The Agilent/Keysight Network Emulator 3 (NE3) is a precision network impairment emulator that replicates real-world LAN/WAN conditions in controlled laboratory environments. It supports 100GE, 50GE, 40GE, 25GE, and 10GE Ethernet impairments at full line rate, enabling validation of hardware, protocols, and applications before deployment.
Technical Specifications
Ethernet Support
• 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GE)
• 50 Gigabit Ethernet (50GE)
• 40 Gigabit Ethernet (40GE)
• 25 Gigabit Ethernet (25GE)
• 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GE)
Architecture & Performance
• FPGA hardware-based architecture with dedicated processors per card
• 100% line-rate performance capability
• Modular design supporting 1 or 2 impairment engines
• Each impairment engine configures one user-selectable speed at a time: 2 × 100G, 2 × 50GE, 2 × 40GE, 2 × 25G, or 2 × 10G ports
• Mixed-speed operation supported simultaneously on a single device
Resource Management & Delay
• Flexible resource allocation—automatic or manual
• Delay memory can be fully allocated to one direction
• Maximum delay: 31 seconds (dependent on line rate and memory allocation when operating below 100% line rate)
Timing & Standards
• 1-step end-to-end transparent clock mechanism
• ITU G.8262 compliant (always enabled)
Packet Handling
• Incoming packets exceeding buffer limits are dropped
– Key Features
• Emulate normal and worst-case network conditions from production networks
• Test 5G networks and quantify effects of delay and impairments on performance
• Reproduce field-identified issues for rapid resolution
• Characterize end-user experience under production-representative scenarios
• Validate fail-over protection mechanisms and distributed data center deployments
• Assess application performance across geographically separated infrastructure
– Typical Applications
• Hardware, protocol, and application validation prior to deployment
• Network and application performance characterization under variable delay conditions.
• 5G network impairment testing.
• Data center distribution and redundancy scenario testing.
• Field issue reproduction and root-cause analysis.
