Ixia offers 100GbE testing capability

Sept. 29, 2008
SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 -- Ixia says it will begin shipping the industry's first 100-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) Development Accelerator System in mid-November. The test system is designed to provide network equipment and communications chip manufacturers the capabilities needed for Layer 2 traffic generation and analysis.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 -- Ixia (search for Ixia) says it will begin shipping the industry's first 100-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) Development Accelerator System in mid-November. The test system is designed to provide network equipment and communications chip manufacturers the capabilities needed for Layer 2 traffic generation and analysis.

Following its proof-of-concept demonstration with Infinera and XO Communications in June, Ixia says it has demonstrated its test platform to select NEMs worldwide.

"It's clear that the growth in network bandwidth demand is fueling the need for higher-speed Ethernet links -- to 40 and 100 gigabits," said Atul Bhatnagar, Ixia's president and CEO. "Network equipment manufacturers need to start now to develop their components and systems. Ixia's 100GbE Development Accelerator System will speed their development so they can be ready for the market in 2009-2010."

Ixia says the 100GbE Development Accelerator System represents a unique implementation for and testing of the 100GbE physical coding sublayer (PCS) approved as the baseline proposal in May 2008 by the IEEE 802.3ba task force, with the underlying multilane distribution (MLD) architecture.

"The PCS sublayer implementation is a challenging design for 100GbE systems, so making sure that it works properly is critical," said Errol Ginsberg, founder, chairman of the board, and chief innovation officer of Ixia. "Our 100GbE Development Accelerator System provides the reference implementation for 100GbE development, including MLD, that developers can use to prove their designs."

Ixia's 100GbE Development Accelerator System is designed to provide engineers working on next-generation high-speed components with the test capability necessary to prove that their products are ready for 100GbE traffic generation, reception, and error handling. The development system includes an Ixia XM2 chassis, a one-port bi-directional 100GbE interface module, and test application software. Traffic generation capabilities include the generation of Ethernet streams of any size, pattern, and rate, with internal or external clocking. Valid and error statistics are provided real-time at line rate.

Ixia says it is continuing rapid development of its IEEE 802.3ba complaint 40GbE and 100GbE test products, which will offer full Layer 2-7 testing for both speeds in 2009.

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