Addressing bandwidth needs is one of the top necessities for many service providers today. By upgrading their networks to higher speeds and capacities, service providers can accommodate more amounts of data and thus create better revenue opportunities. But such migration would require reliable testing and assurance solutions for both network operators and equipment manufacturers.

EXFO (News - Alert) is a provider of next-generation test and service assurance solutions for wireline and wireless network operators and equipment manufacturers in the global telecommunications industry.

The company recently expanded its FTB/IQS-88100NGE Power Blazer offering to cover bidirectional EtherSAM (Y.1564) on all 10M-to-100G Ethernet interfaces. The new functionality is made available as a software update to all customers who are part of the 88100NGE Power Blazer client base.

EXFO's FTB-88100NGE Power Blazer is a turnkey ?eld test solution for deploying, validating and troubleshooting networks up to 100G which can address to the multiservice field-testing challenges of today.

EXFO's FTB-88100NGE Power Blazer Test Suite Enables Bidirectional EtherSAM (Y.1564) and Ethernet OAM Test Capabilities for Efficient Turn-up and Troubleshooting of Ethernet Services. Software supports dual test-set topology, where two units perform asymmetrical SLA measurement and provide EtherSAM (Y.1564) results per direction on both units to accurately pinpoint problems.

In addition, the new release also offers Ethernet operations, administration, and management capabilities including Y.1731, 802.1ag, and MEF (News - Alert) on 10M-to-10G Ethernet rates. This will help network engineers with the right tools to simplify Ethernet service activation and quickly pinpoint issues in the field for quick service recovery.

Furthermore, EXFO's FTB-88100NGE complements its bidirectional test capability with intelligent autodiscovery of remote EXFO Ethernet testers, making it no longer necessary to have an additional technician at the far end to relay critical information.

"Over the past few years, EXFO has been a leading provider of high-speed multiservice testing solutions, and the extension of our 40G/100G test capabilities on the 88100NGE module continues on that trend," Claudio Mazzuca, vice-president of EXFO's Transport and Service Assurance Division said in a statement.

"Because our NSP customers are under pressure to deliver their services properly and reliably to generate revenue, we are more determined than ever to provide our customers with value-added testing capabilities that optimize field testing," Mazzuca added.