IXIA AresONE High Performance Fixed Chassis
This chapter provides details about AresONE 400 GE High Performance fixed chassis, its specifications, and features.
AresONE-400 GE High Performance fixed chassis provides high-scale 400 GE traffic generation, network protocol emulation, and performance test solution available for 400/200/100/50 GE QSFP-DD interfaces. It delivers massive protocol scale on every fan-out port for unparalleled traffic generation performance and receive-side measurement scale over its supported 8x200 GE, 16x100 GE, and 32x50 GE ports. It is the only test solution that does not lose transmit stream capability, receive-side measurement tracking, and measurement capability because of fan-out to 2x200 GE and 4x100 GE.
AresONE-400 GE High Performance fixed chassis facilitates high-scale mixed protocol tests, large system-under-test (SUT) scenarios, and fail-over and convergence testing at large subscriber scales. The solution accommodates testing of pre-designed full-scale networks with multi-service protocol configurations.
Following are the highlights of AresONE-400 GE High Performance fixed chassis:
- It validates high protocol scale devices for performance and scalability with AresONE multi-speed 400/200/100/50 GE test capabilities and Ixia’s IxNetwork Layer 2/3 test application.
- It allows you to run test on massive scale, even in 400 GE to 2x200 GE, 4x100 GE fan-out mode with no reduction in number of transmit streams and receive-side tracking per flow with full line-rate traffic and multi-protocol test scenarios
- It simplifies testing transceivers and cables during test bed.
- It relies on proven IxNetwork test solution for validating mission-critical network infrastructure and IxSuiteStore for Layer 1 BERT and PCS lanes Tx/Rx test capability.
AresONE offers a factory and a field-upgrade Ethernet speed option that provides 2x200 GE, 4x100 GE, and 8x50 GE test capabilities.
Key Features
The key features of AresONE-400 GE High Performance fixed chassis are as follows:
- Provides line-rate 400 Gbps packet generation, capture, and analysis of received traffic to detect and debug data transmission errors for multiple speeds, including 2x200 GE, 4x100 GE, and 8x50 GE.
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Provides multi-rate speed option that includes 2x200 GE, 4x100 GE, and 8x50 GE speed modes with fan-out support. These speed modes are compliant with the IEEE 802.3cd specification.
- Supports new IxNetwork protocol bundles that provide easy and flexible pricing designed for fixed chassis systems.
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Supports IxSuiteStore 400 GE Transceiver and PCS Testing suite, the industry’s first fully automated IEEE 802.3bs-based test suite that enables validation of 400 GE implementations. This includes testing of physical coding sublayer (PCS) lanes, BER, KP4 FEC bit-error distribution with error insertion and link stability.
- Provides support for all reduced and 4-port models to be upgraded through one or more options to an 8-port full performance mode.
- Supports line-rate at all speeds with per-port and per-flow statistics.
- Provides high-latency measurement resolution at 0.625 ns at the 400 GE speed and 1.25 ns at 200 GE.
- Provides RS-544 (KP4) Forward Error Correction (FEC) support for all speeds (400/200/100/50GE).
- Provides an excellent test platform for full line-rate 400/200/100/50 Gb/s with high stream count requirements to evaluate 400GE ASIC designs, FPGAs, and hardware switch and router fabrics that use the new 8x56 Gb/s electrical interface with PAM4 encoding that is IEEE 802.3bs and IEEE 802.3cd compliant.
- Provides auto-negotiation (AN) and link training (LT) support.
Note: With AN and LT turned on, 50 GE fan-out operation becomes 4x50 GE per port. With AN and LT turned off, the 50 GE operation becomes 8x50 GE per port.
- Supports 400 GE and 2x200 GE FEC ssymbol error injection and FEC symbol error distribution analysis with a comprehensive set of FEC corrected and uncorrected count and rate statistics. Provides bit error rate (BER) statistics for pre- and post-FEC analysis.
- Supports Ixia instrumentation, including floating timestamp, sequence number and flow identification, and data integrity.
- Provides Inject packet errors: CRCs, runts, giants, alignments, checksum errors, and out of sequence.
- Supports 400G PCS lanes transmit, error injection testing and receive measurement:
- Per-lane controls and status, FEC and error monitoring, error insertion, lane mapping and skew insertion.
