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The AX/4000 (also from Spirent Communications) is a modular, multi-port system that can currently test four different transmission technologies (IP, ATM, Ethernet, and Frame Relay) simultaneously at speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Unlike software-based testing solutions, the AX/4000’s FPGA hardware-based architecture is fast enough to provide more than one million full-rate measurements and statistics continuously and in real time. 

The AX/4000 Generator and Generator/Analyser modules include tools for creating unlimited traffic variations and detail. Set-up “wizards” and logical functional blocks allow you to build complex traffic streams quickly and easily. When injected onto the network, these traffic streams can be “shaped” (to simulate constant or bursty traffic) and even introduce error conditions.  

The controller software, available in both Windows and UNIX versions, has a very intuitive graphical user interface. Test set-up is logical and quick and when tests are running, the software displays real-time data and statistics that are thorough and easy to understand.  

With an Ethernet control module installed in the AX/4000 chassis, the system can be connected to an Ethernet-based LAN for access by remote users. Because every test module in the chassis has its own address on the network, users can access the modules they need and leave the remainder for others to use. This enables multiple users to access the same chassis simultaneously across a network. 

Figure 9 - Spirent: Adtech AX/4000 monitoring screen

The AX/4000 is available with a 16-slot mainframe or a four-slot portable chassis. Both are functionally identical except for the number of available slots, and all AX/4000 components will operate in either chassis. Spirent currently produces a range of different test modules to support different test requirements and speeds, including ATM, Frame Relay, Ethernet, and IP.

The AX/4000 uses plug-in port interfaces to provide the physical interface for test modules, and these cards are interchangeable allowing a single test module to perform tests with a variety of physical connections and speeds.  

Despite the advanced traffic generation capabilities, it is for its high-speed packet capture and network monitoring capabilities that the AX/4000 (with both fibre Gigabit and copper 10/100 ports) finds itself in the NSS test rig.  

In addition to providing live statistics, the analyser can also capture traffic at full wire-rate for further analysis or protocol decoding. Captures can be triggered manually or automatically based on specific events or errors and can include packets or cells received before, after, or both before and after the trigger event. The AX/4000 can maintain over 125,000 simultaneous QoS measurements per port at full rate and in real time. All statistics can be saved on disk for further analysis and for printing detailed test reports.