FITS-16CH combines digital-layer error measurements and automated testing to help accelerate qualification of high-speed connectivity for AI and data centre infrastructure.
Keysight Technologies has introduced FITS-16CH, a digital-layer validation system designed to test optical and copper interconnects supporting 800G networks and emerging 1.6T technologies.
The system features 16 transmit and 16 receive channels, doubling the channel density of Keysight’s FITS-8CH platform. It combines bit error ratio (BER) and forward error correction (FEC) measurements to assess the performance of complete interconnect assemblies beyond physical-layer compliance testing.
Supporting 106G and 212G lane rates, FITS-16CH targets interconnect validation across AI infrastructure, data centres, networking equipment and high-performance computing. Supported technologies include active optical cables, linear pluggable optics, active electrical cables, active copper cables, passive direct-attach cables and high-speed copper flyover cables.
The platform also introduces automated lane tuning, integrating with Keysight’s DCA-X to calculate optimal transmitter finite impulse response settings. According to the company, the process can reduce tuning time to minutes, compared with hours or longer for manual procedures.
“Manufacturers need to validate more lanes simultaneously on many types of interconnects without adding unnecessary complexity to their labs.” — Ram Periakaruppan, Vice President and General Manager, Network Test & Security Solutions, Keysight Technologies
Automation features include programmable interfaces, real-time charts, pass/fail indicators and PDF and CSV reporting. Integration with Keysight data communications analysers, bit error ratio testers and real-time oscilloscopes is intended to streamline workflows across research, development, manufacturing and qualification.
“As interconnect speeds increase, manufacturers need to validate more lanes simultaneously on many types of interconnects,” said Ram Periakaruppan, Vice President and General Manager, Network Test & Security Solutions, Keysight.
Ameet Suri, Vice President of Product at Credo Technologies, said system-level testing was increasingly important for active electrical cables as tighter performance margins emerge at 1.6T.
The launch reflects the growing need for comprehensive interconnect testing as AI workloads drive higher bandwidth requirements and more demanding data centre connectivity.