Summary of Contents for FarSite Communications FarSync BERT
- Page 1 FarSync® BERT User Guide FarSync BERT FarSync BERT PCIe FarSync BERT USB User Guide FarSync BERT HS PCIe FarSync BERT HS USB © FarSite Communications Ltd.
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
General - Maximum Log File Size ......................31 (BER only) 4.9.17 General - BERT Support ........................ 31 (BER Only) User Patterns - Pattern Name ...................... 31 4.9.18 User Patterns - Pattern Filename ......................32 4.9.19 FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... - Page 3 Logging ..............................58 LabVIEW Support ............................. 58 Opening the Interface ..........................58 8.5.1 8.5.2 Closing the Interface ..........................61 8.5.3 Sample Virtual Instruments ........................62 Troubleshooting ............................65 Calibration ............................ 67 FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024...
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Page 4: Getting Started
An additional Round Trip Delay mode enables the BERT to measure the Round Trip Delay of packets to a resolution of 1ms. The FarSync BERT runs on Windows 11 and 10 as well as Windows Server 2025, 2022 and 2019. Its uses either a USB-attached, BERT-enabled FarSync Flex device or a BERT-enabled FarSync K2Ee PCI Express card to connect to the line under test. - Page 5 4) When the FarSync BERT display appears, configure the required RATE, PATTERN and LENGTH values along with the (I)nterface, INT/EXT clocking and Async/Sync interface (M)ode settings as required for the test. 5) Then simply click the FarSync BERT's Start button (as shown in the diagram below) Whilst the test is running the Errors counter will display the number of Bit Errors, Block Errors, Errored Seconds, Parity Errors, Framing Errors or All Errors that have occurred during the test.
- Page 6 Test results are retained until either the test is restarted (by pressing the Start button) or the test is reset at any time (using the Reset button). When the FarSync BERT is unable to synchronise with the incoming data (e.g. due to a physical break in the line, the wrong test pattern configured etc.) the Loss-of-Sync (LOS) indictor will be highlighted.
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Page 7: Installation
Download the drivers from www.farsite.com/download using the fulfilment code supplied with your product. Run the FarSyncDriversInstaller executable that you have downloaded. The following screen should then be presented: Press Next Press Next FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... - Page 8 Press Next If you accept the Licence Agreement, select I Agree and then press Next FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024...
- Page 9 The installed devices can then be identified in Windows’ Device Manager list of devices. To see this, right click the Windows Start button and select Device Manager: You should now proceed and install the FarSync BERT software (instructions are in Section 2.2). FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0...
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Page 10: Farsync Bert Installation
2.2 FarSync BERT Installation Once the FarSync Flex (or FarSync K2Ee) device/driver has been installed, the FarSync BERT application itself should be installed. Download the FarSync BERT from www.farsite.com/download using the fulfilment code supplied with your product. Run the FarSyncBERTInstaller executable that you have downloaded. The following screen should then be... - Page 11 Press Next Press Next FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024...
- Page 12 If you accept the Licence Agreement, select I Agree and then press Next Press Next FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024...
- Page 13 Press Close The FarSync BERT can be then be started via the Start - FarSync - FarSync BERT menu entry: The FarSync BERT's main display will then be presented: Once the FarSync BERT is running, you can press the F1 key to display the help window.
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Page 14: Test Functions
Errored Seconds (ES) etc. 3.1.1 BERT Multi-Drop Mode In addition to the standard configuration, the FarSync BERT can also be configured to test the data paths of multiple nodes simultaneously on a Multi-Drop network using Industry-standard test patterns. - Page 15 If the slave fails to achieve sync (within 2 seconds worth of its time slice), the FarSync BERT inverts its TX and RX data.
