MULTILANE ML BERT Series User manual

ML4079EN User Guide
ThunderBERT User Guide
ML BERT Series: ML4079EN
User Manual Revision, June 2023
Installation | Connection | Calibration| Measurement

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Notices
Copyright © MultiLane Inc. All rights reserved. Licensed
software products are owned by MultiLane Inc. or its
suppliers and are protected by United States copyright
laws and international treaty provisions.
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is
subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii)
of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software
clause at DFARS 252.227-7013, or subparagraphs (c)(1)
and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software -- Restricted
Rights clause at FAR 52.227-19, as applicable.
MultiLane Inc. products are covered by U.S. and foreign
patents, issued and pending. Information in this
publication supersedes that in all previously published
material. Specifications and price change privileges
reserved.
General Safety Summary
Review the following safety precautions to avoid injury
and prevent damage to this product or any products
connected to it. To avoid potential hazards, use this
product only as specified.
Only qualified personnel should perform service
procedures.
While using this product, you may need to access other
parts of the system. Read the General Safety Summary in
other system manuals for warnings and cautions related to
operating the system.
To Avoid Fire or Personal Injury
Use Proper Power Cord. Only use the power cord specified
for this product and certified for the country of use.
Observe All Terminal Ratings. To avoid fire or shock
hazard, observe all ratings and markings on the product.
Consult the product manual for further ratings information
before making connections to the product.
Do not apply a potential to any terminal, including the
common terminal that exceeds the maximum rating of that
terminal.
Do Not Operate Without Covers.
Do not operate this product with covers or panels removed.
Avoid Exposed Circuitry. Do not touch exposed
connections and components when power is present.
Do Not Operate with Suspected Failures.
If you suspect there is damage to this product, have it
inspected by qualified service personnel.
Do Not Operate in Wet/Damp Conditions. Do Not Operate
in an Explosive Atmosphere. Keep Product Surfaces Clean
and Dry
Caution statements identify conditions or practices that
could result in damage to this product or other property.

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Contents
Notices...................................................................................................................................................2
List Of Acronyms ....................................................................................................................................4
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................5
GUI Introduction ....................................................................................................................................6
Installation...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Connecting to the Instrument.......................................................................................................................... 7
Launching the GUI ........................................................................................................................................... 8
GUI Overview.................................................................................................................................................. 8
BERT Configurations ........................................................................................................................................ 9
GUI Navigation ....................................................................................................................................11
Instrument Control........................................................................................................................................ 11
Title Tab.................................................................................................................................................................................. 11
BERT Settings Tab................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Tx Control...................................................................................................................................................... 13
TX Control in optimal Mode ................................................................................................................................................... 13
Tx Control in Advanced Mode................................................................................................................................................ 15
Rx Control ..................................................................................................................................................... 17
Rx Diagnostics ........................................................................................................................................................................ 18
Clock Configuration ....................................................................................................................................... 19
Supported Measurements....................................................................................................................20
Measurement Controls.................................................................................................................................. 20
Generic Measurements.................................................................................................................................. 21
Platform Specific Measurements ................................................................................................................... 25
Activating a purchased Real Hardware FEC License or a Jitter/JTOL License: ........................................................................ 25
Jitter Injection ........................................................................................................................................................................ 27
Noise Injection: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Real Hardware FEC Measurements........................................................................................................................................ 41
Appendix 1- Using ML Instrument Manager to enable DHCP ................................................................47
Appendix 2 –Adding a BERT to the Network ........................................................................................51
Appendix 3 –Changing the IP Address to Suit a Corporate Network .....................................................53
Changing the IP Address of the Instrument Using USB Driver Ethernet Configuration ..................................... 53
Changing the IP Address Using ML IPChanger................................................................................................. 55

