Timbercon Releases the XFP Electrical Loopback
Timbercon, Inc. announced they have finalized the XFP Electrical Loopback that has been in the prototype testing phase with key customers for the past three (3) months. Timbercon has completed all design and engineering phases of the XFP Electrical Loopback and has started manufacturing of production quantities for sale to all XFP users and designers.
The Timbercon EL-10-07001 XFP Electrical Loopback is used for testing XFP transceiver ports in host/system boards. By substituting for a full-featured XFP transceiver the XFP Electrical Loopback provides a cost effective method for XFP port testing. In addition to the Electrical Loopback function, the EL-10-07001 provides an MSA standard 2-wire serial communication interface to digital diagnostics, pre-loaded EEPROM memory maps (standard and customized), and XFP power level 3 loading of all four (4) XFP voltage supplies (+1.8V, +3.3V, +5.0V, and -5.2V).
One significant feature of the XFP Electrical Loopback is that it contains two LEDs that allow for quick and visible performance indication. The green LED is illuminated when the module is fully plugged in and has voltage applied. The amber LED is illuminated when the module is receiving valid data traffic. Internally this function is generated by the CDR/Signal conditioner IC.
In addition to the release of the XFP Electrical Loopback, Timbercon is also beginning final design stages of an XFP Host Test Board that tests and programs both XFP Electrical Loopbacks and XFP transceivers. The XFP Host Test Board meets and exceeds the XFP MSA standards. Two proprietary features of the Timbercon XFP Host Test Board are LED indicators for power supply and data transfer as well as full read/write capabilities. The XFP Host Test Board will come complete with operation software and a user manual to enable XFP programming and testing.