Ethernet Link Quality Check With The New QI Ethernet Stress Tester

Do you know how to maximize the load and evaluate the Ethernet link's quality on your product? Our Quick Instruments portfolio has got a new Ethernet Stress Test instrument, which is able to test on-board Ethernet communication links from the FPGA through Ethernet PHYs and back. The instrument supports both the prototype validation and series production test scenarios.

The distinguishing feature of the new instrument is the ability to exercise Ethernet links under the maximal possible workload, which, in its turn, helps to reveal various signal quality issues as well as to examine the link stability. In this way, the solution is capable not only to detect major manufacturing defects (e.g. opens and shorts), but also spot slight inconsistencies such as missing/wrong terminations, cross-talk, noise in the power delivery network, etc.

During the test session, the instrument continuously transmits and receives a huge amount of Ethernet data frames without producing any lags, and thus creating high load and putting the Ethernet infrastructure into a stress condition. This mode of operation is not possible in software-based functional test scenarios, which are typically practiced due to inability to handle such high data rates in software.

On the contrary the QI's true FPGA-based test instrumentation provides great power of data processing as well as a strict control over the signal timings. As a result, the stress test instrument is capable to shrink the gap between the consecutively transmitted Ethernet frames down to the absolute minimum value allowed by the Ethernet specification.

The instrument supports a full range of Ethernet speeds (incl. most popular 1Gbps rate) and is compatible will all kinds of PHY interfaces, such as MII/GMII/RGMII and SGMII. Various test configuration schemes are supported, including the internal or external loopback and the test between two Ethernet PHYs that are located on the same or different boards being connected by a LAN cable.

Quick Instruments is an Embedded Functional Test and Measurement Platform that converts a programmable device such as an FPGA into an embedded tester. The technology helps customers screening defects fast and early. Thanks to the patented embedded instrumentation technology, large in-house Test & Measurement IP library and fully automated test synthesis cloud, QI platform helped numerous businesses in over 20 countries taking care of everyday testing needs as well as challenging quality issues. Find out more on Quick Instruments