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Supports Layer 1 BERT capability with per-lane and per-port BER statistics and has the ability to send PRBS patterns and inject bit errors per lane under user control.
- Supports +/- 100 PPM line frequency adjustment.
- Allows you to inject packet errors: CRCs, runts, giants, alignments, checksum errors, and out of sequence.
- Provides ultra-high-range layer 2-3 networking protocol emulation to validate performance and scalability of layer 2-3 routing/switching and data center test cases using Ixia’s IxNetwork protocol emulation application.
- Supports RFC benchmarking of networking devices and equipment by using industry-standard RFC benchmark tests at line-rate 400/200/100/50 GE speeds.
- Supports Native IxOS.
- Provides backward compatibility with existing chassis and software with IxExplorer and IxNetwork.
- Supports IxExplorer, IxNetwork, and related Tcl and automation APIs.
AresONE High Performance Fixed Chassis Variants
AresONE-400 GE High Performance fixed chassis comprises the variants described as follows:
T400GP-4P-QDD
T400GD-8P-QDD is an 4- port, high performance model with native QSFP-DD 400GE physical interfaces and layer 1-3 support.

2x200GE, 4x100GE, 8x50GE Fan-Out Options
The T400 GD and T400 GDR Fan-Out options for the QDD and OSFP models are available in two forms:
- Factory Installed
- Field Upgrade
2x200GE, 4x100GE, 8x50GE Factory Installed
2x200 GE, 4x100 GE, 8x50 GE FAN-OUT FACTORY INSTALLED for the T400GD/T400GDR 8 and 4-port, full and reduced, fixed chassis systems. One option is required for each system for all 8x400 GE ports (905-1044). This is applicable on new purchases to enable the 2x200 GE, 4x100 GE and 8x50 GE fan-out speeds per port.
2x200GE, 4x100GE, 8x50GE Field Upgrade
2x200 GE, 4x100 GE, 8x50 GE FAN-OUT FIELD UPGRADE for the T400GD/T400GDR 8-port and 4-port, full and reduced, fixed chassis systems. One option is required for each fixed chassis system for all 8x400 GE ports (905-1045). This is applicable on field upgrade purchases to enable the 2x200 GE, 4x100 GE and 8x50 GE fan-out speeds.
Part Numbers
Part Numbers for AresONE fixed chassis are provided in the following table:
Model Number | Part Number | Description |
---|---|---|
T400GP-4P-QDD |
944-1178 |
|
T400GP-4P-QDD+200 G+100 G+50 G |
905-1044 |
|
T400GP-4P-QDD+200 G+100 G+50 G |
905-1045 |
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Specifications
The hardware specifications for the AresONE QDD and OSFP models are contained in the following tables:
Feature |
AresONE-400GE High Performance Fixed Chassis |
---|---|
Hardware Fixed Chassis Specifications |
|
RU/ Number of Ports |
2 RU, 4-port fixed chassis system |
Physical Interfaces |
Native QSFP-DD physical port |
Supported Port Speeds |
|
CPU and Memory |
Multicore processor with up to 8 GB of CPU memory per port depending on the speed mode set on the port. |
IEEE Interface Protocols for 400GE |
|
Layer 1 support |
400GE native ports and 200/100/50 GE speed option:
|
Optical Transceiver Support |
Capable of support for all QSFP-DD MSA compliant optical transceivers up to Power Class 7 with 14 watts of power consumption such as: 400GBASE-DR4, 400GBASE-FR4, 400GBASE-LR8, and 400GBASE-SR8 other optical transceiver types, such as QSFP56 and AOCs. |
Copper Cable Media |
400GBASE-CR8, passive, copper Direct Attached Cable (DAC) up to 3 meters in length. |
Fixed Chassis System Dimensions |
|
Fixed Chassis System Weights |