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Page 16: Round Trip Delay
Note that the TIV and RIV indicators in the signals pane are not used whilst the FarSync BERT is in Multi-Drop mode. Whilst the test is running, the results are shown in the Multi-Drop Results dialog. The results for each configured slave are shown along with a merged ‘Total’. -
Page 17: Configuration
• the test will terminate when the Stop button is pressed (since LENGTH is set to CONT) Note that whenever the FarSync BERT is started it will default to the configuration that was used when it was previously run. Changing any of the configuration options during a test will cause the test to stop. Simply press the Start button (shown above) to start a new test using the new settings. -
Page 18: Pattern
The test pattern to be used for the test is selected using the PATTERN control. This enables you to select a value from a range of 8 predefined patterns or 8 user-defined patterns. If required, this range can be modified by double-clicking the PATTERN control to display the Pattern Configuration dialog: FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 19: Synchronous Line Patterns
Note that the use of MK and SP patterns is not recommended if you are using Manchester (MAN) encoding. 4.2.2 Asynchronous Line Patterns The following patterns are recommended for general use on asynchronous lines (see above for definitions): ▪ 63: 2 FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 20: User Patterns
To cycle between the different modes, double-click on the label beneath the Test Length Dial. For the TIME and SYNC TIME modes, a clock display appears above the dial showing hours, minutes and seconds in an HH:MM:SS format. The three test length modes are shown below: FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 21: Length
Time Display and then clicking and dragging the control or by typing the value in from the keyboard. The currently selected value is highlighted in the Time Display along with the appropriate HOURS, MINS, SECS label which is shown beneath the TIME control. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 22: Sync Time
In the Round Trip Delay mode, the Pattern Control is disabled and the unused Interface Mode (M) and Errors (E) buttons are greyed out as shown below. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 23: Interface Mode (Ber Only)
Pressing the clocking (C) button cycles round the various options. Note that if the Advanced Clocking option is selected in the Additional Configuration dialog, it overrides and disables this Clocking setting. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 24: Error Counter (Ber Only)
FarSync ports. The value of ANY will enable the FarSync BERT to simply select the first detected FarSync port. More information on selecting specific ports can be found in Section 4.9.1. -
Page 25: Injecting Errors (Ber Only)
4.8 Injecting Errors Whilst a test is active, you can request that the FarSync BERT inject errors into its outbound data by pressing the ERR button (shown above). Pressing the button by itself once will inject a single bit error. If one of the host PC number keys ('1'..'8') is pressed at the same time as the ERR button then the corresponding number of bit errors... - Page 26 The Additional Configuration options that are displayed will change according to the current Test Function setting. For the BER tests, General, User Patterns and Multi-Drop tabs are displayed as shown below. For RTD tests, General and Round Trip Delay tabs are displayed as shown below. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024...
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Page 27: General - Port
If, however, you have multiple Flexes inserted at the same time, one instance of FarSync BERT will need to be started for each Flex. Once the FarSync BERT has been started you need to select the port it should use. You do this by setting the Port parameter to the Flex's index number. -
Page 28: General - Encoding
The Invert Rx clock option is used to change the phase of the internal clock by 180 degrees (for received data). If • you are seeing excessive receive errors • it is not possible to use Terminal Timing • the port is configured for Internal (INT) Clocking FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 29: General - Data Bits (Ber Only)
This parameter is used to configure the number of async stop bits (1 or 2) between each character. This is only applicable when the BERT is set in ASYNC mode and is thus not supported when using the FarSync K2Ee. Default: 1 FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 30: General - Display Rates (Ber Only)
4.9.12 General - Burst Mode By default the FarSync BERT expects data to be received at a constant rate based on the configured line rate. In some test cases, the receive data arrives in bursts. In synchronous burst modes, the associated clock is idle in FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0... -
Page 31: General - Audible Alerts (Ber Only)
Note that whenever the BERT is inverting the receive data the RIV indicator will be lit. 4.9.15 General - Enable Logging If this option is selected, the FarSync BERT outputs a summary of its tests in a log file as described in the Logging section. -
Page 32: User Patterns - Pattern Filename
The two filetypes which are supported are hexadecimal and binary. A hexadecimal filetype is expected to be of the format as shown in the diagram below. A binary filetype is expected to be of the format as shown in the diagram below (as viewed in a binary viewer). FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 33: Multi-Drop - Enable Multi-Drop Testing
Enter a list of slaves to poll. Use spaces or commas to separate individual entries, e.g. 1 2 3 or 1,2,3 or 1, 2, 3 and a hyphen to set a range, e.g. 1-3 or any combination of the two, e.g. 1 2 4-6. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 34: Multi-Drop - Message Type
