AXS-200/635 - Copper, VDSL2, ADSL2+ and IP triple-play test set

You need VDSL2 and Ethernet to deliver HD IPTV

VDSL2’s high-speed capability not only breathes new life into your existing copper plant but it allows you to reduce churn and gain market share in delivering triple-play services to your customers. High-definition (HD) IPTV service is the killer application for VDSL2 deployment as it requires the most bandwidth and the best quality of service (QoS) that your customers have come to expect.

EXFO’s AXS-200/635 offers a quick, yet thorough method for testing triple-play services—VDSL2 and Ethernet-based data, VoIP and IPTV testing—using pass/fail-driven automated functionalities.

In addition to validating connectivity to the DSLAM, the AXS-200/635 provides upstream and downstream parameters such as actual data rates, attenuation and noise margin. What’s more, it delivers advanced IPTV measurements—packet jitter, packet loss, PCR jitter, MDI, PID viewer and IGMP zap time—both in Terminate (stand-alone) and Through mode operation. The AXS-200/635 also monitors residential VoIP call flow and statistics, facilitating VoIP QoS assurance.

Single-ended video and data rate analysis

The AXS-200/635 single-ended video and data rate analyzer software option allows you to determine the xDSL data rates that a copper loop will support, prior to connecting/provisioning the circuit. With this new feature, you can evaluate a circuit’s ability to carry ADSL2+ bit rates at the CO or the customer premises and find out how many IPTV channels can be supported during the pre-deployment stage. Thanks to this industry-leading option, you can:

• Prequalify and validate circuits without having to install terminal equipment
• Reduce the number of false positives (failed installs)
• Decrease the cost of identifying up-sell opportunities (customers wanting newer/faster video and network applications such as ADSL2+ and IPTV)

Impulse noise protection +

You need to provide your customers with comprehensive assurance against poor triple-play services. With this in mind, the telecom industry has adopted the DSL-based impulse noise protection (INP) parameter, which is particularly important when deploying IPTV services based on VDSL2 and ADSL2+. For example, the INP helps reduce the amount of macro-blocking in an IPTV stream caused by short duration and intermittent impulse noise spikes. However, the downside of standard INP implementation is that it can limit the speed of VDSL2 (or ADSL2+) offered to customers as well as the addressable service area (distance).

The AXS-200/635 supports the traditional INP parameter as well as Broadcom’s innovative approach to INP called PhyR™. This technology allows for significantly lower BER, higher DSL rate and longer reach compared to standard INP implementations. As a result, the AXS-200/635 can be used to verify and ensure consistent QoS for DSL-based IPTV deployments without impacting speed or performance of the DSL link.

True backward-compatible and interoperable testing

Since the AXS-200/635 is based on the industry-leading Broadcom chipset, you are assured of excellent interoperability for VDSL2 and ADSL2+ when testing against other Broadcom chipset-based devices as well as other manufacturer chipsets.

Thanks to the AXS-200/635’s Broadcom chipset, you can use the Broadcom’s Nitro mode when testing ADSL2+ to effectively negotiate with DSLAM (also using a Broadcom chipset) in order to achieve data rates as high as 30 Mbit/s (depending on DSLAM setup, loop length, noise influences and circuit quality).

* The MDI feature of the IPTV software option is not available in the USA.

30 MHz testing: get the whole picture

For many telcos, installing ADSL links has gone quite smoothly; however, preparing the copper loop plant for triple-play services is another story. EXFO’s AXS-200/635 provides a full VDSL2 spectrum analysis in order to identify and locate disturbances and signal interferers affecting voice and video delivery over the last mile. It also offers an extensive range of single-ended tests that help you quickly locate and repair the faults that affect quality of service (QoS).

Detecting excessive spectral noise

Use the AXS-200/635’s 30 MHz Power Spectral Density Noise feature to manage the spectrum in the cable bundle. The unit’s graphic display helps to determine which service is deployed on the loop and at what power level. This is the best technique to use in identifying signals that are running too strong for the bundle, and it is essential in unbundled local loop environments for spectral policing.

Loop mapper makes it simple

The AXS-200/635’s convenient and powerful Loop Mapper tool simplifies the detection of faults, bridge taps or cable ends. By automatically selecting the time-domain reflectometer (TDR) and/or the frequency-domain reflectometer (FDR), based on the line conditions, Loop Mapper displays a straightforward wiring diagram that includes the loop distances, for easy interpretation.

Complete metallic testing including digital multimeter (DMM) and voice frequency (VF)

With the AXS-200/635, AC and DC voltage measurements are automatically performed and documented, without having to press countless buttons or having to move the test leads. The AXS-200/635 also measures AC and DC current to offer a complete picture of the electrical stability on the circuit under test. Additionally, it measures capacitance and resistance, while automatically converting measured capacitance/resistance into distance values for loop length assessment.

Multiple applications, one test set

EXFO’s AXS-200/635 integrates the capabilities of both the AXS-200/610 30 MHz Copper Test Set and the AXS-200/630 VDSL2, ADSL2+ and IP Triple-Play Test Set. It’s the all-in-one solution for complete copper/DSL/triple-play assessment on the local loop.