Testing 800G and 1600G Ethernet Interconnects

In the rapidly evolving world of data center networking, ensuring the reliability and performance of high-speed Ethernet interconnects is critical. This demonstration, hosted by Charles Seifert, Senior Product Line Manager for High-Speed Ethernet Products at Keysight Technologies, showcases the company’s groundbreaking solutions for testing 800 and 1600 Gigabit Ethernet systems using its Interconnect and Network Performance Tester.

The presentation focuses on two major components of Ethernet interconnect testing: the 800G system and the newly introduced 1600G solution. These tools are designed for both copper and optical interconnects used in hyperscale data centers, where performance, thermal management, and system-level reliability are paramount.

First, Seifert introduces the 800G Ethernet test system, which is demonstrated using an active electrical cable (AEC). These AECs are crucial in high-speed networking environments because they contain integrated chips on each end that actively condition signals. This helps maintain signal integrity over short distances in high-density rack configurations where passive cables fall short. The test system generates Layer 2 Ethernet traffic through the AEC, simulating real-world data center conditions to evaluate performance under load.

Alongside the AEC demonstration, Keysight also tests an 800G optical transceiver. This transceiver transfers data over multimode fiber into an immersed optical transceiver—a hermetically sealed, waterproof component designed for immersion cooling applications. Immersion cooling is becoming more prevalent in modern data centers to manage the rising heat output of high-performance servers and switches. The test evaluates transceiver performance both in air-cooled and liquid-immersed environments to ensure optimal thermal behavior and electrical reliability under varying conditions.

A key highlight is the introduction of Keysight’s new Interconnect Network Test System software. This browser-based platform is purpose-built to support high-speed Ethernet, offering advanced test automation, system-level performance analysis, and support for both copper and optical interconnects at 800G and 1600G (1.6T) speeds.

Seifert then shifts focus to the 1600G Ethernet solution, where the test system pushes line-rate, bidirectional Layer 2 Ethernet traffic between transceivers. This bi-directional data flow simulates real-world usage and evaluates how the entire transceiver system performs under stress. Testing includes transmission of 2.3 billion packets per second, offering granular insights into system-level behavior—crucial for predicting deployment performance in hyperscale environments that may include millions of high-speed connections.

One of the key benefits offered by Keysight's test system is Forward Error Correction (FEC) analysis, which is vital for ensuring data integrity over high-speed links. By deliberately injecting stress into the devices under test, engineers can measure bit error rate (BER), FEC performance, and overall system robustness. This analysis allows customers to confidently assess and qualify interconnect components before deploying them at scale—an essential cost-saving and risk-reduction step in large data center rollouts.

As Seifert explains, the economic implications are significant: each optical or copper transceiver may cost upwards of $1000, and with hundreds of thousands deployed across data centers globally, ensuring reliability through rigorous pre-deployment testing is not only technical best practice but a financial imperative.

In conclusion, this video demonstrates how Keysight’s 800G and 1.6T Ethernet testing solutions, along with its cutting-edge software platform, empower data center engineers and network equipment manufacturers to qualify, validate, and optimize interconnect performance in real-world scenarios. Whether the application is in immersion-cooled servers, high-density network racks, or large-scale switch environments, these test solutions help ensure maximum reliability, performance, and return on investment.