The world of telecommunications and data infrastructure is changing fast, and testing equipment needs to keep up with AI-driven networks' growing needs. EXFO, a top player in communications industry testing, has just launched a game-changing product: the EXFO BA-1600 1.6T Bit Analyser. This tool is the first in the industry to offer a full lab-to-fabrication testing answer for 1.6T technology.

The Engineering Behind the BA-1600

The BA-1600 stands out as a top-notch electrical Bit Error Rate (BER) tester. It supports PAM4 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation 4-level) coding on 8 channels at 224G, with testing abilities reaching 1.6T. This state-of-the-art device brings both speed and ease through API-controlled automation making it a must-have for today's fast-paced networking scenes.

At its core, the BA-1600 supports three critical data rates per lane:

  • 106.25 GBd (Gigabaud)
  • 53.125 GBd
  • 26.5625 GBd

What makes the BA-1600 particularly valuable is its flexibility in supporting the complete 1.6T ecosystem throughout the entire product lifecycle – from initial design phases through component and transceiver manufacturing to ongoing validation and deployment.

BER testers supporting 8-channel PAM4 coding.

Getting to Know PAM4 Technology

PAM4 is a cutting-edge way to send data that's key in today's fast networks. Unlike old-school binary signals (NRZ) that use two levels, PAM4 packs two bits into each symbol using four different levels. This doubles how much data you can send without speeding up the symbols themselves. That's why it's so important for handling the massive amounts of data needed in AI and machine learning today.

PAM4 technology has an influence on the 1.6T capabilities that are becoming crucial in data centre infrastructure. As AI workloads grow , these super-fast connections are vital to stop slowdowns between servers, storage systems, and networking gear.

Key Features and Capabilities

The BA-1600 1.6T Bit Analyser provides a full range of features:

  1. Electrical BER Testing: Works as a specialized electrical Bit Error Rate tester tailored to ultra-fast connections.
  2. Ethernet Validation: Offers comprehensive validation of 1.6T Ethernet across R&D, production, and test lab settings.
  3. FEC Support: Allows Forward Error Correction generation and analysis, which plays a key role in keeping data intact in high-speed networks.
  4. Full Lifecycle Coverage: Provides smooth testing from lab to factory environments ensuring uniformity throughout development.

Real-World Applications

The BA-1600 is specifically designed for several crucial applications in the modern networking landscape:

  • Transceiver Testing: Comprehensive test and validation of 1.6T transceivers.
  • High-Volume Manufacturing: Optimised for testing high throughput in production environments.
  • Interconnect Validation: Enables thorough testing of 800G/1.6T interconnects.
  • Data Center Infrastructure: Specifically designed for hyperscalers and AI data centre environments where performance is critical.

The Significance for AI Infrastructure

The BA-1600's launch happens at a key time in the telecom industry. AI and machine learning tasks create huge demand for bandwidth. Hyperscalers and data center operators rush to set up 1.6T tech to support these resource-heavy applications.

“This is an exciting innovation from EXFO that accelerates the race to 1.6T,” said Etienne Gagnon, Senior Vice President, Test & Measurement at EXFO. “It’s a necessary step to support demand created by machine learning and AI applications, ensuring faster ramp-up and faster time-to-market for manufacturers, hyperscalers, datacenter operators, and other service providers.”

The BA-1600's unique approach allows it to utilise the same testing platform in both laboratory and fabrication environments, enabling seamless transition and correlation between development stages. This consistency is critical for ensuring that components will function as expected when moved from the lab to real-world deployment.

Technical Context: The 1.6T Landscape

To grasp the importance of the BA-1600, we need to look at the current high-speed networking landscape. The field is moving towards 1.6T infrastructure for AI projects that need to move huge amounts of data. This shift brings with it some big technical hurdles:

  • Power Efficiency: New PAM4 DSP technologies are being developed on 3nm processes to reduce power consumption by over 20% for 1.6T optical modules.
  • 200 Gbps Per Lane: The move to 200 Gbps per lane (versus previous 100 Gbps standards) is enabling 1.6T total bandwidth across 8 lanes.
  • Integration Challenges: Testing must validate not just raw speed but also compatibility with existing infrastructure and reliability under various operating conditions.
  • Complex Testing Requirements: Traditional testing methodologies are insufficient for these new speeds, requiring new approaches like those embodied in the BA-1600.

EXFO's Broader Ecosystem

The BA-1600 is a key part of EXFO's wide range of testing tools. Other important products shown with the BA-1600 include:

  • Passive component test platforms like the CTP10 and OPAL-MD multi-die automated probe station
  • 800G electrical & optical validation tools including the FTBx-88800
  • Electrical NRZ-PAM4 BER testers like the BA-4000-L2-RCNC
  • Multi-service 1G-800G testers in the FTBx-88480 Series

Setting the Standard for 1.6T Testing

The EXFO BA-1600 1.6T Bit Analyser gives manufacturers, hyperscalers, and data centre operators a clear way to advance in the push to roll out 1.6T tech. It helps ensure parts meet tough standards for how well they work and how reliable they are before they're put to use. As AI creates huge new needs for network bandwidth, devices like the BA-1600 will play a key role in building the backbone that makes these tech breakthroughs possible.

To learn more about EXFO's BA-1600 or to book for a future demonstration, get in touch with the team at AusOptic, or check out the product page here.