Digital Lightwave NIC Quick Reference Manual

Network information computer

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NIC
(Network Information Computer)
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
Document No. CO 004844K

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  • Page 1 (Network Information Computer) QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE Document No. CO 004844K...
  • Page 2 Dig- ital Lightwave NIC Platform product (NIC Plus, NIC EP, NIC NXG, NIC BP, NIC 10G, NIC 2.5G, NIC GigE, NIC ONA, and NIC 622M). This document contains a number of tutorials describing the basic operation of the NIC, including how to initiate tests and collect test results.
  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    NIC Quick Reference Guide Table of Contents SONET/SDH Testing Quick Start ........1 Ethernet Testing Quick Start ..........3 Fibre Channel Testing Quick Start ........7 OTN Testing Quick Start ..........11 DS1/E1/E3/DS3/E4 Testing Quick Start ......13 Power Information ............17 NIC BP Units: ..............18 The NIC Chassis ...............22...
  • Page 4 Document No. CO 004844K...
  • Page 5 Digital Lightwave offers a number of services to our customers that will enable you to get the most out of your NIC Platform product. Hardware Upgrades: Additional modules are available for spe- cific testing needs to support your evolving test requirements.
  • Page 6 Document No. CO 004844K Safety The following safety precautions are provided to avoid injury and prevent damage to this product or any products connected to it during normal operation. Only trained and qualified mainte- nance personnel should perform service procedures. Use Proper Power Cord: To avoid fire hazard, use only the power cord provided with the instrument.
  • Page 7 Environmental Statement: This product may contain lead- based solder materials and a lithium battery for computer sup- port. Please return all Digital Lightwave products to the factory for proper disposal. Operation of this product is not hazardous to the environment.
  • Page 8 Document No. CO 004844K...
  • Page 9: Sonet/Sdh Testing Quick Start

    7. Turn on laser. The button is located in the upper left of the screen. 8. Confirm Rx power level is within the NIC’s specifications. Power level is indicated just below the Laser is On button in the upper left...
  • Page 10 10.Press Restart button. The NIC is now running a test. 11.Select Results and Scan. If the test is running error free, you will see the message “No Errors or Alarms”. For error-rate, select Error. For a listing of how many seconds each alarm has existed during the cur- rent test, select Alarm.
  • Page 11: Ethernet Testing Quick Start

    Ethernet Testing Quick Start The following steps outline the basic procedure for setting up a NIC for an Ethernet test. A number of different modules support Ethernet testing (MSA, NGMR, High-Density Ethernet, etc.). The basic procedure is the same for all but certain steps, names of menu items and indications differ depending upon which module is being used.
  • Page 12 Ethernet optical. 5. Turn Laser on in upper left of screen, if applicable. 6. Confirm Rx power level is within the NIC’s specifications. Power level is indicated just below the Laser is On button in the upper left of the screen.
  • Page 13 In IP Reflection mode, the NIC reverses MAC and IP addresses and loops back the test packets. 1. If required, set the far-end NIC to IP Reflection mode to serve as the loopback device. Select Config tab, press Reflect, then select DLI Packets Only.
  • Page 14 Document No. CO 004844K stream that will be used for RFC2544 testing and confirm that pack- ets are transmitted and received. While the button is in the on posi- tion, the TX and RX packet count will not be equal. This is normal. It is only necessary to determine that packets are being successfully received to confirm basic connectivity before beginning lengthy RFC 2544 tests.
  • Page 15: Fibre Channel Testing Quick Start

