WHITE PAPER PUTTING 2.5 & 5 GIGABIT ETHERNET TO THE TEST WHITE PAPER

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1 PUTTING 2.5 & 5 GIGABIT ETHERNET TO THE TEST OVERVIEW In ffices all ver the wrld, the use f WI-FI cnnected devices like laptps, smartphnes and tablets and bandwidth-hungry applicatins has grwn rapidly while many cmpanies supprt a Bring Yur Own Device (BYOD) plicy, permitting emplyees t use persnally wned, WIFI cnnected devices at wrk. T alleviate perfrmance bttlenecks a new WIFI standard IEEE ac increases data rates between the WIFI Access Pints (AP) and the cnnected end devices. And as the industry mves t ac Wave 2 even mre bandwidth between the APs and switches in the access netwrk will be needed. In mst WI-FI installatins the cnnectin between AP and switch is a 1 Gigabit/s Ethernet link carried ver an electrical cable. The need fr bandwidth culd be slved by upgrading the cnnectin between AP and switch t 10 Gigabit/s Ethernet, being the next higher data rate with the current standards. Unfrtunately the cables between AP and switch will in mst cases be unable t supprt 10 Gigabit/s Ethernet reliably. Refitting buildings with cables supprting 10 Gigabit/s Ethernet will be an expensive ptin. This has created a need fr Ethernet rates higher than 1 Gigabit/s, which can run n existing cables and prvide increased bandwidth. As a result 2.5 Gigabit/s Ethernet (2.5GE) and 5 Gigabit/s Ethernet (5GE) ver electrical cables are nw standardized prviding 2.5 r 5 times mre bandwidth n existing cables allwing cmpanies t prtect their infrastructure investment. This creates a demand fr test slutins that can verify the new speeds. 2.5 & 5.0 Gigabit Ethernet prmise up t 500% perfrmance bsts ver existing cabling. But hw d yu qualify and verify that windfall? Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

2 Cntents Putting 2.5 and 5 Gigabit Ethernet t the Test OVERVIEW... 1 Intrductin... 3 Twisted pair based Ethernet technlgies GE and 5GE Standardizatin... 6 Prtcl Stack GE and 5GE switches GE and 5GE NICs... 8 Xena Netwrks 2.5GE and 5GE Test Slutins... 9 Testing Abve Layer Testing frm 100 Megabit/s t 10 Gigabit/s CONCLUSION Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

Figure 1: Typical Enterprise Netwrk structure Figure 2: WIFI access netwrk elements Ethernet Access Switch Typically equipped with 1000BASE T prts May supprt Pwer ver Ethernet (POE) Cables Large

3 Intrductin Many different types f equipment can be cnnected t an enterprise netwrk, e.g. desk tp PCs, laptps, smartphnes and tablets. In many cases the devices are cnnected thrugh WIFI Access Pints (APs). The structure f a typical enterprise netwrks is shwn in figure 1. Figure 1: Typical Enterprise Netwrk structure Figure 2: WIFI access netwrk elements Ethernet Access Switch Typically equipped with 1000BASE T prts May supprt Pwer ver Ethernet (POE) Cables Large installed base f 100m Cat 5e/6 cables New installatins mve t Cat 6A(r Cat 7) WIFI Access Pint Cnnects WIFI end devices t the enterprise netwrk May be PE pwered ac drives Ethernet backhaul traffic > 1 Gbps IEEE ac, which perates in the 5 GHz band, is the new standard fr the WIFI interface between APs and end devices and it is rapidly being deplyed in the netwrks as it prvides mre bandwidth fr the cnnected end devices. Fr IEEE ac maximum air interface data rate is: Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

