Techniques are provided for generating a physical test pattern that is framed within an Forward Error Correction (FEC)-encoded stream or sequence. Accordingly, in one embodiment, a method is provided that includes obtaining a physical layer test pattern for testing operation of a device; generating an FEC framed test pattern that embeds the physical layer test pattern into an FEC-encoded stream; and applying the FEC framed test pattern to the transceiver device to test physical layer operation of the device and to obtain FEC error statistics.