February 1, 2007 -- SMP Data Communications, a developer and manufacturer of high-speed cross-connect products for communication networks, recently participated in a demonstration of 10GBASE-T products in operation at Solarflare Communications' test facility in Irvine, California.
According to a press release, the validation trials to demonstrate 10GBASE-T operation over Category 6A cabling were performed on a 100 meter channel. The trials were run in a 100 meter, worst-case channel configuration as specified in the draft TIA augmented Category 6 standard, currently under development in the TIA TR 42.7 subcommittee. The channel configuration consisted of six around one (6A1) cables, bundled every eight inches. The equipment used for channel performance validation was Solarflare's 10Xpress 10GBASE-T PHYs, which are currently sampling to OEM customers.
Bi-directional Ethernet traffic was sent over Solarflare's 10GBASE-T link using two 10-Gbit/sec traffic generators with XAUI interfaces. At the same time, bi-directional 10GBASE-T traffic was running on all six neighboring channels simulating a worst-case alien crosstalk environment. All channels were configured for the maximum 100 m length with four connectors in accordance with IEEE 802.3an 10GBASE-T standard and the draft TIA 568-B.2-10 Augmented Category 6 standard. There were no CRC errors in the received frames on both ends over several hours of testing.
SMP contends that participating with Solarflare to provide representative channel configurations for functional testing of 10GBASE-T over Category 6A cabling demonstrates SMP's commitment to providing connectivity products that not only exceed compliance to industry standardsm but are proven to perform as demonstrated by Solarflare's 10GBASE-T validation testing.
"Our competition offers connectivity products that only operate effectively when combined with the cable they also manufacture, in essence a 'tuned system' that costs the customer a premium and is not truly interoperable," comments Bill Reynolds, VP and general manager of SMP Data Communications. "This is especially true with hard-to-meet emerging standards and protocols such as 10GBASE-T and Augmented Category 6. SMP connectivity is designed to focus on verifiable throughput as well as 'the standards.' The US-made superior quality of our connectivity, derived from our own intellectual property, allows SMP to deliver connectivity that is economical and truly interoperable. This testing is a testament to our products capabilities and quality designs."
"This testing proves the reliability and robustness of the 10GBASE-T cabling and PHY products," adds Bruce Tolley, VP of marketing at Solarflare. "These products are available today."