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List Of Acronyms
Acronym
Definition
BW
Bandwidth
BERT
Bit Error Rate Tester
Conf
Configuration
DUT
Device Under Test
FEC
Forward Error Correction
FW
Firmware
GBd
Gigabaud
Gbps
Gigabits per Second
GUI
Graphical User Interface
HW
Hardware
ISI
Inter-symbol Interference
JTOL
Jitter Tolerance
NRZ
Non-Return to Zero
PAM4
Pulse Amplitude Modulation (4-level)
SI
Signal Integrity
SNR
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
Sim
Simulation
SW
Software
SJ
Sinusoidal Jitter
RJ
Random Jitter
BUJ
Bounded Uncorrelated Jitter
JTOL
Jitter Tolerance
ITOL
Interference Tolerance

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Introduction
The rapid growth of cloud computing economies demands the need for stable and high-speed data
center interconnect solutions. With the widespread adoption of 400G –and move towards 800G and
beyond –errors have become an inherent part of any HSIO system. Success now lies not only in
identifying where errors occur, but also in determining which errors are critical to correct.
A key player in the test and measurement industry, MultiLane provides an essential high-value
instrumentation that ensures vendors can keep up with demand and bring their designs to market. Our
ThunderBERT line-up of BERTs, which covers virtually any desired line rate up to 800Gbps, offers an
extensive array of diagnostic and tuning capabilities.
By generating specific signals to determine the actual bit error rate (BER) of the target channel, BERTs
are mandatory instruments for communication testing. The brand new ThunderBERT GUI provides you
with an intuitive and comprehensive tool to validate your designs.
In this upgraded implementation of our BERT user guide, MultiLane provides a fully revised and unified
manual for the ML BERT series compatible with the ThunderBERT GUI.

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GUI Introduction
To install and start using the ThunderBERT interface for the first time, follow this step-by-step
installation guide (with pictures) below:
1. Run the ThunderBERT setup file.
2. Install ThunderBERT.
3. Connect the ML BERT to the local network.
4. Launch the GUI.
5. Start the measurements.
Installation
After downloading the ThunderBERT setup file, select run and follow this easy step-by-step installation
procedure:
ThunderBERT should now be ready to run, with a shortcut button on the Desktop.
Figure 1: Setup Installation Procedure

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Connecting to the Instrument
To connect to the instrument, follow this sequence of steps:
▪ Install the ThunderBERT GUI software.
▪ Connect the power cable to the power jack of the BERT and plug it into an AC outlet.
The power cable is already included in the package accessories.
▪ Power Up the BERT.
▪ Connect the device to the network* using a RJ45/LAN cable.
LAN connections can be validated with a ping to the static instrument IP.
▪ Run ThunderBERT software.
▪ Connect using the IP address of the target instrument (Figure 2). The IP address is printed
on the back side of the BERT.
▪ The previously connected IP addresses will appear in the drop-down list next to the type
of box.
▪ The red-light indicator (R) will remain red while no connection is established (Figure 2).
▪ In the case of a connection failure, a pop-up message will appear indicating a connection
error (Figure 3).
*To add the device to the network, consult Appendix II at the end of this manual
NOTES:
Figure 2: Connection Box
Figure 3: Connection Box

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Launching the GUI
After establishing connection to the BERT, the GUI is initialized immediately, and all the BERT features
are ready for use.
The general display of the ThunderBERT GUI will appear and you can commence testing.
Figure 5: General GUI Display (ML4079EN)
GUI Overview
ThunderBERT provides end users with the ability to navigate and configure instruments from the ML
BERT product family. The provision of a responsive and intuitive GUI enables you to perform different
kinds of tests and measurements as well as control every aspect of the BERT platform.
Figure 4: General GUI Display (ML4079EN)
Figure 5: Segmented GUI Display (ML4079EN)

