Rohde & Schwarz presents first automated test solution for high-speed Ethernet cable assemblies up to IEEE 802.3ck

05/31/2022

As the volume of data transferred via internet and the number of data centers across the world increase, proper testing of Ethernet cable assemblies becomes crucial. As direct attach copper (DAC) cables are the most economical solution for short data connections, they are widely used in high-speed networks and data centers. Installations include a huge number of these DAC cables, and their performance is vital for the whole system. IEEE 802.3bj and IEEE 802.3by cover data rates of 25 Gbps per lane, IEEE 802.3cd goes up to 50 Gbps per lane. The latest IEEE 802.3ck standard further doubles the data rate to 100 Gbps per lane, enabling cable assembly configurations of 100GBASE-CR1, 200GBASE-CR2, 400GBASE-CR4 and 800GBASE-CR8.

Rohde & Schwarz efficiently tackles these challenges with two new options for the R&S ZNrun vector network analyzer automation suite. The R&S ZNrun-K410 is designed for automatic testing of cable assemblies according to IEEE 802.3bj, by and cd, and brings considerable time-savings to users. The solution includes the automation of the measurement, postprocessing of Channel Operating Margin (COM) and Effective Return Loss (ERL) results, Pass/Fail and margin analysis and the generation of the test report, thus drastically reducing the overall test time. The R&S ZNrun-K411 is already prepared for testing cable assemblies according to the IEEE 802.3ck Ethernet standard, which will reach data rates of 800 Gbps for 800GBASE-CR8 configurations.

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