Using forward error correction coding to diagnose communication links

摘要

A communication link analyzer is disclosed for analyzing a communication link. The communication link analyzer may analyze bitstreams that have been FEC encoded and are transmitted according to one or more 10 Gigabit Ethernet standards, 40 Gigabit Ethernet standards, and other such standards. The communication link analyzer may maintain a running count of the errors detected for the bit positions of a 2112-bit FEC-encoded datablock. These errors may include, but are not limited to, baseline wander, deterministic jitter, and predictive-interval errors. When a given error threshold is met or exceeded for one or more received bitstreams, the communication link analyzer may then attempt a diagnosis of the communication link. Using previously provided empirical data, the communication link analyzer may provide a diagnosis of the communication link based on the error type threshold that was met or exceeded and the bit position associated with the error type threshold.

主权项

1. An apparatus for diagnosing a communication link carrying a bitstream that has been encoded using at least one forward error correction coding technique, the apparatus comprising:
a memory operative to store:
a bitstream error type database that stores at least one bitstream error type; anda bitstream position database comprising an association of at the least one bitstream error type with at least one bit position, wherein the association identifies at least one communication transmission cause; and a processor in communication with the memory, the processor being operative to execute computer-readable instructions, which, when executed, cause the processor to:
receive a bitstream of data transmitted over a communication link, wherein the bitstream of data is encoded using at least one forward error correction coding technique;detect an error in the bitstream of data based on the at least one forward error correction coding technique;classify the error in the bitstream of data as the at least one bitstream error type based on information stored in the bitstream error type database; anddetermine a communication link diagnosis that comprises the at least one communication transmission cause based on the classified error.