Paragon-neo: Software Releases

If you have a valid Calnex Support Service (CSS) contract, the latest Paragon-neo software can be downloaded from the Calnex Support Portal. Release notes are also available from the same location. If you do not yet have a login to the Calnex Support Portal, please contact support@calnexsol.com.

Information on how to install a new software release is available in this article.

80.14.00.17 (Release 14 Patch) August-2026

This release includes CATv35.5 and PFVv35.5. Please see the on instrument documentation for CAT and PFV updates.

This release supports the new Calnex license manager which is required to add new options to an instrument (first supported in Release 13.00 Update 2).

New Features - all Paragon-neo variants

• DCO Support for 100G QSFP28 - ability to use QSFP28 DCO transceivers.

• New transceiver qualification - addition of a QSFP28 DCO transceiver (not qualified for FlexE 100G or SyncE jitter testing) and a 25G SFP28 LR transceiver, see Paragon-neo: Which optics/transceivers can I use? for more details.

New Features - Paragon-neo-S only

• All NRZ rates including SyncE jitter - All NRZ rates supported for measurement and use with SyncE jitter generation and tolerance measurement.

• Announce Message Delay Testing - testing of Announce Message Delay times in accordance with ITU-T G.781.1 Appendix III and CCSA YDT recommendations.

• SyncE, automated conformance to ITU-T G.8262/.1 eEEC/EEC - Enhanced workflow and automated conformance tests.

• Feature alignment with Paragon-neo/Paragon-neo-A (excluding PAM4 56G port operation)

New Features - Paragon-neo-A only

• DAC support on PAM4 56G - Use of DAC cables is now supported for PAM4 56G interfaces. Please read the application note CX5049 Using Passive DAC Cables before using this feature.

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-8173] - Pull-in range test "check" button stops the application of the frequency offset

• [PN-8074] - SyncE Wander (Table/Single) are not generated with mixed 100G NRZ/400G PAM4 Rates.

Documentation

• Detailed Release 14 Release Notes are provided as part of the installation.

• Detailed CATv35.5 and PFVv35.5 Release Notes are provided as part of the installation.

• All user guides have been updated.

• All test guides have been updated.

80.14.00.16 (Release 14) July-2026

Release 14.00.16 was removed from distribution due to a bug. Do not use this release if you have saved a local copy.

80.13.01.08 (Release 13.00 Update 2) May-2026

This release includes CATv34.20 and PFVv34.20.

This release supports the new Calnex license manager, this release or later must be used before any new options can be added to the instrument.

Features

• Support for new Calnex license manager

Fixes and Improvements

• No new fixes or improvements since previous release

Documentation

No changes to the documentation package from Release 13.00.

80.13.00.44 (Release 13.00 Update) January-2026

This release includes CATv34.30 and PFVv34.30.

Features

• No new features

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-7725] - Fix for intermittent packet errors seen on some instruments

• [PN-7656] - Fix Announce Msg Delay measurement offset at 400G FlexE

Documentation

No changes to the documentation package from Release 13.00.

80.13.00.40 (Release 13.00) December-2025

This release includes CATv34 and PFVv34. Please see relevant updated on-instrument Test Guides and documentation for detailed instructions on use of new features and updated information regarding use of Paragon-neo.

New Features

• Announce Message Delay Measurement - Testing of Announce message delay times and delay mechanisms to ITU-T G.781.1 Appendix III and CCSA YDT recommendations.

• Background Traffic for PAM4 200G/400G - Generation of background traffic on TT and TR clock ports at up to 90% of line rate.

• O-RAN WG4 CONF Testing enhancements - Enhanced workflow for simultaneous PTP+SyncE impairments. Updated sine and network noise patterns to meet O-RAN WG4 CONF v13. Invert cTE option for PTP.

• SyncE, automated conformance to ITU-T G.8262/.1 eEEC/EEC - Enhanced workflow and automated conformance tests.

• eEEC Wander Tolerance (TDEV) - Test wander tolerance to TDEV stimulus for ITU-T G8262.1 clause 9.1 (9.2.1.4 of [ITU-T G.8261]).

• G.8273.2 Long-Term Transient for eSyncE - Test conformance to G.8273.2 clause 7.4.1.4

• PTP Protocol Updates - Up to 256 packets/second to support CCSA Profile. Support for Enterprise PTP Profile.

• PTP Message Suppression - Suppress selected PTP messages for user defined timeframes

• Link Flap - Rapid and intermittent network link disconnection to test device resilience

• DAC support on NRZ Ethernet interfaces - Use DAC connections for NRZ Ethernet interfaces. Important: read application note CX5049 Using Passive DAC Cables before using this feature.

• Asymmetric cable compensation - Independent Rx/Tx delay compensation for PTP links

• User Qualified Transceivers - Ability to add transceiver latency for user qualified transceivers. Please read application note CX4018 Testing Transceivers for details.

