Ethernet Alliance hosts largest 40G/100G Plugfest to-date

The Ethernet Alliance's latest interoperability test event will be held June 22 – 25, 2015 at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) in Durham, N.H. The consortium says its largest-ever multi-vendor plugfest represents a complete testing ecosystem for 40 Gigabit (40G) and 100 Gigabit (100G) Ethernet. Additionally, a technical feasibility event on 25 Gigabit per second (25 Gb/s) technologies will be held to assess the state of these technologies, and provide input into standardization and development to optimize future interoperability of the 25 Gigabit Ethernet (25GbE) family.

“Ethernet’s continued growth and expansion into new markets and applications is driven by its intrinsic interoperability. The seasoned level of maturity of 40G and 100G Ethernet dictates the need for a broad-scale testing event of this magnitude. These are real technologies being deployed in real-world situations every day,” comments John D’Ambrosia, chairman, Ethernet Alliance, and chief Ethernet technologist, Dell. “As demonstrated by the 25 Gb/s technical feasibility testing, interoperability is something that the industry considers from the very beginning of any Ethernet standardization activity.”

Dating back to its inception, the Ethernet Alliance notes that it has worked with the UNH-IOL to host interoperability test events aimed at advancing Ethernet technologies. The current, largest interoperability event hosted by the Ethernet Alliance to date brings together 23 companies representing a diverse array of 40/100G Ethernet technology vendors, including cabling, chip, connector, optics, system, and test equipment manufacturers. The plugfest event provides a rigorous environment enabling the testing of 40 GbE and 100 GbE operation over hundreds of different scenarios, including the various optical and copper solutions that define these two families. Further, as the IEEE 802.3 25 GbE Project is nearing entry into the next development phase, the event's broad testing agenda will enable valuable input to be obtained from vendors for that phase, says the consortium.

“The UNH-IOL contributes a rich history in Ethernet testing to its collaborative partnership with the Ethernet Alliance and together, through interoperability plugfests and ongoing initiatives, we are helping companies bring products to market faster and increasing customer confidence in the reliability and functionality of those products,” comments Jeff Lapak, associate director, UNH-IOL.

The Ethernet Alliance 40/100G plugfest will be hosted at UNH-IOL’s 32,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art network and data communications testing facility. Among the companies and organizations taking part are Amphenol Corporation; Arista Networks, Inc.; Avago Technologies Ltd.; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Cube Optics AG; Dell, Inc.; FCI; Hitachi, Ltd.; Intel Corporation; Ixia; JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU); LUXSHARE Precision Industry Co., Ltd.; Marvell Technology Group Ltd.; Mellanox Technologies Ltd.; Molex Incorporated; Oclaro, Inc.; Panduit Corp.; QLogic Corporation; Semtech Corporation; Spirent Communications Plc.; TE Connectivity Ltd.; Teledyne LeCroy, Inc.; and Xilinx, Inc.

The 25Gb/s technical feasibility event is being held concurrently with the 40/100G plugfest. Participating companies include Amphenol Corporation; Arista Networks, Inc.; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Cube Optics AG; Dell, Inc.; FCI; Hitachi, Ltd.; Intel Corporation; Ixia; LUXSHARE Precision Industry Co., Ltd.; Marvell Technology Group Ltd.; Mellanox Technologies Ltd.; Molex Incorporated; Oclaro, Inc.; Panduit Corp.; QLogic Corporation; Spirent Communications Plc.; TE Connectivity Ltd.; and Xilinx, Inc.

For more information about the Ethernet Alliance, visit http://www.ethernetalliance.org.