Note: Shipping weight is approximate. It includes rackmount slides, power cords, sync cables, and packaging. |
Fixed Chassis System Electrical Power |
Note: The power specifications are preliminary and for initial planning purpose. |
Temperature |
|
Humidity |
|
Regulatory Compliance Specifications | IEC 60950-1, UL 60950-1, CSA C22.2 No.60950-1, CE (LVD, EMC, RoHS), EN/IEC 55032, EN/IEC 55024, CFR 47, FCC Part 15B, ICES-003, AS/NZ CISPR 32/24, KN32/35 |
Chassis Capacity: Maximum number of chassis and ports per model | |
T400GD-4P-QDD (944-1178) |
4-port fixed chassis system:
|
Transmit Feature Specifications |
|
Transmit Engine |
Wire-speed packet generation with timestamps, sequence numbers, data integrity, and packet group signatures |
Max. Streams per Port and Speed (Including in Data Center Ethernet) |
|
Stream Controls |
|
Minimum Frame Size |
400 GE and 200 GE
100 GE and 50 GE
|
Maximum Frame Size | 16,000 bytes |
Maximum Fame Size in Data Center Ethernet | 9,216 bytes |
Priority Flow Control |
|
Frame Length Controls | Fixed, increment by user-defined step, weighted pairs (up to 16K in 400/200/100 GE and 8 K in 50 GE), uniform, repeatable random, IMIX, and Quad Gaussian |
User-Defined Fields (UDF) | Fixed, increment or decrement by user-defined step, sequence, value list, and random configurations; up to 10, 32-bit-wide UDFs are available |
Value Lists (Max.) per port |
|
Sequence (Max.) |
|
Error Generation (FEC and standard Ixia layer 2-3 Ethernet) |
400 GE and 2x200 GE FEC
400 GE, 2x200 GE, 4x100 GE, 8x50 GE L2/3 Ethernet:
|
Physical Coding Sublayer |
|
Hardware Checksum Generation | Checksum generation for IPv4, IP over IP, ICMP/GRE/TCP/UDP, L2TP, GTP, and multilayer checksum; support for protocol verification for control plane traffic |
Link Fault Signaling |
|
Latency Measurement Resolution |
400 GE: 0.625 ns 2x200 GE: 1.25 ns 4x100 GE: 2.5 ns 8x50 GE: 2.5 ns |
Intrinsic Latency Compensation | Removes inherent latency error from the port electronics for all speeds |
Transmit Line Clock Adjustment | Ability to adjust the parts-per-million (ppm) line frequency over a range of +/- 100 ppm on all the ports of a 400 GE fixed chassis system |
Transmit/Receive Loopback |
|
Receive Feature Specifications | |
Receive Engine | Wire-speed packet filtering, capturing, real-time latency, and inter-arrival time for each packet group, with data integrity, and sequence checking capability |
Trackable Receive Flows per Port |
Without sequence checking and with Tx/Rx synch.
With and without sequence checking and no Tx/RX synch.
|
Minimum Frame Size |
400 GE and 2x200 GE: 60 bytes 4x100 GE and 8x50 GE: 64 bytes |
Filters (User-Defined Statistics, UDS) | 2 SA/DA pattern matchers, 2x16-byte user-definable patterns. 6 UDS counters are available with offsets for start of frame. |
Hardware Capture Buffer |
400 GE: 1 GB per physical port 2x200 GE port fan-out:r 1 GB for each 200 GE port 4x100 GE port fan-out: 1 GB for each 100 GE port 8x50GE port fan-out: 512 MB for each 50 GE port |
Standard Statistics and Rates | Link state, line speed, frames sent, valid frames received, bytes sent/received, fragments, undersize, oversize, CRC errors, 6 user-defined stats, capture trigger (UDS 3), capture filter (UDS 4), data integrity frames, data integrity errors, sequence checking frames, sequence checking errors, ARP, and PING requests and replies |
FEC Statistics |
400 GE and 2x200 GE:
4x100 GE and 8x50 GE