    Fibre Channel SAN switch. This procedure will establish a con- nection that does not require a Fabric and Name Server login. 1. Interconnect the transmit and receive NIC test port interfaces with the SAN equipment. Turn Laser On in upper left of screen.
  • Page 16 Document No. CO 004844K 2. The NIC test port and the SAN equipment should quickly establish a valid Link State. This will be indicated by message “Link: Active” under the Status section in the Config/Set screen, and also the Link State LED should be green.
  • Page 17 NIC Quick Reference Guide • End of Frame (EOF) • Buffer to Buffer Credits 6. Select “Save All” then “Exit” to save the entered test stream parame- ters. 7. Select the button labeled 1 to the left of the stream to turn on stream traffic generation.
  • Page 18 Document No. CO 004844K 3. The Results screens display all error and alarm counts and history, as well as transmitted and received Frame statistics. 4. The System/All Ether Ports screen displays a summary view for all of the Ethernet and Fiber Channel test ports in the instrument (depending on the mode of the test ports).
  • Page 19: Otn Testing Quick Start

    BITS/SET, External 8KHz, External 10MHz, etc.; If external timing is chosen, then a valid clock signal must be connected to the appropriate clock input port on the NIC. 7. Turn on laser. The button is located in the upper left of the screen.
  • Page 20 Document No. CO 004844K 8. Confirm Rx power level is within the NIC’s specifications. Power level is indicated just below the Laser is On button in the upper left of the screen. 9.Confirm that no red LEDs are visible in Alarm and Status indicators.
  • Page 21: Ds1/E1/E3/Ds3/E4 Testing Quick Start

    NIC Quick Reference Guide DS1/E1/E3/DS3/E4 Testing Quick Start The following steps outline the basic procedure for setting up a Bit Error Rate test on PDH/T-Carrier interfaces at any of the fol- lowing rates: • DS1 (1.544Mbps) • E1 (2.048Mbps) • E3 (34Mbps) •...
  • Page 22 Document No. CO 004844K 4. To set all PDH/T-Carrier rates for direction connection, select the All to TX/RX button. This button can be found at the bottom of the Switch Matrix or in any PDH/T-Carrier tab by selecting Presets at the bottom of the screen.
  • Page 23 The red text indicates history, that the condition has existed during the current test. 10. Press Restart button. The NIC is now running a test. 11. Select Results and Scan. If the test is running error free, you will...
  • Page 24 Document No. CO 004844K see the message “No Errors or Alarms”. For error-rate, select Error. For a listing of how many seconds each alarm has existed during the current test, select Alarm. For a chronological list of all events since the test started, select Event Log. For a graphical representa- tion of error, alarm and pointer conditions, select Graphs.
  • Page 25: Power Information

    NIC Platform products are AC powered. The NIC BP (Battery Power) chassis includes a battery for backup purposes. Adhere to the following safety notices for all NIC units. The NIC BP has specific issues and requirements. See the section entitled “NIC BP Units”.
  • Page 26: Nic Bp Units

    • Real-time battery status information is provided on the User Interface, with LED indicators on the faceplate, and with SCPI • The battery pack is located on the back side of the NIC BP chassis, and is field replaceable • When an external AC power supply is connected to the unit, the...
  • Page 27 NIC Quick Reference Guide NIC BP Power Module Recharging the Battery • An external AC power supply is provided with every NIC BP unit, along with a standard power cable • Use only the external AC power supply provided by Digital Lightwave with the NIC BP •...
  • Page 28 MISC. The following information is displayed: Long-Term Battery Storage If the NIC BP’s Lithium-Ion battery is stored for long periods of time, certain precautions should be taken to protect it from dam- age. Improper storage will reduce the battery’s life and may even render the battery unusable.
  • Page 29 NIC Quick Reference Guide 2. Press the power switch to the On (1) position or for NIC BP, press the red power button. 3. When the Graphical User Interface appears, the NIC BP unit is ready for use. Turning Off or Rebooting the NIC IMPORTANT ...
  • Page 30: The Nic Chassis