4 First wave (frm 2013): 1.3 Gigabit/s Secnd wave (frm 2017): 6.9 Gigabit/s T have sufficient capacity, the cnnectin speed between AP and the access switch shuld be apprx. 75% f the maximum air interface data rate. Cnsequently first wave IEEE ac will require a cnnectin speed f apprx. 1 Gigabit/s, while secnd wave IEEE ac will require apprx. 5.2 Gigabit/s. Upgrading the cnnectins between AP and switch t 10GBASE-T wuld prvide the required capacity fr ac Wave 2. Hwever the cbber BASE-T links between the APs and the switches are in mst cases (mre than 85%) 100 meter lng Categry (r Cat) 5e/6 cables Figure 3: Installed Cat 5e/6/6e/7 Base: Estimated Outlets (millins) Surce: BSRIA Table 1 shws hw far a 10GBASE-T signal can reach n Cat 5e/6/6e/7 cables: Cable type Cat 5e Cat 6 Cat 6A Cat 7 Table 1: 10GBASE-T reach n Cat 5e/6/6e/7 cables Max. distance fr 10GBASE-T N/A 55 m 100 m 100 m Cat7 utlets Cat6e utlets Cat6 utlets Cat5e utlets This means that 10GBASE-T is unable t wrk ver the vast majrity f the installed base f 100 meter lng Cat 5e and Cat 6 cables. T vercme this, cmpanies culd upgrade their netwrk t Cat 6A cables between the APs and the access switches, which hwever will be quite expensive in existing netwrks. As an alternative they can ask fr definitin and standardizatin f data rates between 1 Gigabit/s and 10 Gigabit/s that can run n the Cat 5e and Cat 6 cables. This has recently been cmpleted with the IEEE 802.3bz 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T standards, which specifies 2.5 Gigabit/s Ethernet (2.5GE) and 5 Gigabit/s Ethernet (5GE). 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE- T can run 100 m n unshielded Cat 5e and Cat 6 twisted-pair cables because the lwer speeds Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

5 reduce the spectral bandwidth f the signals cmpared with the 10 Gigabit/s signal, reducing the requirements n the cables. Twisted pair based Ethernet technlgies Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cables transfer Ethernet data as balanced electrical signals ver 4 twisted pair cbber wires (i.e. 8 wires in ttal) in ne cable. Cables with different levels f perfrmance are defined; each level has been assigned a Categry (r Cat) number. Fr transfer f Ethernet at rates frm 100 Mbit/s t Mbit/s thrugh a 100 m cable the fllwing cable categries are required: Standard Transfer speed Channels per directin Bits per Hertz per channel Spectral bandwidth 100BASE-TX 100 Mbit/s MHz Cat 5 Cable req. 100 meter 1000BASE-T 1000 Mbit/s MHz Cat 5e 2.5GBASE-T 2500 Mbit/s MHz Cat 5e 5GBASE-T 5000 Mbit/s MHz Cat 6 10GBASE-T Mbit/s MHz Cat 6A Table 2: Cable requirement fr Ethernet speeds up t Mbit/s Ntes n table 2: Transfer speed is calculated as channels bits per hertz spectral bandwidth. Fr 100BASE-TX ne twisted pair in the cable is used fr transmissin and anther fr receptin, leaving tw unused pairs. The ther speeds use all fur pairs simultaneusly (bidirectinal) fr transmissin and receptin. Bits per Hertz per channel are effective bits per Hertz excluding encding verhead. Advanced mdulatin techniques are used t achieve the listed values. Cable type Cat 5 Cat 5e Cat 6 Cat 6A Table 3: Max. spectral bandwidth per cable type Max. spectral bandwidth 100 MHz 100 MHz 250 MHz 500 MHz Cmpared with the Cat 5 specificatin the Cat 5e (enhanced) specificatin includes new and imprved crsstalk specificatins. This is needed t reliably transfer 1000BASE-T ver a 100 meter cable. Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

