The non-volatile memory express (NVMe) storage controller interface continues extending into the data center, on the back of growing requirements for new levels of application performance acceleration. NVMe is typically deployed as direct-attach storage via a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) interface, which bypasses the latency overhead of storage networking but at the same time does not scale. NVMe-over Fabrics (NVMe-oF) is emerging to enable greater scalability with levels of latency that are closer to those of direct-attached storage. As...
IOL News Articles
Broadband Forum launches open source USP Agent, fast-tracking connected home interoperability in the IoT age
March 29, 2019
FREMONT, Calif., March 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadband Forum today announced it will provide an open source USP Agent implementation as it continues to evolve its User Services Platform (USP) to facilitate tomorrow's Connected Home and accelerate interoperable Internet of Things (IoT) deployments.
Created as part of Broadband Forum's Open Broadband initiative, the Open Broadband – USP Agent (OB-USP-Agent) project will provide vendors with a code base that they can...
UNH-IOL Adds NVMe over TCP Testing
March 14, 2019
The University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab (UNH-IOL) has expanded its Non-Volatile-Memory-Express-over-Fabric (NVMe-oF) testing capabilities to include NVMe over TCP. Ratified in November 2018, the NVMe/TCP spec adds Transmission Control Protocol to the list of NVMe transport protocols, which previously included Fibre Channel, remote direct memory access (RDMA), and PCIe. “NVMe/TCP adds the most commonly used networking protocol to NVMe,” said David Woolf, senior engineer for data-center technologies at UNH-IOL, in a telephone interview with EE Times. “It will let...
Storage testing evolving from hardware to software
March 13, 2019
Until a couple of years ago, the best way to test your storage hardware was by using a black box, but now there are more options. The new options are exclusively performed in software, courtesy of Calypso Systems, the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), and maybe soon from the University of New Hampshire's InterOperability Laboratory.
Load-testing software isn't new, but it generally works by running sample data through your network. In the Calypso system, released as a specification via...
IEEE Okays University’s Pilot Testbed for Grid Interoperability
March 7, 2019
The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) has announced the Power Profile Certification pilot programme.
Manufacturers of IoT and smart grid devices can make use of the pilot to test their products against the Test Suite Specification.
The Test Suite Specification was developed by UNH-IOL, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the IEEE 1588 Power Profile Conformity Assessment Steering Committee.
The UNH-IOL is the first test house authorised by IEEE to...
Hacking for Good
March 1, 2019
The snow had started to fall, and students were back and ready for spring semester. This could only mean one thing: It was hackathon time at the UNH InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL).
The challenge invites UNH students from all colleges and majors to collaborate on a project or problem domain, strategize an innovative solution and present it to judges, with this year’s theme of Hack New Hampshire (Hack NH) asking students to collaborate on solutions that would helpthe state become...
Gfast, Now With More Fiber
February 21, 2019
While Gfast updates won't actually help your dietary needs, they do push the service offerings into alignment with those of a fiber-only connection. From a service provider view, this simplifies operational processes, since providers need only maintain a single set of service profiles for their customers to purchase.
Put another way, it wouldn't matter if a customer has a fiber only connection or a fiber connection extended by a Gfast connection: The user experience is the same.
That's...
What’s New in the Latest USGv6 Profile Update
February 21, 2019
In 2008, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the initial IPv6 profile that launched the subsequent U.S Government (USGv6) test program. The USGv6 test program was referenced in Federal Acquisition Regulations for purchasing of IT equipment. The first major revision of the profile was recently released that updates the original profile.
In the 10 years between the profile releases, many advances have been made in areas of networking, particularly with IPv6. Presented here are some of...
NVMe/TCP Conquers The UNH-IOL Plugfest
January 17, 2019
Entering the New Hampshire University InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL) in November 2018, I was surrounded by servers, network cards, Ethernet cables hanging from the ceiling, and a lot of cool nerdy lab rats—like me. We were there to run the first-ever NVMe Over TCP (NVMe/TCP) plugfest.
This Proof of Concept (PoC) plugfest for the new NVMe/TCP protocol would bring together multiple vendors for the first time to validate their hardware and software implementations, specification compliance, and interoperability against each other....
NetSecOPEN Announces Slate of Prominent Cybersecurity Founding Members and Appoints First Board of Directors
December 12, 2018
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NetSecOPEN , the first industry organization focused on the creation of open, transparent network security performance testing standards, today announced that 11 prominent security vendors, test solutions and services vendors, and testing laboratories have joined the organization as Founding Members. The organization also announced the appointment of its first board of directors, who will guide NetSecOPEN toward its goal: making open network security testing standards a reality.
These developments signal decisive momentum for...