I recently spoke to Jeff Lapak, senior engineer for The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL (News - Alert)), about the recent launch of the 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium. Jeff has experience in many of the UNH-IOL’s testing areas, including Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Power over Ethernet, Backplane Ethernet, and many cable and backplane-related testing services. He currently oversees the development of Energy Efficient Ethernet and 40/100 Gigabit Ethernet testing services.
Jeff lent me some of his valuable expertise when I brought up the subject of an IP Transit related subject -- the newly ratified IEEE (News - Alert) 802.3ba standard – and the UNH-IOL’s role in its development.
Erin: What is this consortium?
Jeff: The UNH-IOL recently announced the launch of the 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium allowing companies to test their products for the IEEE 802.3ba standard for high speed Ethernet.
The Consortium is modeled around an annual membership where companies can send in devices during week-long testing blocks. The UNH-IOL will provide members with an independent test report covering conformance to the IEEE 802.3ba standard or interoperability against a test bed of 40 and 100 Gigabit devices.
In addition to the 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium, the UNH-IOL offers a variety of testing programs, representing a collaboration of industry leaders in network equipment, test equipment and industry forums, as well as service providers. Working together, the consortiums provide the advantage of decreasing research and development and quality assurance expenses, reducing product time to market and driving the industry acceptance of a technology.
Erin: What kind of issues will be discussed?
Jeff: The IEEE 802.3ba Ethernet standard was ratified this past June and is the first standard to specify two new Ethernet speeds – 40 Gb/s for computing and networked storage applications and 100 Gb/s for core networking applications.
Members of the 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium will work collaboratively with the UNH-IOL and other industry leaders to ensure interoperability among tested 40 and 100G devices, so companies will know that their products are market ready with no interoperability issues. Initially the testing program will primarily focus on interoperability testing and physical layer measurement of devices, and later include PCS, MAC, and RS layer testing, as development of test suites and tools progress. Additional testing capabilities will be added as required by the members.
Erin: I keep hearing about to 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet interoperability testing. What is that?
Jeff: One of the main drivers for the standard is the projected need for increased bandwidth as both consumer and business computing needs increase exponentially. The IEEE 802.3ba Task Force goal in initiating the standard was not only to handle higher speeds, but to maintain compatibility with existing devices and preserve previous investments in research and development.
Interoperability testing of 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet is focused on ensuring that two devices in deployed environments can communicate with each other and meet Bit Error Ratio requirements that are set in the IEEE 802.3ba standard. This typically involves physically connecting two devices together and exchanging traffic between them while observing any errors that are found in the data stream.
One of the major advantages of the UNH-IOL’s Consortium model is that each individual member only needs to leave one device in the group test bed. This allows every other member to test against these devices without having to purchase and recreate a large test bed of expensive equipment.
Erin: Why would companies want to participate in the consortium?
Jeff: As standards evolve, the UNH-IOL’s on-going participation in Ethernet standards development has given us particular insights into the best ways to test products and ensure interoperability. Membership in the 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium will allow companies to get involved early to have the most impact on implementing the new standard and preparing for market adoption.
Early testing, along with the UNH-IOL’s independent test reports, offer our members the ability to differentiate their products by showing conformance to the IEEE 802.3ba standard. Members also gain access to the device test bed that is hosted in the UNH-IOL’s 32,000 square-foot facility to ensure their products work with other products in the market.
Ethernet has a long history of interoperability, which is one of the primary reasons for its success. IT managers and equipment purchasers have a high level of confidence knowing that they can purchase Ethernet equipment and it will merge seamlessly with their existing deployment.
Erin: When is the consortium being held and how much does it cost to participate?
Jeff: The Consortium is currently accepting founding member companies who will have an early opportunity to provide input into the testing process and provide products that are interoperable with other devices.
The Consortium will operate for as long as there is industry support for the testing of 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet products. For example, the UNH-IOL Fast Ethernet Consortium operates under a similar model for testing of 100Mb/s Ethernet products. This particular consortium has been operating for more than 16 years and provides members with access to one of the largest test beds of Fast Ethernet devices in the world.
The UNH-IOL’s collaborative testing model distributes the cost of performing trusted, independenttestingand validation through an annual membership. The fee for participation in the 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium is $24K.
Erin Monda recently graduated from W.C.S.U. with a degree in professional writing. She primarily writes about network technologies, including cloud computing, virtualization and network optimization, however she also has a focus on E911 technologies and legislation.Edited by Erin Monda