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BERT Configurations
This section is used to parameterize BERT measurements and to control the TX/RX configurators of each
channel in addition to clock rate and other common BERT settings.
▪ About Window (Figure 7) will give you access to the
necessary information about the product including:
oSW and API versions and Release Note
oA link to this User Guide
oLogs and configuration Files
▪ Title Tab contains:
oInstrument ID, Instrument IP address, and Temperature display
oThe info tab
oA close GUI button
▪ Common BERT Settings Tab contains:
oBaud rate configuration
oSignal modulation selection (NRZ/PAM4)
oFFE tap selection (3- or 7-tap modes)
oNoise Injection Enable Button
oJitter Injection Enable Button and Control
oShallow Loopback Enable Button
oGrey Coding Enable Button
oReal Hardware FEC Enable Button
oRX Amplitude/Sensitivity Range
oLoad + Save Configurations Options
▪ TX Control Section Tab contains:
oPattern and Amplitude control
oError insertion in optimal or advanced mode
oNoise Control for Each Channel
▪ Clock Configuration Tabs contain:
oReference Clock Out
oMonitor Clock Out
Figure 6: BERT Control Tab
Figure 7: About Window
About Window
Title Tab
Common BERT Tab
Tx Control Section
Clock Configurations

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oClock-In
▪ RX-side Control Section Tab contains:
oRX invert, RX pattern selection and RX diagnostics
oEqualization block

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GUI Navigation
Instrument Control
Title Tab
▪ Displays general information of the BERT (BERT PN, instrument IP, instrument
temperature).
▪ The device tab where all board details are displayed (Figure 9).
▪ Close button: disconnect from the BERT and close GUI instance (Figure 10).
BERT Settings Tab
The BERT Settings Tab shows all primary BERT configurations which you can set.
A: Baud rate Selection –B: Modulation Selection –C: FFE Taps Selection–D: Noise Injection
Enable –E: Jitter Injection Enable and Control - F: Shallow Loopback Enable –G: Gray Coding
Enable –H: Real Hardware FEC –I: RX Amplitude Range–J: Additional Options
The common BERT Settings Tab reflects enabled features; whenever a feature is enabled (gray
coding, 3/7-tap, Jitter, Noise, Shallow Loopback and FEC) the corresponding button turns green as
shown in Figure 11.
Figure 8: Title Tab
Figure 9: Device Tab
Figure 10: Disconnect Popup Window
Figure 11: BERT Settings Tab

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From this tab, select/configure to control the following features:
▪ Specify the Baud rate (Figure 13)
▪ Specify the signal modulation type: NRZ/PAM4 (if available/supported) (Figure 14)
▪ Select the 3 or 7 taps FIR filter mode
▪ Enable/Disable the Noise Injection
▪ Enable/Disable and Control the Jitter Injection
▪ Enable/Disable the Shallow Loopback feature
▪ Enable/Disable the gray code option
▪ Enable/Disable the FEC feature
▪ Check the Rx amplitude range supported by the error detector
▪ Load/Save the configurations through the gearbox button (Figure 15)
▪ The ‘Apply’ button should be pressed after any rate change; the new line rate is set within
one second (Figure 13).
▪ Switching between NRZ and PAM4: Modulation Type available based on the selected baud
rate (Figure 14).
▪ Additional Options let you save and load test configurations including bit rate, pattern,
signal modulation, number of taps and their values, inversion, etc., for all channels (Figure
15).
A
B
C
F
G
H
I
J
Figure 12: Display of Enabled Features
Figure 13: Set Baud Rate
Figure 14: Signal Modulation Selection
Figure 15: Additional Options
D
E