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-7335] - Test selection in Conformance Test overwrites PTP profile selection

• [PN-7150] - Error loading certain settings files from previous release

• [PN-7015] - Conformance App: Pressing "Check" does not show the default metrics

• [PN-6413] - Seed value in session header occasionally populated with 0

• [PN-6275] - Set 64GFC Mode to run at 28.9 GBd for SFP56 optics

• [PN-5447] - Incorrect automatic application of packet rate for user-defined impairment

• [PN-5172] - Additional bytes in PTP packets cause spurious time error

• [PN-6400] - SFP28/SFP28 FEC/ SFP+ stability improvement

• [PN-5890] - QSFP-DD link improvement

• [PN-5836] - M/cast Delay Resp dest. MAC address reflects Delay Req type - now reflects setting under TT Config

Release Notes

Detailed release notes are provided as part of the installation.

80.12.00.63 (Release 12.00 Update) September-2025

This release includes CATv33 and PFVv33.

Features

• No new features

Fixes and Improvements

• Extend 1PPS measurement pulse width to 999ms.

• Minor fixes.

Documentation

No changes to the documentation package from Release 12.00.

80.12.00.61 (Release 12.00) July-2025

This release includes CATv33 and PFVv33.

Features

• Support for FlexE 400G PAM4 - SyncE and PTP testing for 400G FlexE links

• Updated Background Traffic Generation – Generate patterns as specified in ITU-T G.8273 Annex B, and greater configurability of traffic parameters.

• Support for SMPTE ST-2059 2021 – Includes mixed-mode messaging

• O-RAN  WG4 CONF Conformance testing for LLS-C3

• Conformance Apps for ITU-T G.8273.3 and G.8273.4 – Automate conformance testing to these ITU specifications

• PTP Flag and TLV Support -  ITU-T G.8275.1 Path Trace TLV support, G.8275.1 Sync Uncertain Flag

• ToD message support for additional NMEA Talker ID's - Galileo (GA), GLONASS (GL), GPS (GP) and multi-GNSS (GN)

• GUI visual and operational improvements

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-4810] - P2P IPv6 with VLAN results in bad UDP checksum generated for PDEL_REQ

• [PN-3705] – Improved noise for rTE M-Clock

• [PN-4131] - "Unqualified transceiver detected" pop up when change 1PPS BNC to 1PPS RJ port

• [PN-4607] – Stability improvements

• [PN-4749] - Make Peer Delay measurements in rTE/2xTE mode

• [PN-4771] - Improved dropped client connections

• [PN-4777] - Unit not referencing correctly in RTE mode

• [PN-4810] - P2P IPv6 with VLAN results in bad UDP checksum generated for PDEL_REQ

• [PN-4821] - Swagger Page command does not work for ../jitter/maxtolerable/..

• [PN-4949] - SFP-DD not linking correctly after reset on Port 2

• [PN-4987] - Add info about cable delay values to Quick Help

• [PN-5084] - Allowed "User" input SyncE measurement duration exceeds stated duration

• [PN-5087] - SFP56 (Gigalight SR optics) performance improvement

• [PN-5090] - Set Table Repeat mode to "No" by default when selecting conformance preset

• [PN-5091] - T1/T4 discrepancy when using rTE timeTransmitter Port

• [PN-5101] - CAT-RTE option not validated when no 1PPS data in measurement

• [PN-5109] - rTE seed time improvement

• [PN-5171] - TC Test results in negative Rev Latency

• [PN-5197] - Hybrid Messaging Mode with Unicast negotiation disabled improvement

• [PN-5201] - Outputs PTP on both 40G and 400G interfaces simultaneously

• [PN-5222] - G.8273.3 Conformance Tests occasionally prevented from starting generation

• [PN-5258] - Spurious 1PPS+Tod errors

• [PN-5324] - "api/app/global/stop"  fails if generator is not running

• [PN-5348] - G.8273.4 PTP Noise Pattern (APTS/PTS) differs from G.8273.2 and PTP Preset

• [PN-5368] - On-instrument impairment files missing/corrupted after upgrade

• [PN-5827] - Revert 1pps pulse criteria to pre-R11

• [PN-5907] - Increase max SyncE measurement duration to 24 days

• [PN-6219] - G.8275.2 signalling uses PTP v2.0 when IEEE-1588-2019 selected

• [PN-6373] - Peer-Delay Response messages are not captured in P2P TC Mode

Release Notes

Detailed release notes are provided as part of the installation.

