Ixia Enables Ethernet over SONET Testing with GFP

Ixia announced support for Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) on its OC-48c Packet over SONET (POS) interface test module. The new feature targets the testing of Metro Ethernet devices and services by generating and analyzing wire-speed Ethernet over SONET traffic for verification of transport networking equipment, multi-service provisioning platforms (MSPPs), and edge routers.



GFP is the ITU-T G.7041 standard which defines a set of methods for framing different Layer 1 and Layer 2 data traffic types -- such as Ethernet, PPP, IP, Fibre Channel, ESCON, and DVB -- into a common structure for transport over SONET networks. The protocol is used in deploying metropolitan Ethernet services and bridging customer-facing Ethernet connections with the carrier-facing SONET network.



Ixia's GFP option generates wire-speed Ethernet or PPP traffic, frame-maps the Ethernet or PPP traffic into GFP, and transports the GFP frames over an OC-48c POS interface. Statistics provide monitoring of GFP-specific functions, while trigger and filter functions enable capture and analysis of GFP frames. http://www.ixiacom.com