    2-Slot NIC Chassis The NIC 2-slot chassis, with or without battery power, is the most portable NIC solution. In its cloth case it can fit under an airline seat and is very easy to carry at less than 14 pounds.
  • Page 31 NIC Quick Reference Guide The larger NIC Plus and NIC EP chassis can support up to 5 modules with multiple-simultaneous testing. The 5-slot chassis solution offers the most opportunities for upgrade to additional features. The NIC Plus and NIC EP are identical in functionality except for the packaging and absence of touchscreen in the NIC EP (Embedded Platform).
  • Page 32 • Do not immerse the NIC in water. • Always carry the NIC in its cloth case or in an approved ship- ping container. • Never pick up or hang up a NIC by the top cover latches. See figure.
  • Page 33: Optical Interfaces

    Digital Lightwave sales. SFPs and XFPs are hot-swappable. They can be removed or inserted while the NIC is running. The modules are fragile and are static sensitive. Observe the following precautions when handling the pluggable modules: •...
  • Page 34 MM fiber is normally used for shorter distance applications with LED-based transmitters. The NIC Platform supports both SM and MM optical transceiv- ers. It is important to use the correct fiber for your application. In general, 1310nm and 1550nm optical modules are usually SM and 850nm optical modules are usually MM.
  • Page 35 Inspection can be performed with the Digital Lightwave USB FibreVu Probe. See figure. This device can be connected to either PC or NIC Platform prod- uct and can be used to inspect both patch cords (male) fiber con- nectors or bulkheads (female) with up to 1500x magnification.
  • Page 36 Document No. CO 004844K Adapters are available for all common interface types. Available PC software enables automated pass/fail testing. This is an example of a clean fiber end face in good condition: The following is an example of a fiber end face with unaccept- able contamination and scratches: To inspect and clean fiber patch cords, use the following proce- dure:...
  • Page 37 NIC Quick Reference Guide 2. Connect the patch cord to USB FibreVu Probe and select Start Video. Confirm the image of the fiber end face is visible. Adjust the focus as required. 3. Optional. Select Perform Test to run the automated inspection with pass fail criteria.
  • Page 38 Document No. CO 004844K end face and a strong signal may damage the USB FibreVu Probe’s camera. 2. Insert the USB FibreVu Probe into the receptacle and select Start Video. Confirm the image of the fiber end face is visible. Adjust the focus as required.
  • Page 39: Using The Touch Screen

    Touch Screen Components The touch screen is the user interface to the unit. The following is an example of the NIC Plus Graphical User Interface (GUI). IMPORTANT  The illustrations that appear in this document are used as examples to assist you through a procedure.
  • Page 40 Document No. CO 004844K Work Area This area consumes the majority of the unit’s touch screen. All NIC functions are displayed in the form of a tab. Using these tabs, you can view incoming error and alarm statistics, and configure the unit for operation.
  • Page 41 NIC Quick Reference Guide The following describes what is indicated by the LED color: LED/Quick Status Area Color Description If the LED is... Then this indicates... Green with white Normal operation. The LED is used as a status text indicator.
  • Page 42 • Locking the touch screen on one GUI session does not have any affect other Remote GUI sessions. • Shut Down: Provides access to Shutdown or Reboot the NIC unit’s operating system. After the operating system has success- fully shut down the screen will turn black, and the power switch can safely be turned to the Off position.
  • Page 43: Changing A Protocol Processor Tab Name

    The last three tabs on the right are always the same for every NIC unit: • Switch Matrix: Displays and allows you to configure the OTN, SONET/SDH and PDH Interface rates and Mappings, and Add/Drop connections between the OTN, SONET/SDH and PDH protocol processors.
  • Page 44: Touch Screen Calibration

    Document No. CO 004844K 5. Under Label Information, enter a new name in the PP Assigned text field. For example, “DS3 TAMPA”. (When using the touch screen, select to open a keypad) 6. Select Update List to add the name to the User Defined Name column in the list box.
  • Page 45: Understanding Test Units

    Add/Drop Mapping functionality between higher speed and lower speed Protocol Processors. A NIC chassis may contain multiple tabs ranging from 40G down to 1.5M. When this type of configuration occurs, the Test Unit begins at the left with higher speed processor, and each lower speed processor drops down to the right.
  • Page 46: Using The Lock Icon

