The latest Sentinel and CAT software can be downloaded from the Calnex Software Download site. Release notes are also available from the same location.
A Software Download login is required to access the software download area. If you do not yet have a login, please contact support@calnexsol.com.
Once this version of software is loaded onto the instrument, it will not be possible to downgrade to any earlier version of the firmware. This revision of firmware can only be installed on Sentinels with a serial number greater than 400000 or to instruments with a serial number beginning with 300 that DO NOT include a packet module (options 611, 612, or 613) and/or a 4G only OTA card (opt 700 or 710) |
Support for 25G and 100G rate options
Sentinel can now be configured to make 25G and/or 100G measurements (Time Error and SyncE) on up to two channels where supporting packet module extension card is fitted and the appropriate license is purchased.
Simplified PTP
Defined by the Open Compute Project (OCP), simplified PTP exchanges a reduced set of packets and simplifies sync management in certain data center applications.
Improvements to TIE modes
Several enhancements have been made to the TE mode menu on the measurement tab.
Default mode changed to TIE + 1pps TE
As it is the most used clock measurement mode, TIE + 1pps TE mode is now the default option for TIE Mode. In this mode, the Time Error (TE) of any 1PPS signals presented to the clock card are displayed on the TE display. The time interval error (TIE) of any other clock signals is displayed on the TIE display.
Removal of TE
The TE option is no longer required and has been removed.
TIE + 1PPS Alignment
The ‘TIE + 1PPS TE’ mode follows the ITU standard. According to the ITU standard, if the 1PPS signal being tested has an extra or missing pulse there will be a 1s offset in the measurement. Alignment mode ignores extra or missing pulses and compares the reference to the edge of the nearest pulse of the input signal if present.
Protection from flashing malicious firmware
Sentinel checks the firmware signature prior to updating to avoid the loading of malicious firmware.
As consequence of this enhancement, once this version of software is loaded onto the instrument, it will not be possible to downgrade to any earlier version of the firmware.
Improved management of clock channels
Enhancements have been made to improve the usability of the available measurement resources in the instrument. SyncE measurements can now be turned off from the mode page when not required. This frees a measurement channel for 1pps TE measurements when the internal reference is used.
Support for G.811 PRC Wander Generator Masks
MTIE and TDEV masks for G.811 Primary Reference Clock wander generation are available under the masks tab.
TLS 1.3 Support
TLS 1.3 is now supported on API for HTTPS connections
SSH
As an additional security measure, SSH is disabled by default.
Monitor mode is now able to make measurements longer than 4 days.
Battery Enhancements
This release enables the use of Option 631 Battery Powered Operation. Instruments with this software release and Option 631 Battery Powered Operation fitted will benefit from the below features:
Transport Mode - maintains phase accuracy of Sentinel’s disciplined internal Rb clock when mains power is removed, allowing for accurate reference when the instrument is transported to site.
UPS - should external power to Sentinel be interrupted, the internal battery will act as an uninterruptible power supply and allow Sentinel to continue to be used until power is restored or full discharge of the battery.
Battery powered OTA measurement - allows Sentinel to operate without external power, maintaining accuracy of the Rb clock and enabling measurements to be made.
[SEN-2843] Clock channel triggers always on negative slope despite Slope setting. See Sentinel: Clock Channel Triggers Always on Negative Slope (Resolved) for more details.
[SEN-2992] 1pps TE channels not plotting in TIE+1pps TE mode, unless SyncE is enabled.
[SEN-3070] TE offset on 100BaseFX interface. See Sentinel: 100M Optical Interface Offset (Resolved) for more details.
[SEN-3194] “Enable OTA Low Power Mode” shows on Mode page when OTA Low Power Mode is enabled.
[SEN-3376] Battery not recognised for small subset of Sentinels.
Please read Sentinel: Clock Channel Triggers Always on Negative Slope (Resolved) before applying this software |
OTA-NR Cell Scan
This release adds cell scan capability for OTA-NR, similar to the existing cell scan feature for OTA-LTE. For full details please refer to the Sentinel User Manual.
