Timbercon offers QSFP/QSFP+ passive electrical loopback

Timbercon, Inc. has announced availability of the QSFP/QSFP+ passive electrical loopback. The electrical loopback is used for testing QSFP/QSFP+ transceiver ports in board-level test. Substituting the electrical loopback for a full featured transceiver provides a more cost-effective, low-cost alternative, Timbercon asserts.

The electrical loopback is packaged in a standard MSA housing compatible with all QSFP/QSFP+ ports. It features a customizable memory map and enables operation at any power including the four maximum power levels identified in the MSA, Timbercon says.

Transmit data from the host is electrically routed (internal to the loopback module) to receive data outputs and back to the host. Because the electrical loopback module does not contain laser diodes, photodiodes, a laser driver, or transimpedance amplifier chips, it provides a more economical way to test QSFP/QSFP+ ports during R&D validation, production testing, and full system testing, Timbercon believes.

In addition to the electrical loopback function, the QSFP/QSFP+ provides an MSA standard 2-wire serial communication interface to digital diagnostics and preloaded EEPROM two-page memory map. The QSFP/QSFP+ Loopback also contains a two-colored LED indicator that displays the operating status of the module.

“The QSFP/QSFP+ electrical loopback adds another solution for test engineers in both manufacturing and development environments,” said Mike Reiling, key account manager. “The addition of the QSFP/QSFP+ to our XFP, SFP and SFP+ electrical loopbacks has strengthened our commitment to economical board testing as well as full system testing using our Armadillo optical loopbacks.”