    Document No. CO 004844K The image below shows a NIC unit with two Test Units. The first Test Unit consists of the OTN, SONET, PACKET, E4, DS3, DS1#1, DS1#2 and ATM tabs. the second Test Unit con- sists of both ports on the Dual Enet tab NOTE ...
  • Page 47 Test Unit, start tests, and perform general product functions without the worry of contending for resources with another user. NOTE  Some NIC chassis’s may include more than one Test Unit, depending on its configuration. See “Understanding Test Units” for more information.
  • Page 48 Document No. CO 004844K Unlocking a Test Unit Locked by Someone Else When a test set is locked by someone else the icon is displayed. 1. Select the Lock icon. The Lock/Unlock dialog box appears. 2. Select Force Unlock. The command buttons change to “Lock and Exit”...
  • Page 49 NIC Quick Reference Guide Unlocking a Test Unit That You Locked When a Test Unit is locked by you the icon is displayed. 1. Select the Lock icon. The Lock/Unlock dialog box appears. 2. Selecting one of the following causes the command buttons to change to and “Lock”:...
  • Page 50 Document No. CO 004844K Select Unlock to make the test set available to anyone when it  is started. Adding Notes to a Test Unit When you lock a Test Unit, you can add notes to the Add/Lock dialog box that are pertinent to the Test Unit. Different Test Units can carry their own specific notes.
  • Page 51: Saving Customized Setting Configurations

    NIC Quick Reference Guide To edit notes on the Lock/Unlock dialog box for a test unit: NOTE  To edit the notes, the test unit must be placed in locked mode by the immediate user. 1. Choose the desired protocol processor and select the Lock icon.
  • Page 52: Restoring A Settings Configuration

    Document No. CO 004844K Restoring a Settings Configuration This function allows you to restore the unit’s factory default settings and restores or recalls any saved configurations for all protocol processor Receive or Transmit settings. To restore a settings configuration: 1. Select from the common function buttons.
  • Page 53 NIC Quick Reference Guide 2. Select Test and choose Set 1. 3. Select Duration. The Select Duration of a Test dialog box appears. 4. Choose a duration time. The duration determines how long a test runs. 5. Select Action After Duration. The Select Action after Test dialog box appears.
  • Page 54 Document No. CO 004844K NOTE  Real-time test reporting is only available locally (from the touchscreen) on portable test sets. When you select Repeat Actions, the Select Repeat Action after Test dialog box appears. When you select Realtime Actions, the Select Realtime Actions after Test dialog box appears.
  • Page 55 NIC Quick Reference Guide Record Statistics and Test statistics are printed to a file (.stat) at Repeat Test the end of a timed test and the test restarts. This cycle continues until the Note: This option test is stopped by selecting Stop from the...
  • Page 56 Note: This option only attached to the NIC unit and prints to a appears on the NIC test file (.evt). When the test duration expires, set’s touch screen when the test restarts.
  • Page 57: Pausing And Resuming A Test

    Note: This option only automatically prints to a printer that is appears on the NIC test attached to the NIC unit and prints to a set’s touch screen when file (.evt). The test does not repeat. Realtime Actions is selected.
  • Page 58: Printing A Real-Time Test

    Document No. CO 004844K • To pause a test, select Pause Test. When Pause is selected, the system will stop collecting data, but the elapsed time counter will continue. Additionally, when Pause is selected, a red Test Paused LED will appear in the LEDs/Quick Status area. •...
  • Page 59 NIC Quick Reference Guide the test duration, a completion message, indicating that no problems were found, is printed. Real-time test settings and accumulated results are not discarded if a power interruption occurs. The results are saved in 15-minute increments. When power is restored to the test set, the real-time test will continue from where it was prior to the power interruption.
  • Page 60: Printing And Saving Reports

