Introduction

As data center networks continue to scale, ensuring optimal signal integrity in high-speed interconnects has become a critical engineering challenge. With the increasing adoption of 100G, 400G, and 800G transceivers, two critical tuning parameters, RX Output Equalization and TX Input Equalization, play a major role in making sure transceivers and hosts work together smoothly.

For cable manufacturers, including transceiver R&D, validation, and automated production testing, the ability to find the optimal EQ settings is essential. But what is more important is to know the BER output/response curve to the varying EQ values, and the range of the BER curve. This is crucial for ensuring that the transceiver can operate reliably in various environments with different switch vendor implementations.

However, manual equalization tuning is inefficient, requiring extensive trial-and-error adjustments to identify the optimal pre-cursor, main cursor, and post-cursor settings. To streamline this process, Xena Cable Performance Optimization Methodology provides an automated transceiver equalization optimization procedure, allowing you to quickly and accurately test your transceivers and cables with Xena’s high-performance test equipment Z800 Freya.