12. Optimizing Test Times
Test times may be reduced by:
- Adding more DCA-M acquisition engines
An N1092A/B DCA- M with option CDR (clock recovery) or an N1092D / N107xA DCA-M combination that FlexOTO uses to get data.. - Using a PC that has more PC core processors may also reduce test times.
- Adding multiple Stations does not reduce test times.
The number of Analysis Engines that FlexOTO creates is determined by the number of core processors on your PC. Use FlexOTO's Job Timing Diagram to determine if test times could be improved by increasing the amount of acquisition engines (DCA-Ms), demultiplexers, or generic measurement instruments.
When you connect your DCA-Ms in FlexDCA, the DCA-Ms are assigned to FlexDCA's "slots" with a different slot number displayed on every DCA-M. However, these slot assignments are reassigned when FlexOTO Stations are created and acquisition engines are started. The DCA-M front-panel slot numbers indicate the new slot assignments in the FlexDCA acquisition instance. If you are familiar with using DCA-M modules, this may be confusing until you realize that a new connection has been made.
To set the number of Stations A FlexOTO child process for making independent measurements for a Test Station., click Station Setup which is located above the Hardware Diagram A FlexOTO pane where one models (draws) fiber-optic connections between test setup hardware blocks. (:CONFigure:NSTations command).
FlexOTO requires that all Acquisition Engines have the same number of acquisition channels. The maximum number of channels available is determined by the DCA-M module with the smallest channel count. As seen in this figure, the 2 channel N1092B modules limit the N1092D to only 2 channels. Channels 3 and 4 cannot be used.
