Analyzing bit error data to determine a root cause of errors in a digital system

An error testing device comprising:

• a processing device;
• and
• a memory device configured to store a computer program having instructions that, when executed, enable the processing device to
• receive a binary test sequence pattern generated by a pattern generator at an input to a digital communications system under test, the binary test sequence pattern including a plurality of sub-patterns,
• receive an output binary sequence from an output of the digital communications system,
• compare the binary test sequence pattern with the output binary sequence to detect bit errors, and
• based on correlation characteristics defined by a statistical relationship between the bit errors and occurrences of the plurality of sub-patterns, determine whether the bit errors are caused by random factors or are caused by deterministic factors associated with the digital communications system, wherein the correlation characteristics indicate random factors when the detected bit errors are distributed across multiple sub-patterns, and indicate deterministic factors when the detected bit errors are concentrated in one or more sub-patterns.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium configured to store an error data analysis unit having computer logic that, when executed, enable one or more processing devices to:

• receive a binary test sequence pattern generated by a pattern generator at an input to a digital communications system under test, the binary test sequence pattern including a plurality of sub-patterns;
• receive an output binary sequence from an output of the digital communications system;
• compare the binary test sequence pattern with the output binary sequence to detect bit errors;
• and
• based on correlation characteristics representing a mapping between the bit errors and specific sub-patterns of the binary test sequence pattern, determine whether the bit errors are caused by random factors or are caused by deterministic factors associated with the digital communications system, wherein the correlation characteristics indicate deterministic factors when bit errors are concentrated within one or more sub-patterns, and indicate random factors when bit errors are relatively uniformly distributed across the plurality of sub-patterns.