibration of multiple parameters on the pattern generator, such as de-emphasis, jitter, common and differential mode noise, and crosstalk – all in conformance to the appropriate specification. GRL’s receiver test automation software for the Tektronix BERTScope significantly reduces the complexities of test signal calibration and ensure consistent and reproducible test results.
The first commercially-available software of its kind, GRL-SFPP-RX automates jitter tolerance calibration and testing to the 10Gb/s SFP+ (SFF-8431) and QSFP+ (SFF-8635) specifications, which support Fibre Channel and 10 Gigabit Ethernet for telecommunication and data communications applications.
GRL-PCIE4-BASE-RX automates calibration of the stressed eye opening in accordance with the PCIe 4.0 Base (ASIC) specification, using the industry-standard Seasim statistical data eye simulator. The PCIe 4.0 standard provides a 16 GT/s line rate, double the previous 3.0 standard, requiring even higher precision calibration. GRL’s software supports the latest 0.7 specification revision.
GRL-BSA-RX User Defined Receiver Test Calibration Software provides a ready-to-use automation environment that allows users to easily and flexibly define and configure test parameters on the BERTScope. Leveraging the GRL KayaQ™ Automation Framework, GRL-BSA-RX is a valuable tool for general receiver characterization and debugging, as well as testing custom or proprietary interfaces and standards for which automated receiver test solutions are not currently available – such as DisplayPort 1.4 Sink and USB Type-C® active cable testing.
“Together with GRL, we are excited to expand the BERTScope receiver test solution portfolio,” said Brian Reich, General Manager, Performance Products at Tektronix. “These automated solutions will enable engineers to efficiently test their designs and help expedite receiver test calibration for a faster time to answer.”
”GRL is proud to offer this solution to the developer community in partnership with Tektronix, and add to our list of contributions to the enterprise storage and networking ecosystem and high speed serial interfaces physical layer testing in general,” said Mike Engbretson, GRL Chief Technology Engineer. “Our software provides engineers with valuable new tools to efficiently debug and validate early IC and system designs.”
Key features of the GRL-SFPP-RX, GRL-PCIE4-BASE-RX, GRL-BSA-RX test automation software solutions include:
- One-button calibration of signal impairments to achieve stressed Receiver Eye Height and Eye Width in accordance with the specification
- Automated jitter tolerance testing
- Automated margin testing to discover true receiver performance “beyond conformance”
- Simple setup, test execution, and reporting in PDF files
- Advanced features for sequencing tests for multiple test conditions such as multiple lanes and Process, Voltage, and Temperature (PVT ) testing.
Availability:
All products are available now for ordering. For more information, contact Granite River Labs or your Tektronix sales representative. For additional information or questions regarding Granite River Labs Test Solutions, including quotes, product demonstrations, software and technical assistance, please contact us.
About Tektronix
Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, Tektronix delivers innovative, precise and easy-to-operate test, measurement and monitoring solutions that solve problems, unlock insights and drive discovery. Tektronix has been at the forefront of the digital age for over 70 years. Join us on the journey of innovation at Tektronix.
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