Note: This is a minimum specification; consult factory for more information. |
Latency / Jitter Measurements | Cut-through, store and forward, forwarding delay, latency/jitter, MEF jitter, and inter-arrival time |
Receive-side PCS Lanes Port Statistics Counters | PCS: Sync Errors, Illegal Codes, Remote Faults, Local Faults, Illegal Ordered Set, Illegal Idle, and Illegal SOF |
400GE Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS) ReceiveSide Statistics and Indicators |
Per-lane PCS receive capabilities include:
|
Layer 2-3 Protocol Support | |
Basic | IxNetwork Base, RFC2544/2889/3918 QuickTest |
Routing, Switching, and Carrier Ethernet | BGP4/BGP4+, OSPFv2/v3, ISISv4/v6, RIP/RIPng, EIGRP, BFD, Seamless BFD, IGMP/MLD, PIM-SM/SSM, STP/RSTP/MSTP/PVST, LACP/Protocol over LACP, GRE and Protocol over GRE, LISP, CFM/Y.1731, Link-OAM, PBB-TE, ELMI, 1588v2/SyncE ESMC, Y.1564QT, TWAMP, NTP; REQUIRES: 930-2201 IxNetwork Basic package for AresONE |
Software Defined Network | BGP4/BGP4+, OSPFv2/v3, ISISv4/v6, RIP/RIPng, BFD; EVPN, VXLAN, GENEVE, Segment Routing (MPLS and IPv6), BGP-LS, PCEP, BGP SR-TE Policy, BGP FlowSpec, OVSDB, Netconf, BIER, OpenFlow; GRE and Protocol over GRE, LACP/Protocol over LACP, eCPRI; REQUIRES: 930-2201 IxNetwork Basic package for AresONE |
MPLS and VPN | BGP4/BGP4+, OSPFv2/v3, ISISv4/v6, RIP/RIPng, EIGRP, BFD, RSVP-TE P2P/P2MP, LDP/LDPv6/mLDP, LDP L2VPN (PWE/VPLS), BGP VPLS/VPWS, L3VPN/6VPE, BGP RFC3107, PIM-SM/SSM, Multicast VPN, MPLS-TP, MPLS OAM, EVPN/PBB-EVPN; REQUIRES: 930-2201 IxNetwork Basic package for AresONE |
Broadband Access and Authentication | PPPoX/L2TPv2, DHCPv4/DHCPv6, ANCP, IGMP/MLD, IPv6 Autoconfiguration (SLAAC), 802.1x, Bonded GRE HG, GRE/Protocol over GRE, LACP/Protocol over LACP, Session Aware Traffic, Service over MPLS, Broadband Control Plane QT, Asymmetric Data Performance QT; REQUIRES: 930-2201 IxNetwork Basic package for AresONE |
Data Center Ethernet | BGP4/BGP4+, OSPFv2/v3, ISISv4/v6, RIP/RIPng, BFD; EVPN, VXLAN, GENEVE, OVSDB, DCBX, FCoE, Fabric Path, SPBM, VEPA, TRILL, FCoE QT, IxCloudPerf QT, RFC7747 BGP Convergence QT, LACP/Protocol over LACP; REQUIRES: 930-2201 IxNetwork Basic package for AresONE |
Application Support
The Ixia application support for AresONE appliances is provided in the following table:
Hardware | Application Support |
---|---|
T400GP-4P-QDD |
IxExplorer, IxNetwork, TCL API , IxSuiteStore |
Transceiver and Cable Support
The transceivers and cables supported by AresONE fixed chassis are provided in the following table:
Transceiver/Cable | Description | Compatibility |
---|---|---|
QSFP-DD-1M-CBL |
QSFP-DD-to-QSFP-DD 400 GE 400GBASE-R passive copper, Direct Attach Cable (DAC), point-to-point cable, 1 meter length |
|
QSFP-DD-2M-CBL | QSFP-DD-to-QSFP-DD 400 GE 400GBASE-R passive copper, Direct Attach Cable (DAC), point-to-point cable, 2 meter length |
|
QSFP-DD-2-5M-CBL | QSFP-DD-to-QSFP-DD 400 GE 400GBASE-R passive copper, Direct Attach Cable (DAC), point-to-point cable, 2.5 meter length. |
|
QSFP-DD-DR4-CBL | Ixia MT-to-4x100 GE LC fan-out, SMF, 3-meter cable for 100 GE fan-out (942-0138) |
|
QSFP-DD-SR8-CBL | Ixia, MT-to-8x50 GE LC fan-out, MMF, MPO16, 3-meter cable for 400 GE 8x50 GE fan-out (942-0125). |
|
QSFP-DD-MPO16-CBL | Ixia, MT-to-MT, MPO16, OM4, MMF, 3 meter cable for 400 GE QSFP-DD-SR8-XCVR (942-0124) |
|
Status Icons
AresONE includes a full-color graphics display, which includes a series of colored icons indicating the system health.