Sets the delay (in milliseconds) between the receipt of one packet and the transmission of the next. If the value is set to 0, the next packet is transmitted as soon as the previous one is received. The delay must be between 0 and 3,600,000 (1 hour). FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 35: Round Trip Delay - Receive Timeout
300 bps is shown below: 30 * 8(bits) / 300bps * 1000 = 800ms So in this example the Receive Timeout should be set to 800ms + expected Round Trip Delay time + a margin. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 36: Results
(see below). The overflow condition can be reset by using the Reset button. When the FarSync BERT is unable to synchronise with the incoming data (e.g. due to a physical break in the line, the wrong test pattern configured etc.) the Loss-of-Sync (LOS) indicator will be highlighted. -
Page 37: Ber Results
Loss of Sync (LOS) - % of time during which there has been loss of sync To return to the compact view (i.e. without the statistics table displayed) press the Table button once more. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 38: Multi-Drop Results
(i.e. it’s not echoing back any data), it is highlighted in gray. When the transmitter/receiver is inverted in an attempt to achieve sync, the TIV/RIV text will be displayed in the Inverted column for that slave. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 39: Multi-Drop Results Configuration
Show Stats to be selected. 5.2.4 Round Trip Delay Results The Round Trip Delay Results are displayed as shown below. The individual Round Trip Delay values are displayed on a chart. where FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 40: Test Startup And Initial Synchronisation
Note that the count does not start until initial synchronisation is achieved. Test results are retained until either the test is restarted by pressing the Start button) or the test is reset at any time (using the Reset button). FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 41: Logging
FarSync devices i.e. a FarSync K2Ee card, then the last digit in the filename will indicate the port in use i.e. 0=PortA, 1=PortB 5.5.1 BER Logging This file contains a summary of each test run, and includes: FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 42: Multi-Drop Logging
Requests to start/stop polling slaves • When slaves start/stop being active (i.e. start/stop echoing back messages) • When slaves achieve/lose sync • Bit and block errors • Requests to reset statistics • Slave results FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 43: Round Trip Delay Logging
If packets are being logged as late, it indicates that they are being received after the receive timeout has expired. Increasing the receive timeout to a suitably large value will stop this from occurring. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 44: Monitoring
5.6 Monitoring The FarSync Line Monitor is supplied with the FarSync BERT. This application supports real-time monitoring of transmitted and received data as it appears on the line being monitored. To use the FarSync Line Monitor to monitor the FarSync BERT’s traffic the BERT must be run in software mode... -
Page 45: Command Line Mode
6 Command Line Mode As well as running the FarSync BERT in its standard GUI mode (where the BERT is depicted graphically), you can alternatively use it in Command Line Mode. The same BERT engine, BertClient.exe, is used for both modes. -
Page 46: Hardware Mode
6.2 Hardware Mode The Hardware Mode is the default mode when running the FarSync BERT from the GUI, and it’s the same case when running the BertClient from the command line. An example of the BertClient running in Hardware Mode is shown below. -
Page 47: Multi-Drop Mode
Each instance of the BertClient can implement either a master node or a slave node. It is recommended that each of the slave nodes on the network are implemented using the BertClient’s Command Line Mode. The command line for a typical slave node is shown below: FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... - Page 48 The BertClient master can also be run from the command line (although it is recommended to use the GUI mode). An example of running an instance of a BertClient master from the command line is shown below: FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024...
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Page 49: Rtd Mode
10 seconds • perform Round Trip Delay test • +r100 receive packet timeout of 100ms • +d10 use 10 byte payload length The status output is updated twice a second. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 50: Script Files
Note the use of the -s command line parameter used in the script/batch file. This makes the test terminate as soon as an error is detected which is normally desirable when running in script mode. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... -
Page 51: Api Support
Note that it will show (x86/x64) if you install onto an x64 platform and (x86) when being installed onto an x86 platform: Being a COM-based API, the FarSync BERT API appears very similar in all the different types of applications from which it can be used. It really only varies with regard to the specifics of the application environment itself. -
Page 52: Methods
8.2 Methods The following methods are available to applications using the FarSync BERT Interface. These all map onto the corresponding operations that are supported by the FarSync BERT GUI itself. Method Parameters Description Once the interface instance has been configured (i.e. via its... - Page 53 This property is read by the FarSync BERT whenever a BERT test is started. Default = 9600 FsBertClockingConstants (R/W): Specifies the Clocking mode the FarSync port will FsBertClocking_Internal (0) use. FsBertClocking_External (1) Clocking This property is read by the FarSync BERT FsBertClocking_Internal_TT (2) whenever a BERT test is started.