    Document No. CO 004844K 6. Select User Header to enter a user-defined header. The header, which can be up to 64-bytes in length, serves as a brief description of the test. After entering a header using the keypad, select Enter. 7.
  • Page 61 NIC Quick Reference Guide 2. Select the Destination Printer or File type. Printer The selected report is sent to either the Parallel printer port or the USB printer port. Text File The selected report is saved as an ASCII text file.
  • Page 62 748 x 154 pixels. Smaller images will be stretched, and may look distorted. NOTE  If printing the report using the NIC’s local GUI, then the image file must be copied to the NIC’s FTP\APPL folder before selecting Print Report.
  • Page 63 NIC unit using the test set’s touch screen. This function captures the screen image and converts it into a bitmap (.bmp) file that can be printed to a printer that is locally-attached to the NIC unit or transferred later to a PC for printing.
  • Page 64 3. To print any screen image file (<filename>.bmp) that has been saved on the NIC unit, you must first transfer the file from the NIC unit to a PC. This can be done by either (a) copying the file to a locally-attached USB flash storage device that is locally attached to the NIC unit, and then plugging that storage device into a PC, or (b) by using the NIC unit’s built-in FTP Server...
  • Page 65: File Services

    Remote GUI or using FTP) or to a local device (USB or Compact Flash drive). NOTE  If using the FTP function, see the NIC Users Manual for detailed instructions on transferring files to PC. NIC units manufactured after 2006 with either System Controller II or System Controller III modules support USB flash drive technology.
  • Page 66 Document No. CO 004844K 1. Select and choose . The File Services screen appears. 2. From the Right file list box, set Drive to Drive E. 3. From the Left file list box, set Drive to Internal. 4. Select one or more files (click once to highlight filename) from the Left file list box.
  • Page 67: Displaying Serial Numbers And Software Revision

    NIC’s hardware Software Versions and FPGA versions  NIC’s hardware License Key  NIC’s Usage Time, which is a run-time odometer listing the  accumulated number of hours of operation Save button used to save the About window information to file ...
  • Page 68: Entering A New License Key

    License Key to activate the requested feature(s). To enter a new license key: 1. Select and choose . The Miscellaneous functions appear. 2. Select . The Update License Key menu appears listing each of the circuit packs in the NIC unit that can be licensed.
  • Page 69: Setting Time And Date And Time Zone

    NIC Quick Reference Guide 3. Select the circuit pack that the license key was modified for. A on- screen keyboard appears. 4. Enter the new license key into the text box, making sure to enter capitalized letters. • If using the on-screen keyboard, you will need to press the Shift key to enter capital letters, then press the Shift key again to enter numbers, and so on.
  • Page 70 Document No. CO 004844K 5. Enter the time, and select SET. To set the date: 1. Select and choose . The Miscellaneous functions appear. 2. Select Unit Time, Date, Zone. The Date/Time and Time Zone menu appears. 3. Select Manually Adjust Date/Time. 4.
  • Page 71 NIC Quick Reference Guide To Automatically set the time and date: 1. Select and choose . The Miscellaneous functions appear. 2. Select Unit Time, Date, Zone. The Date/Time and Time Zone menu appears. 3. Select Automatically Adjust Date/Time. 4. The Enter User String keyboard appears.
  • Page 72: External Clock In Status

    Document No. CO 004844K External Clock In Status NIC units manufactured with System Controller III (3 USB ports) have two External Clock In and Clock Out ports; one port for Bantam cables and one port for BNC cables. The System Controller auto-detects the status of which Clock In port is actively being used.
  • Page 73: Configuring A Protocol Mode

    Clock In status. The External Clock setting configures the Clock Out frequency. Configuring a Protocol Mode NIC units can be configured to operate in SONET or SDH mode and E1/E3, DS1/DS3 and E1/DS3 modes, depending on the configuration of the NIC.
  • Page 74: Restoring Factory Defaults