6 2.5GE and 5GE Standardizatin 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet (2.5GE) and 5 Gigabit Ethernet (5GE) are new data rates aimed at reusing existing Cat 5e and Cat 6 cables in enterprise netwrks fr the interface between WIFI Access Pints (APs) and switches in the access netwrk at data rates abve 1 Gigabit/s. The wrk was started in the IEEE standards bdy with a Call fr Interest (CFI) in Nvember Based n this the IEEE 802.3bz 2.5G/5GBASE-T Task Frce started wrking n the 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T standards in March The IEEE 802.3bz standard is based n technlgy defined fr 10 Gigabit Ethernet, but f curse running at lwer rates. As the main applicatin f 2.5GE and 5GE are cnnectins between APs and switches in the access part f enterprise netwrks, the IEEE 802.3bz standard fcus n cnnectins ver Cat 5e and Cat 6 cables that are typically cnnecting the APs and the switches. The IEEE 802.3bz standard bjectives (apprved March 2015) included: Supprt MAC data rates f 2.5 Gb/s and 5 Gb/s Supprt Aut-Negtiatin (IEEE Clause 28) Supprt ptinal Energy Efficient Ethernet (IEEE Clause 78) Supprt PE (Pwer ver Ethernet) (IEEE Clause 33) Define a 2.5 Gb/s PHY fr peratin ver Up t at least 100m n fur-pair Cat5e balanced cpper cabling Define a 5 Gb/s PHY fr peratin ver Up t at least 100m n fur-pair Cat6 balanced cpper cabling Up t 100m n fur-pair Cat5e balanced cpper cabling The IEEE 802.3bz standard was apprved in September In additin t the IEEE 802.3bz 2.5G/5GBASE-T Task Frce tw separate industry alliances, the NBase-T Alliance and the MGBase-T Alliance, have since 2014 been develping specificatins fr Ethernet speeds at 2.5 Gigabit/s and 5 Gigabit/s. Bth alliances aim t have their specificatin cmpatible with IEEE 802.3bz. Cisc nw markets Multigigabit Ethernet prducts, which supprt Ethernet speeds at 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 Gigabit/s and the NBASE-t specificatin. Furthermre Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise cmpany, has defined the HPE Smart Rate, which is a 1, 2.5, 5, 10 Gigabit/s twisted-pair netwrk interface interperable with the NBASE-T 2.5GE and 5GE prducts and 1GE and 10GE devices based n current standards. Prtcl Stack The Ethernet prtcl stack is based n the seven-layer OSI mdel f cmputer netwrking: Layer 7 Layer 6 Applicatin layer Presentatin layer Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

7 Layer 5 Layer 4 Layer 3 Layer 2 Layer 1 Table 4: The OSI mdel f cmputer netwrking Sessin layer Transprt layer Netwrk layer Data link layer Physical layer The 2.5GE and 5GE specificatins address Layer 1, cntaining the fllwing sublayers: Sublayer PCS (Physical Cding Sublayer) PMA (Physical Medium Attachment Sublayer) PMD (Physical Medium Dependent Sublayer) Table 5: Layer 1 sublayers Functins aut-negtiatin determine that a functinal link has been established (Link Training) cding (64b/66b encding in the case f 2.5 Gigabit and 5 Gigabit Ethernet) FEC (Frward Errr Crrectin) using LDPC (Lw Density Parity Check) cdes framing ctet synchrnizatin/detectin scrambling/descrambling the transceiver fr the physical medium The NBASE-T Alliance specificatin in many cases refers t 10GBASE-T standard t define the layer 1 functins fr NBASE-T 2.5G and NBASE-T 5G (NBASE-T Alliance equivalents t 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T). Bth NBASE-T 2.5G and NBASE-T 5G may supprt Lw Pwer Idle (LPI) as part f Energy-Efficient Ethernet (EEE) as specified in IEEE Clause GE and 5GE switches Several vendrs ffer switches with 2.5GE and 5GE capabilities, ften implemented as slutins supprting 10GE, 5GE, 2.5GE, 1GE and 100 Mbit/s electrical Ethernet frm ne prt. Sme examples are: Prduct Maximum number f prts 10GE 5GE 2.5GE 1GE 100ME Aruba 5400R Switch Series Bradcm BCM N/A 8 8 N/A Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

