Spirent Helps China Telecom Complete Scenario-Based FlexE Testing

Spirent Communications announced that Spirent, China Telecom Guangzhou Research Institute and Huawei worked hand-in-hand to complete the functionality and performance verification of FlexE under MAN and 5G scenarios.

FlexE technologies are receiving a lot of attention as high-end applications, such as high-definition video and high-frequency transactions, are putting an increased demand on the Quality of Service (QoS), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC), and massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) scenarios of the 5G network.

This ground-breaking test was conducted at China Telecom’s Network and Terminal Lab, utilizing Huawei routers and Spirent’s Flex Ethernet test solution as part of the test bed, connected via 100G BASE-LR4 links. Configured in both 100GbE and 100G FlexE modes, the Spirent FlexE Test Module helped generate line‑rate traffic to verify hard isolation characteristics of a leased line based on FlexE, testing both the forwarding performance of the FlexE channel itself, as well as the performance between FlexE and Ethernet.

Test results indicated that these industry-leading routers are capable of achieving network slicing FlexE technology to meet the networking requirements from financial or government high-value, exclusive line scenarios to provide the preliminary network foundation for 5G mMTC and uRLLC applications.

“FlexE technologies have attracted widespread attention since their introduction. Operators, network equipment manufacturers, and chip suppliers are developing FlexE technology-enabled products, and exploring and expanding their applications in various scenarios,” said China Telecom Research Institute Head of IP Technology Research, Zhu Yongqing. “Guangzhou Research Institute together with Huawei and Spirent have jointly completed the verification of FlexE in MAN and 5G scenarios, with test results reaching our expectations. Spirent’s recently launched FlexE test solution is in line with industry requirements, offering solid multi-link bundling capabilities and channelization functions, with a 5Gbps FlexE Client bandwidth granularity that met the test requirements for FlexE dedicated access of MAN and 5G network slicing.”

General Manager of Cloud and IP at Spirent, Abhitesh Kastuar added: “This joint test by China Telecom Guangzhou Research Institute, Huawei, and Spirent lays the foundation for the maturity of FlexE technology and ecosystem, promotes FlexE applications in MAN and 5G networks, and helps accelerate the commercialization of FlexE technology. Spirent is a pioneer in providing innovative test solutions for new technologies such as PAM4, 50GbE, 100GbE, 200GbE, 400GbE, and FlexE, and we will continue to invest in new technologies to support the development of the 5G network.”

Spirent FlexE solution is the world’s highest density FlexE 100GBASE-R PHY tester, designed for validating next-generation Flex Ethernet supported routers and data center fabrics to promote the deployment of FlexE technology in data centers, MAN, and 5G networks.