Interpreting Analysis Results

A simple bit error ratio (the number of bits in error compared to the number of bits sent) is a standard tool for evaluating a signal. But what if you could know when and where these errors had happened? Would that be useful?

Of course! And this is what error location analysis does for you.

The BitAlyzer records when and where errors occur relative to each other. It also then classifies them as "bit" or "burst" errors. For example, a truly random BER has an extremely low probability of bursts occurring. Therefore if bursts are evident, here is the first clue that a non-random mechanism underlies what is being observed. This would be very hard to see using only the display of a normal BERT or an eye diagram.

BitAlyzer error location analysis provides a variety of views, presenting the accumulated error information in a number of ways. So, what is the result of your error analysis telling you?

Choose one of the tabs to the left for a brief explanation of the data gathered and displayed by these analyses.

• 2-D Error Map — A two-dimensional map of the positions of your errors in the data stream.
• Block Errors — A histogram showing the number of occurrences of data intervals (of a user-set block size) with varying numbers of errors in them.
• Burst Length — A histogram of the number of occurrences of errors of different lengths.
• Correlation — A histogram showing how error locations correlate to user-set block sizes or external Marker signal inputs.
• Error Free Interval — A histogram of the number of occurrences of different error free intervals.
• Error Statistics — A tabular display of bit and burst error counts and rates.
• Pattern Sensitivity — A histogram of the number of errors at each position of the bit sequence used as the test pattern.
• Strip Chart — A strip chart graph of bit and burst error rates.