DURHAM, N.H., June 9, 2022 – The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an independent provider of broad-based testing and standards conformance solutions for the networking industry, today announced more than 20 products were tested at the Ethernet Alliance Higher Speed Networking (HSN) Plugfest held at the UNH-IOL in Durham, NH April 25-29, 2022. Products from 18 Ethernet Alliance member companies were tested against 50GbE/lane and 100GbE/lane Ethernet’s specifications for electrical PHYs and electrical interfaces.
The purpose of the Higher Speed Networking plugfest was to prove the interoperability of Ethernet devices including switches, NICs, traffic analyzer/generators, passive and active cables, and modules for speeds across 50GbE, 100GbE, 200GbE, 400GbE, and 800GbE. Working with the Ethernet Alliance HSN subcommittee, this past event marks the fifth HSN plugfest hosted at the UNH-IOL.
“Testing at the UNH-IOL provides competing organizations with the ability to test in a neutral environment and receive unbiased results for their products to help verify interoperability and drive efficiency prior to deployment and broaden interoperability thereafter,” said Kae Dube, Strategic Operations Lead, Ethernet Technologies, UNH-IOL.
“Being back at the UNH Interoperability Lab and collaborating with stakeholders in the Ethernet ecosystem is so critical for the continued evolution of Ethernet,” said David J. Rodgers of EXFO, and Ethernet Alliance Events Chair. “These plugfests enable well-crafted and highly interoperable products with 50/100/200/400GbE and 800GbE/port capabilities to be available in the relative near future.”
Pavel Zivny of Tektronix, and Ethernet Alliance HSN Co-Chair commented, ”Being able to validate the physical layer for compliance with so many products at this early stage of the IEEE 802.3ck standard improves all three – the standard, the measurement solutions, and the devices. The event boosts the ramp-up of a broad number of 100G per lane Ethernet solutions.”
Participating companies and products were represented from Amphenol, Anritsu, Arista Networks, Credo, EXFO, Intel, Keysight Technologies & IXIA, Marvell, NVIDIA (Mellanox division), Panduit, Rohde & Schwarz, The Siemon Company, TE Connectivity, Tektronix, Teledyne LeCroy, VIAVI Solutions, Wilder and Xena. The latest speeds in high-speed Ethernet are critical for proving interoperability working with other devices. The event was fully electrical this time, in support of standards from IEEE 802.3bs, 802.3cd and upcoming IEEE 802.3ck working groups. In addition to the 50GbE, 100GbE, 200GbE, and 400GbE testing that was expected at the original call for interest, the plugfest also received and tested several devices supporting 800GbE on 8 lanes.
The Ethernet Alliance will host its second plugfest event this year at the UNH-IOL October 10-14, 2022. The event plans to focus on upper layer interoperability testing in addition to further physical layer conformance. Companies interested in participating in the upcoming plugfest can Contact Us. Both electrical and optical devices are being considered for this event.
For more information on testing 50GbE, 100GbE, 200GbE, 400GbE, and 800GbE Ethernet products visit the UNH-IOL website.