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

2
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

7
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)

9
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