8 Brcade ICX ZP N/A N/A Cisc Catalyst WS C4510R+E Netgear M MG-PE 2 N/A 8 8 N/A Table 6: Switches supprting 2.5GE and 5GE 2.5GE and 5GE NICs A Netwrk Interface Cntrller (NIC) (r netwrk interface card, netwrk adapter) cnnects a cmputer t a netwrk. NIC prducts supprting 2.5GE and 5GE include: Startech.cm: ST10GSPEXNB 1-Prt PCIe 10GBase-T / NBASE-T Ethernet Netwrk Card supprting five netwrk speeds: 10G, 5G, 2.5G, 1G and 100Mbps IOI Technlgy Crpratin: GE10-PCIE4XG201 Multi-Gigabit (10G/ 5G/ 2.5G/ 1000BASE-T/ 100BASE-TX) Ethernet t PCI Express x4 Gen 2 Hst Card Tehuti Netwrks: TN9510: 5-speed 10GBase-T / NBASE-T NIC supprting 10G, 5G, 2.5G 1G and 100Mbps ver unshielded twisted pair (UTP) Access pints WIFI access pints with 5GBASE-T and/r 2.5GBASE-T interfaces include: Aruba 330 Series Access Pints. Link speed between AP and switch: 5G, 2.5G, 1G and 100Mbps BASE-T Cisc Airnet 3800 Series Link speed between AP and switch: 5G, 2.5G, 1G and 100Mbps BASE-T Cisc Meraki MR53 Access Pint. Link speed between AP and switch: 2.5G and 1G Cisc Meraki MR84 Access Pint. Link speed between AP and switch: 1x 100/1000/2.5G BASE-T Ethernet & 1x 10/100/1000 BASE-T Ethernet (RJ45) 2.5GE and 5GE Test Requirements Testing Ethernet systems is required t ensure the prper functining and quality. This f curse als applies t the new 2.5GE and 5GE slutins as they are develped and deplyed. T test the layer 1 functins defined in the IEEE 802.3bz specificatin verificatin f functins like autnegtiatin, Link Training and EEE must be perfrmed. In additin a Signal-t-nise rati (SNR) shuld be measured t ensure that the cables carrying the 2.5GE and 5GE signals have sufficient quality. Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

9 As 2.5GE and 5GE capable NICs and switches typically are implemented as flexible prducts supprting 10GE, 5GE, 2.5GE, 1GE and 100 Mbit/s Ethernet frm ne prt it is f curse als imprtant t test Ethernet at all rates supprted by the prt under is test. Xena Netwrks 2.5GE and 5GE Test Slutins The Xena Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU 5-Speed 6-prt 10G L2-3 test mdule prvides pwerful testing capabilities t test and verify the layer 1 functins defined fr 2.5GE and 5GE. Figure 4: The pwerful and versatile Xena Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU 5-Speed 6-prt 10G L2-3 test mdule Yu can set the Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU t perfrm aut-negtiatin s when cnnected t a Device Under Test (DUT) the Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU can verify that the DUT reacts crrectly t the autnegtiatin prcess. The Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU will als d Link Training with the DUT, verifying the crrect functining f this feature. Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) can be checked, as the Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU can: Enable/Disable EEE Enable/Disable lw-pwer mde in the TX directin (independently f the RX directin) Mnitr active/lw-pwer mde transitin activity in bth TX and RX directin Furthermre Signal-t-nise rati (SNR) can be measured with the Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU, which can read ut the SNR fr each f the fur electrical BASE-T channels. Testing Abve Layer 1 Ethernet testing with the Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU is f curse nt limited t the layer 1 tests described in the previus sectin. Based n Xena s advanced architecture, the Odin-10G-5S-6P- CU is a prven slutin fr Ethernet testing at Layers 2-3. Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