The description of the icons are provided in the following table.
Icon Name |
Icon Image |
Icon State |
Description |
---|---|---|---|
Alert |
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Grey | All systems are OK |
Green | Not Applicable (N/A) | ||
Yellow | An error occurred | ||
Red | N/A | ||
Power |
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Grey | Power information not available |
Green | Power is OK | ||
Yellow | N/A | ||
Red | Power statistics unavailable or have exceeded limits | ||
Server |
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Grey | IxServer has not started |
Green | IxServer is running and in the READY state | ||
Yellow | IxServer is running and in the BOOTING state | ||
Red | IxServer is stopped, or exited with an error | ||
Network |
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Grey | Network is disconnected |
Green | Network is connected and has an IP address | ||
Yellow | Network is connected and acquiring an IP address | ||
Red | Network error | ||
Management |
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Grey | No active management sessions |
Green | N/A | ||
Yellow | At least one management session is active | ||
Red | N/A |
Mechanical Specifications
Front Panel
The Front panel of the AresONE fixed chassis is shown in the following image (applies to 8-port and 4-port variants):
Figure: Front panel of AresONE

Front Panel Switch and Power LED
The front panel switches and indicators are provided in the following table:
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Front Panel Switches |
On/Off momentary power push button:
|
Front Panel Power LED |
Off - Indicates Powered Off, No Standby Power |
Blinking Blue - Indicates Powered Off, Standby power connected | |
Solid Blue - Indicates Powered On |
Front Panel Port LEDs
Each port has four LEDs to indicate link state and activity. The LED panel specifications are provided in the following table:
MODE LED |
TX STATUS |
RX STATUS |
FEC |
---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Rear Panel
The Rear panel of the AresONE fixed chassis is shown in the following image (applies to 8-port and 4-port variants):
Figure: Rear panel of AresONE
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Field replaceable power supplies | Mandatory to have all 3 power supplies plugged in for both 4 port and 8 port. See Fixed Chassis System Electrical Power. |
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Field replaceable fans | Front to back airflow |
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Utility / Sync / Mgmt ports | Sync connectors |
Rear Panel Ports
The Rear Panel MGMT Port LED specifications are provided in the following table:
Port Label | Description | Additional Information |
---|---|---|
RS232 |
Serial Console Port |
Serial console access for system management. Terminal settings: 115200 N-8-1, No Parity, No Flow Control |
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Mini Display Port (mDP) | Digital Video / Monitor output for system management. |
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USB 3.0 Ports | Keyboard, Mouse or other peripheral for system management |
VGA | Analog Video / Monitor output for system management | |
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Management Network Interface | 100/1G/10G management port for connection to your network |
SYNC OUT / IN | Sync Connectors |
For synchronization with up to 5 additional XGS12, XGS2 or AresONE systems using a Star topology. Note: Daisy chaining topology with AresONE systems using both Sync In and Out is not supported) |
METRONOME | Metronome Sync Connector | Reserved for future use |
Rear Panel MGMT Port LEDs
The Rear Panel MGMT Port LED specifications are provided in the following table.
Position |
Indicator |
Color |
Description |
---|---|---|---|
Left |
Link Speed |
Solid Green |
Linked at 10 G |
Solid Yellow | Linked at 1 G | ||
Off | Linked at 100 M or Link Down | ||
Right | Link/Activity | Solid Green | Link Up, no activity |
Blinking Green | Link Up, actively transmitting or receiving | ||
Off | Link Down |
Power Supply LEDs
The power supply LEDs indicate the following:
State | Description |
---|---|
Off |
No AC power |
Solid Amber |
Power Supply Critical Failure, system shutdown (for example, over temperature, over Current, fan fail) |
Blinking Amber | Power Supply Warning (for example, high temperature, high current, slow fan) |
Solid Green | AC Powered and Output Active (Normal Operation) |
Blinking Green | AC Powered and System inactive or in sleep state (Appliance Plugged in but Powered Down) |
Chassis Synchronization
There is an increased need of chassis synchronization to run mixed speed port tests with the AresONE fixed chassis.
