Durham, N.H., August 9, 2016 – The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an independent provider of broad-based testing and standards conformance services for the networking industry, announced today the first commercial availability of two previously proprietary Ethernet testing tools: a Universal FPGA-based Ethernet Test (UFET) System and a 10 Gigabit System. These tools will be available to UNH-IOL member companies for purchase in late summer, 2016. Open access to these tools advances the UNH-IOL’s mission of improving data communications by allowing manufacturers to validate their Ethernet products in-house and prior to third party testing at the UNH-IOL, which aids in meeting their aggressive product launch timelines.
To help member and non-member companies better understand the use and advantages offered by the newly available UFET and 10 Gigabit Systems, the UNH-IOL is hosting a free webinar on August 23, 2016 at 10 AM PDT / 1 PM EDT for approximately one hour. At this upcoming webinar a panel of UNH-IOL experts, including Jeffrey Lapak, Enterprise Industry and Operations Strategic Manager; Kae Dube, Operations Manager, Ethernet Technologies; and Stephen Johnson, Technical Manager, Ethernet Technologies, will address the following topics: application of the recently released tools to the product design and manufacturing process, the value of the UNH-IOL’s third party validation report, and key benefits of membership in the UNH-IOL’s Ethernet Consortium. Registration for the webinar is now open to all interested parties athttps://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4074788269143965697.
Dedicated to providing the most comprehensive Ethernet testing in the industry, the UNH-IOL gives testing consortia members and non-members access to an extensive range of test and measurement (T&M) industry partner tools. The lab also develops proprietary solutions and already has released three for commercial use in-house: Copper Auto-Negotiation, Clause 40 PMA Test Tool, and 100BASE-TX TP-PMD Test Tool. Manufacturers who pre-test products in advance of sending them to the UNH-IOL for official testing or certification are more likely to receive passing reports during the first round of testing, reducing the need for multiple rounds and ultimately shortening time to market. All companies receive a detailed report of results for products tested at the lab. The UNH-IOL’s attention to detail, thorough procedures, and dedication to accuracy have made the UNH-IOL’s reports a trusted source of third party validation and product analysis.
The latest two test tools to be released, the UFET and 10 Gigabit Systems, enable standards conformance and design validation. As with the previously released tools, individual bit-level control of the appropriate sublayer allows for deeper PHY layer testing than most commercially available tools. The UFET System is designed to test the IEEE 802.3 MAC, Reconciliation Sublayer (RS), and flow control functions, as well as Clauses 24 and 36 Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS), performing at 10/100/1000 Mb/s. An FPGA design makes for a flexible Gigabit Media-independent Interface and Media-independent Interface (GMII/MII)-based system. The 10 Gigabit System also has bit level of control, allowing manufacturers to test hard-to-reach portions of the standard, such as Clause 49 PCS state diagrams and block encoding/decoding. The 10 Gigabit System uses custom-built vectors that send specific sequences to a device under test (DUT) to determine whether or not it has implemented the standard correctly. It will also support testing of Clause 73 auto-negotiation in a future release.
Both systems have unique receive-triggering that allows for detailed testing of full and half-duplex systems and controlled transmit timing. They are also capable of testing frame pre-emption, a recently released 802.3 specification that provides reduced latency for time-sensitive packets, and are complementary with traditional packet-blasting test systems.
“Pre-testing your product’s conformance to the 802.3 family of standards is a best practice and proven time-saver,” said UNH-IOL Enterprise Industry and Operations Strategic Manager, Jeffrey Lapak. “These two unique test systems also let members validate designs, conduct regression testing and assess the customer impact of any design changes.”
In addition to licensing test tools, the UNH-IOL provides Ethernet testing services, covering both conformance against standards and interoperability testing for all Ethernet speeds from 10Mb/s to 100Gb/s. The lab’s coverage includes specific Ethernet technologies, such as Power over Ethernet, Ethernet over Backplane, Energy-Efficient Ethernet, and Automotive Ethernet, among others. The UNH-IOL collaborative testing model distributes the cost of performing trusted, independent testing and validation through an annual membership.
About the UNH-IOL
Founded in 1988, the UNH-IOL provides independent, broad-based interoperability and standards conformance testing for data, telecommunications and storage networking products and technologies. Combining extensive staff experience, standards-bodies participation and a 28,000+ square foot facility, the UNH-IOL helps companies efficiently and cost effectively deliver products to the market.