Please read Sentinel: Clock Channel Triggers Always on Negative Slope (Resolved) before applying this software |
Added Metrics and Masks
A range of metrics and masks have been added to Sentinel as summarised in the table below:
Associated Standard | Topic | Added Metric | Added Mask |
|---|---|---|---|
G.8261 | Frequency Synchronisation | G.8261 Amd.2 Short Chain Network Limits (Fig 19) | |
G.8271.1 | Full Timing Support | 2Way dTE MTIE LF | G.8271.1 dTE MTIE |
G.8271.2 | Partial Timing Support (PTS) and Assisted Partial Timing Support (APTS) | pktSelected2wayTE | G.8271.2 APTS Pk-Pk Network Limit |
[SEN-2514] During a 5G OTA measurement, if the signal loses lock and then regains lock the graph doesn’t update.
[SEN-2476] During an OTA measurement, the widget was indicating the opposite sign to the graph.
Please read Sentinel: Clock Channel Triggers Always on Negative Slope (Resolved) before applying this software |
HTTP(S) Interface
An HTTP(S) interface has now been added to Sentinel allowing a basic remote control functionality. For full details please refer to the Sentinel User Manual.
Continuous Measurements
An option has now been added to the measurement settings page to allow the user to select continuous measurements. This means that Sentinel will continue to make a measurement on a rolling 24 hr basis.
IPv6 on the Management Port
There is now the ability to use IPv6 addresses on the management port for Sentinel.
Disable SyncE
SyncE can now be disabled independently of PTP/NTP measurements. This feature is available via the mode page.
Disable Metrics
If you don’t want to run any metrics or masks you can disable this on the measurement settings page.
NTP functionality is now supported on the 10G hardware
Previously only PTP was supported on the new 10G hardware. This release now adds support for NTP including IPv6 and DHCP. NTP Client or NTP monitor mode can be selected from the Mode page as shown below.
Note: IPv6 and DHCP are only available on units with serial number 400XXX or units that have been upgraded to 10G.
Using the CAT to review results
The Calnex Analysis Tool (CAT), versions 24 and later must be used to examine the results from the new module, channels 1 and 2.
Copy the measurement files of interest from the Sentinel to a PC which has CAT installed. On opening these files within CAT, you will be able to select the TIE and PDV metrics and view the results.
Packet module does not send IGMP messages for multicast routing.
10GbE functionality
Notes:
|
[SEN-1085] Ethernet Gateway Ping button is enabled when DHCP is enabled.
[SEN-1151] Sentinel doesn't reach 128 packets per second for Delay Request rate.
[SEN-1726] Configuring Sentinel from Electrical to optical ethernet results in no RevPDV being recorded.
[SEN-1781] Apply button will only change IP address / Mask / Gateway setting on the first press.
[SEN-1796] Protocol check does not detect Delay Response if multiple PTP multicast flows are present.
[SEN-1803] Moving from GNSS settings page with invalid value on antenna delay causes crash.
This release offers a software and hardware feature enhancement on Sentinel. New options are associated with this enhancement (Option 700 or 710), providing Time Error (TE) accuracy measurements on LTE signals Over The Air (OTA), by way of a measurement module which can be fitted to one of three module slots on the Sentinel platform.
The software incorporates the following optioned features:
‘Over The Air’ Time-Error
LTE Time Error measurement solution.
TE measurements for ITU-T G.8271.1/2 network requirement of 1.5us at the air interface.
Frequency (TIE) measurements for ITU-T G.8261.1 network requirement of 50ppb at the air interface.
Small Cell (Macro/Femto/Pico) Time Error measurements.
FDD and TDD LTE operating modes, covering frequency bands up to 3.7GHz.
Please contact your local Calnex sales representative for more information on measuring Synchronisation ‘Over The Air’.
Loss of GNSS Module Configuration When Re-booting:
If the antenna delay was set to a non-zero value then the GNSS module would not apply that offset if Sentinel was re-booted, the quality of the 1PPS output from the module to the internal Rb could be degraded and the site survey may not complete. Additionally, if the module was capable of supporting multi-GNSS constellations the saved setting would not be applied and the module would be configured to use GPS and GLONASS constellations. Pressing the Reset Module button had no effect.
This release offers software only feature enhancements on Sentinel. No new options are associated with these enhancements.
The software has added the following feature and change to Sentinel:
NTP support for 2 Way Time Error measurement.
NTP pseudo client mode.
Additional GNSS support for GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou and QZSS constellations.
The following known issues have also been resolved:
GPS module may report incorrect satellite status and number of satellites it is locked to.
When a measurement is re-loaded the measurement.summary.txt file is re-written.
Packet capture incorrectly names files saved for channel E.