80.11.00.32 (Release 11.00 Update 2) July-2024

This release includes CAT v31.2 and PFV v31.2

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-5371] – Added support for Innolight QSFP28 PAM4 100G transceivers made in Thailand

• [PN-5353] – Fixed Flexoptics P.13S1HG.xxx.CAL transceivers not recognised as qualified

• [PN-5280] – Fixed SFP56 Signal Conditioning Auto-Tune bug

• [PN-5284] – Fixed Paragon-neo does not transmit ESMC QL messages unless PTP option licences are installed

• [PN-4874] – Fixed occasional 24ns spikes during BC testing

Known Issue

• [PN-5368] – On-instrument impairment files missing after upgrade to Release 11 software (occurs occasionally).
  Fix by updating instrument software from 11.00.27 or 11.00.29 to 11.00.32.
  Contact Calnex support team for assistance if the impairment files are missing after updating to 11.00.32.

Release Notes

Detailed release notes are provided as part of the installation.

80.11.00.29 (Release 11.00 Update 1) February-2024

This release includes CAT v31.1 and PFV v31.1

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-5147] PAM4 200G interface link integrity fix

• [CAT-7807] CAT Noise Transfer test report generation fix

Release Notes

Detailed release notes are provided as part of the installation.

80.11.00.27 (Release 11.00) February-2024

Features

• O-RAN Merge Mode - Combine (merge) M, C and U plane data from a DU with S plane data from Paragon-neo

• Additional and updated O-RAN and ITU impairment patterns

• Updates to all Test Guides, Application Notes and Getting Started Guide

• Support for SFP-DD PAM4 100G

• eSyncE Short Term Transient Test

• Additional O-RAN and SMPTE licensable options

• Additional Wander Tolerance Stimulus (Table Sines) - G.8262 Option 2 and G.8262.1 Level 1

• Uses timeTransmitter/timeReceiver nomenclature - In accordance with IEEE/ITU updates

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-2423] Removal and re-connection of 1PPS / TOD measurement cable will result in TOD offset

• [PN-3376] Database failure in PgConformanceTest.SetConformanceTest

• [PN-4082] Add "polarity inversion" settings in the UI for PAM4 50G

• [PN-4193] Add Support for Port Property TLV's (IEEE 1588-2019 16.9.2)

• [PN-4203] Restructuring of help screen documentation view

• [PN-4261] G.8273.2 Conformance App: Add Noise Tolerance for Class C (Clause 7.2.2)

• [PN-4277] Support PORT_COMMUNICATION_AVAILABILITY & PROTOCOL_ADDRESS TLVs

• [PN-4279] G.8273.2 Conformance App: Add Noise Tolerance for Class C (Clause 7.2.2)

• [PN-4280] Add Wander Tolerance Table Sine options/standards

• [PN-4338] Replace NO-EXT-SMB licence with GUI config option

• [PN-4364] Master Selection does not work correctly for Del_Req (T4) - L3 Multicast

• [PN-4392] Reboot when selected RJ1G no PTP transactions set up

• [PN-4396] Notify user when external 10MHz reference disappears

• [PN-4398] Incorrect SMPTE UDP checksum on management messages when IPv6 is used

• [PN-4422] G8273.2 Conformance Preset unresponsive after selecting S-Clock Test Mode

• [PN-4468] "Event" ESMC Message logged when there is none on the wire

• [PN-4471] Allow 1pps reference from BNC while ToD reference is from RJ48

• [PN-4613] Accept different multicast MAC addresses

• [PN-4660] Add "Debug Packet Capture" App to "O-RAN Conformance" Preset

• [PN-4701] 200G PAM4 SR4 Optic shows 2 x Optical Power - there should be 4

• [PN-4725] SMPTE 2015 transmits incorrect targetPortIdentity in Management message TLV in Unicast mode

Release Notes

Detailed release notes are provided as part of the installation.

80.10.00.25 (Release 10.00 Update 2) August-2023

This release includes CAT v30.2 and PFV v30.2

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-4394] Reboot required after saving multiple CAT PDF reports or images.

Release Notes

Detailed release notes are provided as part of the installation.

80.10.00.21 (Release 10.00 Update 1) July-2023

This release includes CAT v30.1 and PFV v30.1

Features

• Updated ORAN test guides

• Add 'device settling time' for O-RAN Conformance App after stimulus is started.

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-4124] Improved 1-Step Peer-to-Peer Clocking.

• [PN-4275] Improved capture file header integrity.

• [PN-4301] SFP+ module in Port 2 causes no modules to be detected.

Release Notes

Detailed release notes are provided as part of the installation.

80.10.00.14 (Release 10.00) May-2023

This release includes CAT v30.0 and PFV v30.0

Features

• O-RAN Conformance Test - Simplifies the process of O-RAN O-DU and O-RU synchronization conformance testing as per O-RAN.WG4.CONF.

• Custom optical module settings - Provides the ability to apply custom compensations for transceiver transmit and receive path delays, and to modify electrical interface settings to enable the use of any transceiver.