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Tx Control
TX Control in optimal Mode
TX channel settings can be controlled individually. A display window reflecting all the enabled
features and the applied TX settings per channel is displayed after clicking on each TX channel tab
(Figure 16)
▪ Enable/Disable TX control for each channel (TX ON/OFF). Once turned off, the control of
TX settings is disabled: channel control is locked from any selections, and TX output is
turned off (Figure 17).
▪ Specify the TX signal pattern. The supported TX patterns are all available in the dropdown
list, for the ML4079EN the Supported PRBS Pattern are (PRBS7-9-9/4-11-13-13Q-15-15Q-
16-23-31-31Q-58), in addition to SSPRQ, JP083B, LIN, CJT. As for square wave the
supported dividers are: rate/(4, 8, 16, 32, 128, 256, 512 and 1024)
▪ Specify the TX amplitude. In optimal mode, the slider shows the calibrated differential
peak to peak amplitude range, each displayed value is the combination of the optimal FFE
taps. Pre-Emphasis, Main, and Post-Emphasis taps are calculated during calibration. The
ML4079EN is characterized by it’s high amplitude swing: at low rates the amplitude swing
can go up to 1.8Vpp as for the high rates it is up to 1.2Vpp, when you exceed the limit of
1V a warning message will be shown.
Calibration is supported on low and high rates and on both eye modes (NRZ and PAM4). The
optimal FFE taps are currently calculated at scaling 80%.
▪ Specify Error insertion rate. The actual rate of errors per second depends on architecture
capabilities (Figure 18).
NOTES:
Figure 17: Tx-Off-Channel Control Locked
Figure 16: Tx Control Tab and Applied Settings in Optimal Mode

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To insert Errors:
▪ Enable Error Insertion mode (the green color
indicates that error insertion feature is enabled).
▪ Specify the Error Insertion Rate.
▪ Click on the Update button to apply changes.
Figure 16: Error Insertion in Optimal Mode

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Tx Control in Advanced Mode
While operating in Advanced Mode, you can fine-tune the transmitter
signal with high granularity. You will be able to specify the following TX
settings and parameters:
▪ TX Pattern: Supported TX patterns are all available in the
dropdown list, depending on the BERT model in use.
▪ FFE Taps: Tap control offers the following on TX:
oScaling between 60% and 120%
o3 FFE taps (in 3-tap mode) and FIR filter 7 taps (in 7-tap
mode). Supported tap values range between -1000 and
1000.
oInner and Outer Eye: Controls only available in PAM4 mode
(Inner eye value is between 500 and 1500, while Outer eye
is in between 1500 and 2500).
To start optimizing the TX setting, follow these steps:
▪ Enable the TX settings control of the channel (TX button
ON/OFF).
▪ Select a TX pattern.
▪ Customize the FFE taps. Scaling, FFE taps, and Inner and Outer
Eye can be controlled in this tab. If the amplitude is higher than
1V a warning message will be shown to avoid any damage on
the Rx Side (Figure 20)
▪ Apply the changes by clicking on the “Set” button.
You can load/save FFE Taps file to load and use a previous FFE
configuration or save it for later use by clicking on the buttons
in the corner.
Figure 17: Tx Advanced Mode
Control
Figure 20: High Amplitude
Warning

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Optimal configurations and calibration are only available in 3-tap mode. The Channel
Emulation feature is only supported in 7-tap mode.
▪ Channel emulation. To emulate channel loss, start by clicking the emulation button. When
enabled, the emulation button will turn to green.
You can insert the magnitude of the loss at the Nyquist frequency (half of the configured
baud rate) in decibels. In addition, an S-parameter file can be selected, loaded, and used
to calculate the taps creating the entered loss value.
Tx Auto-Optimization Mode
Operate in 7-tap mode to enable TX auto-optimization mode. After enabling 7-tap mode, you can
now apply the auto-optimization settings where the ThunderBERT GUI will calculate the optimized
FFE taps for the current setup.
To apply the TX Optimization settings:
▪ Enable TX Optimization by clicking on the button right
next to the Tab. When enabled, the button turns green.
▪ Click on the Optimization button to calculate the
optimal FFE Taps for the testing setup.
You can reset the FFE Taps values anytime by clicking on the
Reset button.
To perform the Optimization process on the current setting, a
lock must be detected on the channel in question.
NOTES:
Figure 21: Channel Emulation Enabled + 7-Tap Filter with Channel Emulation
Enabled