10 Advanced layer 2 and layer 3 test scenaris can be perfrmed using the free test applicatins fr the Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU: XenaManager-2G test sftware is used t cnfigure and generate streams f Ethernet traffic between Xena test equipment and Devices Under Test (DUTs) and analyze the results. Xena2544 ffers full supprt fr the 4 test-types specified in RFC2544 Thrughput Latency Frame lss Back-t-back frames Jitter (Frame Delay Variatin) is als supprted Xena3918 makes it easy t create, edit and execute all test-types specified in RFC RFC3918 describes tests fr measuring and reprting the thrughput, frwarding, latency and Internet Grup Management Prtcl (IGMP) grup membership characteristics f devices that supprt IP multicast prtcls. Xena2889 is an applicatin fr benchmarking the perfrmance f Layer 2 LAN switches. The fllwing RFC 2889 test types are supprted: All Thrughput and Frwarding rate tests (bth Fully and Partially meshed) Cngestin Cntrl Address Caching Capacity Address Learning Rate Bradcast Frame Frwarding and Latency Frward Pressure and Maximum Frwarding Rate Xena1564 prvides full supprt fr bth the cnfiguratin and perfrmance test types described in Y.1564 fr cmplete validatin f Ethernet service-level agreements (SLAs) in a single test Anther free applicatin fr the Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU: XenaScripting is a pwerful and easy-t-use cmmand-line-interface (CLI) scripting API that makes test autmatin easier fr test engineers. Testing frm 100 Megabit/s t 10 Gigabit/s In additin 2.5GE and 5GE testing Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU als supprts test f 10GE, 1GE and 100 Mbit/s Ethernet electrical interfaces, s bth the new and the existing Ethernet rates in the range frm 100 Megabit/s t 10 Gigabit/s can be tested. This is needed t test and verify many devices with 2.5GE and 5GE capable prts as they supprt all five rates. The Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU is Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

infrastructure and Ethernet equipment such as switches, NICs and Access Pints in enterprise netwrks with IEEE 802.11ac WIFI. CONCLUSION 2.

11 equipped with 6 RJ45 test prts, whereby up t 6 electrical prts can be tested simultaneusly with the Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU. The pwerful capability f Ethernet testing up t layer 3 at five different Ethernet netwrk speeds makes the Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU a versatile slutin fr perfrmance and functinal testing f netwrk infrastructure and Ethernet equipment such as switches, NICs and Access Pints in enterprise netwrks with IEEE ac WIFI. CONCLUSION 2.5 Gigabit/s and 5 Gigabit/s Ethernet is a reality tday and grwing rapidly, driven by the need fr cst effective expansin f infrastructure capacity t fulfil the increased bandwidth supprted by new WIFI standard IEEE ac Wave 2. Mre capacity is required fr the interface between the IEEE ac capable WIFI APs and the access netwrk switches. The new Ethernet speeds can run n the mst cmmn electrical cable types in enterprise netwrks, whereby cmpanies can avid cstly upgrade f the infrastructure cabling and prtect their infrastructure investment. Switches and NICs with 2.5GE and 5GE capabilities are typically implemented as flexible slutins that supprt 10GE, 5GE, 2.5GE, 1GE and 100 Mbit/s Ethernet frm ne electrical prt. T thrughly test the prduct all rates need t be tested. With the Xena Odin-10G-5S-6P-CU 5-Speed 6-prt 10G L2-3 test mdule the user gets pwerful and versatile Ethernet test capabilities up t layer 3 t test and verify bth new and existing Ethernet rates in the range frm 100 Mbit/s t 10 Gigabit/s: 100 Mbit/s, 1 Gigabit/s, 2.5 Gigabit/s, 5 Gigabit/s and 10 Gigabit/s n electrical Ethernet interfaces. Xena Netwrks Glbal Price/Perfrmance Leaders in Gigabit Ethernet Testing

AUTOMOTIVE ETHERNET WHITE PAPER. Xena test solutions can verify quality, functionality and performance of BroadR-Reach Ethernet equipment.

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