scope:

Controlling jitter within digital networks is necessary to avoid the potentially degrading effects of jitter on digital transmission performance. A comprehensive strategy for controlling jitter within digital networks provides individual equipment and digital network specifications which assure acceptable transmission performance and network flexibility. Verification of compliance with these jitter specifications requires a standardized jitter measurement methodology to eliminate ambiguities in the jitter measurements and in the interpretation and comparison of measurement results.

This Technical Report addresses the test environment, measurement techniques and procedures, as well as the applicability of these techniques to individual equipment and network measurements. Three principal parameters which characterize individual digital equipment t and digital network jitter performance are: jitter tolerance, jitter transfer, and jitter generation. The measurement of these parameters is addressed in separate sections which include: definitions of the parameters, discussion of the measurement techniques and their application, and basic and enhanced procedures. The basic procedures are recommended for routine characterization and verification of compliance with specifications. The enhanced procedures provide improved measurement accuracy and more comprehensive information for equipment design or special network testing applications, where a more exacting technique is justified.