Measurement.summary.txt file does not show max / min results for 2WayTE.
GM Identity saved in measurement files is incorrect.
This release offers software only feature enhancements on Sentinel. No new options are associated with these enhancements.
The software has added the following feature and change to Sentinel:
New enhanced GUI, allowing for faster set-up and ease of use.
Enhanced 1PPS measurement.
2Way TE measurement now uses a 0.1Hz filter.
Fixes an issue with the number of satellites indicated.
The software has added the following feature and change to Sentinel:
Powering off Sentinel has been simplified by using a single pop-up to control all power down options.
The following known issues have also been resolved:
SyncE wander generation amplitude and frequency accuracy has been improved for frequencies above 1Hz.
In monitor mode the correction field was incorrectly used in calculating forward and reverse PDV measurements. The correct formulas are now implemented.
The PTP statistics csv file had all fields set to 0. The statistics are now saved correctly.
False battery fault indications have been resolved.
The 1PPS icon turns red during measurement incorrectly indicating loss of External 1PPS input.
Wander generator amplitudes inaccurate for wander above 1Hz.
Wander generator doesn't work for low frequencies and low amplitudes.
This release offers software only feature enhancements on Sentinel. No new options are associated with these enhancements.
The software has added the following features and changes to Sentinel:
Ease of setup.
ITU-T and IEEE1588 standard profile settings for PTP configuration.
Enhanced defect of PTP Setup.
Protocol checks to detect configuration issues.
Packet capture and decode to resolve configuration issues.
PTP statistics to check continuity of flows.
Additional information in channel widgets.
Display Quality Level of ESMC messages for SyncE.
Improved Rubidium disciplining times.
Ability to view measurement summary file on GUI at end of measurement.
Changes to Battery Charging Algorithm.
The following known issues have also been resolved:
In Pseudo-slave mode, setting 128 packets/second rate on Sentinel will actually run at a lower rate (i.e. 105 packets/second)
128 packets/second can now be transmitted.
Lock button: The lock button will not unlock when the measurement complete pop-up box is displayed. A possible workaround for this is to VNC to Sentinel and press OK to clear this pop-up box, then the lock button will unlock.
Pop up box can be acknowledged then Sentinel lock button used.
An issue has been observed when entering certain values in the Antenna Delay field of the GPS settings. Some values will have no effect on the measurement result. If this is the case, then setting the antenna delay 1ns above the desired value will work as expected.
Root cause identified and all values now work
Remote access password could not be set in R7.x o Root cause identified and can now be set.
This release is primarily to improve the robustness and stability of Sentinel operation as well as some software only feature enhancements. No new options are associated with these enhancements.
The software has added the following features and changes to Sentinel:
Stability updates to improve the reliability of power cycling and general operation of Sentinel.
Additional masks added and naming convention changed to simplify selection.
Support for compensating for cable lengths and balanced to single ended conversion delays on 1PPS reference and test inputs.
Changes to settings can be applied without having to leave the settings screen.
External USB drives can be re-mounted after being selected for removal.
Error in battery module now reported as icon.
Additional status messages are written to user log.
Rev A Comms issues
Rev A I2C Fix
R7 Rev A release
This release offers software only feature enhancements on Sentinel. No new options are associated with these enhancements.
The software has added the following features and changes to Sentinel:
2Way Time Error measurement on Sentinel GUI.
Overall Test Pass/Fail status.
Summary file with Pass/Fail results.
Support for IPv6.
Display SFP information in channel widget.
PING function.
Option to include/exclude Correction Field for PDV measurement.
Support non-forwardable multi-cast address.
This patch release of software added several enhancements and fixed a few software Defects.
GPS Related Enhancements
Sentinel GUI now displays the GPS receiver survey status and the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of all satellite signals. This is in addition to other information already available on the GUI.
Performance Related Enhancements
Several changes have been made in order to improve user friendliness.
From this patch release, the last measurement storage selection is remembered by software. This simplifies the operation to make a measurement.
Simplified software upgrade process. With this patch release, future upgrade is just one-click away.
The performance of virtual keyboard has improved as well.
This patch release of software adds Auto-negotiation feature to Sentinel.
The software has added the following features and changes to Sentinel
Time Error measurement
Layer 2 Multi-cast Monitor Mode
VLAN priority and DSCP field setting
Rename “Transparent Mode” to “Monitor Mode”