- Page 54 This is only applicable when the BERT is set in StopBits I16 (R/W) ASYNC mode. This property is read by the FarSync BERT whenever a BERT test is started. Default = 1 FsBertParityConstants (R/W): Specifies the async parity setting for the port.
- Page 55 A value of 0 implies the test will run continuously until the Stop method is called (or until, for example, the FarSync port is disconnected) This property is read by the FarSync BERT whenever a BERT test is started. Default = 0...
- Page 56 FsBertStop_TIME (1) elapsed. If StopType is set to TIME, this specifies the length TestTime I32 (R/W) of the test in seconds. The duration of the test starts after Sync is first achieved. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024...
- Page 57 Specifies whether a Round Trip Delay test should RoundTripDelayMode BOOLEAN (R/W) be run (see Round Trip Delay for details). Default = FALSE. Specifies the size of the Round Trip Delay packet RTDPayloadLength I32 (R/W) payload. FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024...
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Page 58: Logging
MaxLogFileSize property. 8.5 LabVIEW Support A number of additional points, relating to use of the FarSync BERT API specifically from LabVIEW applications (VIs), are detailed in the following sections. The FarSync BERT LabVIEW support has been developed and tested using LabVIEW 2010-2020. - Page 59 If the FSBERTIFLib2.IFsBert2 option is not available then you need to use the Browse option to use the Select Object From Type Library dialog to point LabVIEW at the fsbertif.dll off the BERT_API\install folder where you installed the FarSync BERT files in the installation step above (see Section 8.1). FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0...
- Page 60 Automation Refnum input to the output from the Automation Refnum control. The reference output from the Automation Open function can then be used for all subsequent FarSync BERT interface calls. To read/write a FarSync BERT property just create a Property Node (which is located on LabVIEW’s Functions:Connectivity»ActiveX...
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Page 61: Closing The Interface
To use a FarSync BERT method just create an Invoke Node (which is located on LabVIEW’s Functions:Connectivity»ActiveX palette) and wire it up to use the interface reference and select the required method e.g. 8.5.2 Closing the Interface Once the VI has finished using the interface it should close it using the Close Reference function which is located on LabVIEW’s... -
Page 62: Sample Virtual Instruments
FarSync BERT from a VI. These examples can be extended/modified to meet your specific requirements. 8.5.3.1 fsbert.vi This VI demonstrates how to implement some of the features of the FarSync BERT's standard GUI: • The BERT test is automatically started when the VI is run •... - Page 63 (note: a modified port configuration will not take effect until the next time the Start Method is called). The sample's signals/LEDs are maintained using: The sample's statistics are maintained via: FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024...
- Page 64 8.5.3.2 RTD.vi The Round Trip Delay VI sample demonstrates the features of the FarSync BERT’s Round Trip Delay Mode. Before running the test, the following parameters should be set: • Round Trip Delay Mode • Device & Port • Test Duration •...
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Page 65: Troubleshooting
The results are maintained by: For more details about the RTD results, see section 5.2.4 (Round Trip Delay Results). 8.6 Troubleshooting 1) If, when you run the sample fsbert VI, the following dialog is displayed: FarSync BERT - User Guide 5.0.4.0 12 Dec 2024... - Page 66 Device property • the FarSync port is in use by another application e.g. the FarSync BERT is already running in GUI mode Note that the Status value shown here corresponds to the Status property value, FsBertStatus_AccessError (5), as...
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Page 67: Calibration
9 Calibration The only calibration that your FarSync BERT requires is to verify the correct operating frequency of the internal crystal oscillator used for clock generation. This can be performed without disassembling the unit by measuring the generated clock at the DCE interface. - Page 68 +44 (0)1256 330 461 info@farsite.com www.farsite.com...
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