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Apply To all Channels Option
This option is used for the TX and RX settings, and transceiver
control if available. When selected, it applies the
configuration of the current channel to all BERT channels.
For example, pressing “Apply to all” on the TX window
will apply all TX configurations displayed in this window to
every other channel.
Rx Control
RX settings can also be controlled on a per-channel basis. A window reflecting all the enabled features
and applied receiver settings per channel is displayed after clicking on each RX channel tab.
To note that the ML4079EN Rx maximum Range is 800mVpp, so when in direct loopback mode make
sure the Tx Amplitude swing doesn’t go above this level.
Using the Rx Control, you will be able to select/configure the following settings:
▪ RX Pattern (PRBS,9, 11, 13Q, 15Q, 16, 23 and 31Q).
▪ RX Invert: Inverts the RX polarity. The button becomes green indicating that RX polarity is
inverted.
▪ Equalization type: Includes DFE, RC, LDEQ, and MPICAN (supported EQ types appear in
this block according to the BERT type).
oDFE (Decision Feedback Equalizer) is used for strenuous links.
oRC (Reflection Canceller) extends the FFE and smooths out the tail in the pulse
response. It is used for links with strong reflections or that have too high energy in
the pulse response tail.
oMPICAN (Multipath Interference Canceller).
▪ RX Diagnostics : This Window monitors FFE Taps, SNR and Histogram graphs over
time.
▪ RX Pattern Lock: The button is usually red but turns green when the pattern is locked and
identified successfully.
Figure 22: Rx Channel Display & Control Tab

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The RX channel tab employs green shading to highlight the enabled RX
features (RX polarity inversion, RC, DFE, MPICAN).
Rx Diagnostics
To access the RX diagnostics graph section, select the RX button found in the RX configuration
window of each channel
After pressing the button, RX diagnostics button is shaded in green, and a graph section will appear
as shown in Figure 23.
The Rx diagnostics features 3 measurement tabs:
▪ FFE Taps: Displays the Feed Forward Equalizer tap values.
▪ SNR: Measures Signal to Noise Ratio in decibels (dB).
▪ Histogram: Measures density distribution of the samples.
Screenshots of the available RX diagnostics measurements graphs are shown in Figures 24-26.
Figure 23: Rx Side with Different EQ
Types Enabled
Figure 25: Rx Diagnostics Histogram
Figure 24: Rx Diagnostics FFE Taps
Figure 26: Rx Diagnostics SNR Measurements

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▪ You can save the graphs with the save button in the upper righthand corner of the window.
▪ You also have the option to view all the channels at once for selected measurements
Clock Configuration
With ThunderBERT, you can choose between different clock configuration options:
▪ Internal Clock Mode or RefClk: Choose between reference or monitor clock generators
(rates dividers Supported on the Monitor Clock when using the ML4079EN are: /4, 8, 16,
32 and 64.)
▪ External Clock Rate or Clk-In: When the Clk-In mode is enabled, you cannot use the BERT
as a reference clock generator (Clk-Out). The permissible analog clock input range for the
ML BERT platforms varies between 136.36 and 178.78 MHz with an optimal value of 156.25
MHz. Optimal frequency will be visible within the Clk-In menu of ThunderBERT.
NOTES:
Figure 27: Clock Options

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Supported Measurements
The ThunderBERT platform provides comprehensive control of all supported measurements including
BER, FEC, SER and Rx Diagnostics
Measurement Controls
Control
Definition
Start and Stop BER, FEC, and SER measurements
RX diagnostics: RX FFE taps, SNR, and Histogram Control
Capture histogram and update error insertion rate
Save RX FFE taps, SNR values, histogram captures
Save and Load FFE taps, Save and Load BERT settings
Set FFE taps
Insert Errors
Apply unified settings on all channels (supported on both TX and RX sides)
Apply bit rate, clock rates, FEC, and 3- and 7-tap mode
Graph Autoscale
TX ON/OFF AND Enable/ Disable History navigation measurements to be
listed in details tab
Enable Noise
Enable Jitter
BER/ FEC Measurement Timer
Additional Options
Table 1: Measurement Controls