Hand-held testing for OC-48

Digital Lightwave will announce today a new version of its Network Information Computer, which tests fiber optic networks at rates up to OC-48 (2.4 Gb/s). This first portable test product for OC-48 will look like the earlier version of the computer but has more capabilities.

"It looks the same, but internally our engineers have done quite a lot of gymnastics," said Tim Williams, product marketing manager for Digital Lightwave.

The product has three key elements, Williams said. With the rapid increase in Sonet network deployment, the computer's 10.6 pound portability and touch-screen graphical interface will reduce technician time and costs, he explained. Also, an intrusive pass-through mode allows a technician to manipulate the Sonet overhead to see if the system reacts properly or to test the network without affecting the signal.

Finally, it has sub-rate mapping capability, so rates within OC-48-anything from DS-1 (1.5 Mb/s) to OC-12 (622 Mb/s)-can be tested individually.

Digital Lightwave's customers have been eagerly awaiting an OC-48 test, Williams said. "So many new Sonet rings are being turned up-often to use [asynchronous transfer mode]-and they need to be reliable," he said.

Similar tests are in the market right now, but none goes beyond the physical layer like this one does, said Alan Stewart, a consultant with Network Interface Corp., Crystal Lake, Ill. "It's a very sophisticated little product with an easy-to-read interface," he said.

The computer is still in trials but should be generally available by the end of September, Williams said.