This year is shaping up to be an active one for Ethernet as the industry builds on innovations that occurred in 2014. The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an independent provider of broad-based testing and standards conformance services for the networking industry, stands ready to support the industry with expanded interoperability testing and support for 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet (40G/100G), according to Jeff Lapak, senior manager, Ethernet Technologies, at UNH-IOL. The lab sees considerable interest in 40G technology and is beginning to test 100G products.
Specifically, Lapak said in a recent phone interview, the lab is focusing on four areas: 40G/100G Ethernet including 25-Gb/s serial lanes, Power over Ethernet (PoE), Backplane Ethernet, and Automotive Ethernet. The activity is taking place within several of the UNH-IOL’s consortia and collaborative testing programs.
The lab in its more than 32,000 square-foot facility supports both interoperability test as well as compliance test. Interoperability testing shows what your equipment will work with today, Lapak said, while compliance ensures it will continue to work with other compliant products in the future.
“Interoperability has been a defining feature of Ethernet since its start,” said Lapak, adding that since the lab began its first testing of Ethernet technology in 1988, “member companies have turned to us for reliable interoperability results to build consumer confidence and support their go-to-market strategies.”
“Repeated multivendor testing is no less important today than when the IEEE ratified the 40GbE and 100GbE standard in 2010,” added John D’Ambrosia, chairman of the Ethernet Alliance, in a statement released by UNH-IOL. The goal of a UNH-IOL-hosted plugfest, he said, “…is to demonstrate multivendor interoperability, which will accelerate adoption and broaden the market for both 40GbE and 100GbE.”
Lapak cited 10G Backplane Ethernet, or 10Gbase-KR, as a topic of particular interest, with a focus on channel training and channel modeling. Over the year from June 2013 to June 2014, Lapak said, membership in the UNH-IOL Backplane Ethernet Consortium nearly tripled.
Also of interest, he said, is PoE, including IEEE 802.3af and 802.11at. PoE can serve in a variety of applications areas, including wireless access points, IP security cameras, IP phones, and industrial automation equipment. New PoE standards are in the works, he said, including a one-pair power-over-data-line implementation and a higher power four-pair configuration that can serve cameras with pan and zoom capability.
Automotive Ethernet is another technology gaining momentum, Lapak said. UNH-IOL offers a BroadR-Reach Physical Medium Attachment (PMA) test station and the Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS)/PHY Control Test Tool. Two years ago, the automotive industry’s OPEN (One-Pair Ether-Net) Alliance endorsed the UNH-IOL as the first laboratory to test BroadR-Reach, a standard that enables 100-Mb/s Ethernet connectivity in automotive networking applications. Ethernet increasingly plays a role in automated driving assistance and infotainment systems, Lapak said, although functions such as braking-by-Ethernet remain in the future.
The UNH-IOL is working closely with test and measurement manufacturers to upgrade its test equipment—particularly for 25-Gb/s Ethernet solutions, Lapak said, adding that the lab has a special relationship with the manufacturers. “Customers want to recreate test setups we offer,” he said, adding that the lab provides a neutral third-party environment where instrument makers can make sure that the measurements from disparate pieces of equipment align. “Manufacturers of test equipment gain a lot by participating,” he said.
In addition to commercial test equipment, he said, the lab offers several unique capabilities. For bit-level PHY analysis and verification, for example, the lab has developed a PCS custom test tool that enables testing at the single-bit level to ensure that Ethernet chips can handle an array of challenging network conditions—a capability not available with commercially available test equipment.
Lapak added that the lab participates in standards development with a focus on making sure the standards can be adequately tested.
Lapak said the lab works with companies at all stages of the product-development cycle. The fee for participation in UNH-IOL Ethernet consortia ranges from $15,000 to $24,000, and lab facilities are available to members on a round-robin basis.
UNH students writing test suites form the bulk of the lab’s workforce, he said. Paid an hourly rate, they don’t receive course credit but do gain valuable experience that prepares them well for future employment in the industry.