• IEEE 1588-2019 - Updated to support testing of devices compliant with IEEE 1588-2019 (PTP v2.1).

• HTTPS/SSL support - Support for HTTPS/SSL protocol.

Release Notes

Detailed release notes are provided as part of the installation.

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-2036]  At all rates, allow port 1 link to be dropped whilst still measuring Time Error on port 2

• [PN-2221] Cannot Create Zip file of Logs Directory

• [PN-3883] FEC for 100G Defaults to Disabled Upon Reboot

• [PN-4019] QSFP28 PAM4/NRZ conversion modules failing peer delay tests

• [PN-4043] SFP28/+ interface Port 1 receiving bad packets with no generation enabled

• [PN-4067] P2P Test Mode Config - Quick Help Update

• [PN-4071] "1588-2019" specific profile

• [PN-4085] Timed SyncE option expired - can not use conformance app until unit rebooted

• [PN-4094] Background Traffic - Option is fitted but app is unavailable

• [PN-4109] Neo Background Traffic Packet distribution issues

80.09.00.37 (Release 09.00) January-2023

This release includes CAT v29.0 and PFV v29.0

Features

• Background Traffic (NRZ ports): Generation of background traffic on M-Clock and S-Clock ports at up to 80% of line rate. Selectable predefined traffic patterns. Supports all NRZ data rates.

• Relative Time Error / 2x Time Error Measurements: The option now allows a third port (1Gb only) to provide a PTP M-Clock to the DUT as well as the two S-Clocks used for relative measurements.

• SMPTE ST 2059-2 PTP profile: Allows SMPTE ST 2059-2 PTP profile to be generated, in combination with the functionality of any installed PTP M-Clock/S-Clock emulation option.

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-1491] SMPTE ST-2059-2, AES67 and AES67+SMPTE profiles

• [PN-1830] Hide hidden files in File Management interface

• [PN-2272] Added G.8262.1 Wander tolerance level 1 Noise pattern

• [PN-2315] Support for 802.3cx timestamping

• [PN-2469] Upgrade fail message due to no CSS is only displayed for a short time

• [PN-2645] Added separate start/stop buttons for PTP M-Clock and S-Clock emulations

• [PN-2676] Additional header field configuration for extended ESMC TLVs

• [PN-2951] QSFP28-PAM4 modules occasionally report incorrect characters on part number/serial no.

• [PN-3056] Automatically load appropriate rules file based on profile of PTP capture

• [PN-3061] Updated G.8273.4 Impairments to align with current ITU Standard

• [PN-3243] 1PPS Reference Calibration value is settable when using internal 1PPS reference

• [PN-3285] & [PN-3286] IPv4/IPv6 Unicast Ping / ND Address not correctly configuring

• [PN-3313] G.8273.2 Noise Transfer Test does not stop correctly

• [PN-3434] CAT starvation mode after less than 1 hour

• [PN-3528] Paragon-Neo – Impairments status graph does not repeat

80.08.01.08 (Release 08.1) May-2022

This release includes CAT v28.10 and PFV v28.10.

Features

• NRZ Optical (for PAM4 capable systems): Perform testing to standards in real-world scenarios with mixed input and output rates from DUT, including NRZ and PAM4 interfaces (options required for desired interfaces)

• Relative Time Error / 2x Time Error Measurements: Validate Relative Time Error performance for standards conformance to ITU-T G.8273.2 and applications such as O-RAN. Additionally, run 2x simultaneous absolute Time Error measurements to greatly reduce test time.

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-2781] Support for IPv6 Unicast Neighbour Discovery

• [PN-2458] Impairment files accessible by users

• [PN-2730, PN-2112] PTP Impairment pattern repeats are non-contiguous

• [PN-2451] Time Source is unselected after resetting to defaults

• [PN-2610] Clearing user defined impairment file on master causes exception

• [PN-2868] Indicate in GUI that PTP impairments apply only on Port 1

80.07.00.19 (Release 07.00) November-2021

This release includes CAT v27.10 and PFV v27.10.

Features

• 400G PAM4 Optical: Enables easy validation of PTP and/or SyncE capabilities over 400G PAM4, including ITU-T G.8273.2 conformance testing of devices up to Class C, using the QSFP28-DD interface.

• 50G PAM4 Optical:  Quick and easy validation of PTP and/or SyncE capabilities over 50G PAM4, including ITU-T G.8273.2 conformance testing of devices up to Class C, using the SFP56 interface. Also supports FlexE Overhead Sync Test, enabling 50GbE FlexE interface for testing synchronization as per ITU-T G.8312.

Fixes and Improvements

• [PN-2611] Impairments preview of file does not display correctly

• [PN-2647] Recall of settings can cause PTP emulation app to be inaccessible