    Document No. CO 004844K Restoring Factory Defaults To restore the unit’s factory transmit and receive settings: 1. Select and choose . The System functions appear. 2. Select . The default options appear. 3. Select the Restore to Factory Default option for the desired proto- col processor mode that you want the unit to be configure for when after the defaults have been loaded.
  • Page 75 NIC Quick Reference Guide 2. Select . The Ethernet Configuration functions appear. 3. Select one of the following: • Obtain an IP address from a DHCP server • Specify an IP address Obtain an IP address from a DHCP server The test set uses the network’s DHCP server to dynamically assign it an...
  • Page 76: Sending Email Alerts

    Document No. CO 004844K Specify an IP address a. Select the Specify an IP address check box. b. Select IP Address. The Enter IP Address keypad appears. c. Enter the new IP address for the test set and select OK. WARNING ...
  • Page 77 NIC Quick Reference Guide To set up email alerts: 1. Select and choose . The User Preference screen appears. 2. Select . A keypad appears. 3. Using the keypad, enter the sender’s email address and press 4. Select . A keypad appears.
  • Page 78 Document No. CO 004844K For example, when you set up a mail interval of 15 minutes on OC-1/3/12 for all errors/alarms and then select the OC-1/3/12 tab, the result is that at the first live error/alarm incident an email message is sent to the recipient. After 15 minutes has elapsed the system looks for the next live error/alarm incident and sends another email message.
  • Page 79: Using Alarm Beeper Status

    NIC Quick Reference Guide you must select All Tests after the configurations are completed. IMPORTANT  These configuration settings DO NOT persist after the test set has been rebooted. To terminate email alerts: 1. Select and choose . The User Preference screen appears.
  • Page 80 Open the Remote NIC (GalaxyNIC) directory. For example, the default directory is C:\Program Files\GalaxyNIC. b. Locate the Compat folder from which the Remote NIC is run- ning. The folder name represents the Feature Set operating on the NIC unit. For example, the Compat folder for Feature Set 6.2.33 appears in the GalaxyNIC directory as Compat600020033.
  • Page 81: Using Chat

    WAV file's name. 8. Select Apply. The Alarm Beep Definition window closes. Using Chat The Chat function can be used to send brief messages between Local and Remote users on the same NIC. To send a message: 1. Select and choose .
  • Page 82: Using The Security Features

    Document No. CO 004844K NOTE  Pressing the Enter key on your keyboard will delete the message. To avoid this, select Multi Lines before starting to type the message. In addition, if you have a long message, select Multi Lines so that you can use the Enter key to keep your message within the Input Message window.
  • Page 83 NIC Quick Reference Guide Add, delete, and update a user profile  Enable and disable the Security System Lock feature  Establish a Default Login  Establish a Required Login  NOTE  Selecting Security System Lock check prevents other people from logging onto the test set.
  • Page 84 Document No. CO 004844K 3. Under Account Information, select next to the User Name field. A keypad appears. 4. Enter the User Name. 5. Select next to the Password field. A keypad appears. 6. Enter a Password. 7. Select next to the Permissions field. The Select User Permissions window appears.
  • Page 85: Establishing A Default Login

    NOTE  The default login function is only applicable from the NIC unit’s loacl GUI. When connecting to a NIC via the Remote NIC application, a user ID and password are alsway required. To establish a default login: 1.
  • Page 86 To establish a required login: NOTE  The User Login Required check box is only available from the NIC’s local GUI 1. Select and choose . The Misc screen appears. 2. Under Local Setting, enable the User Login Required check box.
  • Page 87 NIC Quick Reference Guide Enabling/Disabling Security System Lock This function allows an administrator to enable a Security System Lock that only allows one user with Read and Write permissions (this includes Calibration and Admin users) to be logged in at a time. If a user...
  • Page 88: Contact Technical Support

    Document No. CO 004844K Contact Technical Support Digital Lightwave Technical Support representatives are available 24- hours a day, 7 days a week, to help you. Standard Service Hours During Standard Service Hours (8:30 am to 5:30 pm EST, Monday through Friday) please call:...

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