This ability to sync with other Ixia chassis differentiates it from an appliance.
Because AresONE has five sync out ports, an AresONE acting as master can sync five more AresONE fixed chassis or XGS chassis.
The following image shows the back of a master chassis where its sync out ports are connected to slave chassis by sync cables:
The following image shows a slave chassis that has sync cables connected to the sync-in port:
- AresONE can also act as a slave to an XGS-HSL or XGS-SDL chassis acting as master.
- AresONE can only co-exist with Native IxOS chassis in sync topology.
- AresONE supports only Star topology and not Daisy chaining.
Cooling Fan Speed Control
The AresONE fixed chassis automatically monitors and measures the temperature of installed units. The fixed chassis automatically adjusts the fan speed to maintain proper cooling.
Rack Mount Cautions
If this unit is installed in a network equipment rack, observe the following precautions:
- Elevated Operating Ambient Temperature: If installed in a closed or multi-unit rack assembly, the operating ambient temperature of the rack environment may be greater than room ambient temperature. Therefore, consider installing the equipment in an environment that is compatible with the maximum allowable ambient temperature specified for the chassis (35° C).
- Reduced Air Flow: Install the equipment in a rack so that the amount of air flow required for safe operation of the equipment is not reduced. Do not block the sides of the chassis, and leave approximately 8 inches of space, on either sides of the unit for proper ventilation. The air flow clearance should be 8 inches on either sides.
- Mechanical Loading: Mount the chassis so that it is level in the rack and that a hazardous condition is not caused.
- Circuit Overloading: Consideration should be given to the connection of the equipment to the supply circuit and the effect that overloading of the circuits might have on overcurrent protection and supply wiring. Appropriate consideration of equipment nameplate ratings should be used when addressing this concern.
- Reliable Earthing: Maintain reliable earthing (grounding) of rack-mounted equipment. Appliance frame should be screwed down to racks to ensure proper grounding path. In addition, pay special attention to supply connections other than direct connections to the branch circuit (such as use of power strips).
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Replacement of the power supply cord must of the same type cord and plug configuration that was shipped with the unit.
Précautions relatives au montage en rack
Si cette unité est installée dans une baie d’équipement réseau, observer les précautions suivantes:
- Température ambiante élevée: si installée dans un assemblage de baie fermé ou contenant plusieurs unités, la température ambiante de l’installation peut etre plus élevée que la température ambiante de la pièce. En conséquence, penser a installer l’équipement dans un environnement compatible avec la température ambiante maximale autorisée (35 C) spécifiée pour l’appareil.
- Circulation d’air réduite: installer l’équipement dans une baie de manière a ce que la circulation d’air requise pour faire fonctionner l’équipment en toute sécurité ne soit pas réduite. Ne pas bloquer les côtés de l’appareil, et laisser approximativement un espace de 12 pouces, de préférence 24 pouces, de chaque côté de l’unité pour une ventilation adéquate. L’espace laisse libre pour la circulation de l’air doit être de 12 pouces de chaque côté.
- Montage mécanique: monter l’appareil de manière a s’assurer qu’il soit droit dans la baie afin d’éviter de créer une condition dangereuse
- Un soin particulier doit etre apporté au branchement de l’équipement au circuit d’alimentation et aux conséquences qu’une charge excessive des circuits pourrait avoir sur le système de protection contre les surcharges et sur le cablâge d’alimentation. Prendre des précautions d’usage en prêtant attention aux normes figurant sur la plaque d’identification de l’équipement.
- Mise a la terre fiable: maintenir une mise a la terre fiable de l’équipement monté en baie. L’appareil doit etre vissé sur la baie afin d’assurer une mise a la terre correcte. De plus, faire particulièrement attention aux alimentations en courant autres que celles provenant de connections directes au circuit de dérivation (par exemple utilisation de prises multiples).
- Le remplacement du cordon d’alimentation doit comporter le même type de cordon et le même type de prise que ceux livrés avec l’unité.
Note: For instructions on rack mounting and administration of the AresONE fixed chassis, see the AresONE Native IxOS Getting Started Guide.