UNH-IOL to offer software-defined networking testing via SDN Consortium

July 14, 2016
The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) says it will leverage its previous work delivering testing and standards conformance services to create the SDN Consortium. Members of the consortium will be able to use UNH-IOL's facilities to participate in SDN controller and switch interoperability, conformance, benchmark, and app testing.

The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) says it will leverage its previous work delivering testing and standards conformance services to create the SDN Consortium. Members of the consortium will be able to use UNH-IOL's facilities to participate in SDN controller and switch interoperability, conformance, benchmark, and app testing.

The SDN Consortium builds on UNH-IOL's existing switch test bed as well as its recent experience with an Open Networking Foundation (ONF) AppFest it hosted this past May and previous work with the OPNFV group. According to Timothy Winters, UNH-IOL senior executive, software and IP networking, the consortium's activities initially will focus on:

  • interoperability testing between switches and controllers
  • ONF OpenFlow Conformance Switch Certification
  • benchmarking methodology for OpenFlow SDN controllers.

The facility also expects to participate in other types of conformance, performance, and applications testing while helping consortium members define and refine SDN use cases.

Winters says the UNH-IOL is prepared to work with controllers based on OpenDaylight, ONOS, or RYU. Switch vendors will have ready access to multiple controllers for regression testing, while app developers will be able to put their creations through their paces on multiple controllers as well.

The UNH-IOL will open the SDN Consortium this August 1. The facility will be in position to perform interoperability testing immediately; conformance and benchmarking capabilities will follow, based on requests from SDN Consortium members. The membership fee is $20,000. Winters says that the facility has already begun preliminary discussions with potential members. He expects between 5 and 15 members will sign up.

The lab, which recently moved into a new 28,000-square-foot facility, has been the site of numerous plugfests and test activities, including work with such organizations as the IEEE, IETF, ITU, NIST, and others (see, for example, "G.fast chips subject of Broadband Forum plugfest" and "25 Gigabit Ethernet: It works already, test event shows"). UNH students perform much of the lab's work, which furthers the university's goal of training future engineers.

Additional information on the SDN Consortium can be found on the UNH-IOL website.

For related articles, visit the SDN/NFV Topic Center.

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer's Guide.

About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher

Stephen Hardy has covered fiber optics for more than 15 years, and communications and technology for more than 30 years. He is responsible for establishing and executing Lightwave's editorial strategy across its digital magazine, website, newsletters, research and other information products. He has won multiple awards for his writing.

Contact Stephen to discuss:

  • Contributing editorial material to the Web site or digital magazine
  • The direction of a digital magazine issue, staff-written article, or event
  • Lightwave editorial attendance at industry events
  • Arranging a visit to Lightwave's offices
  • Coverage of announcements
  • General questions of an editorial nature

Sponsored Recommendations

Innovating the network edge with 100ZR QSFP28: The next frontier in coherent optics

Jan. 15, 2025
In this webinar, Juniper Networks, EXFO and Precision Optical Technologies are teaming up to showcase the new 100ZR QSFP28 pluggable coherent technology, exploring its foundational...

ON TOPIC: Filling Coverage Gaps, Enhancing Public Safety

Jan. 30, 2025
With the ongoing drive to support AI and the need for high-speed data center interconnection, the call for higher-speed 800G optical technology is emerging. Initially focused ...

Optical Transceivers in the Age of AI: Impacts, Challenges, and Opportunities

Jan. 13, 2025
Join our webinar to explore how AI is transforming optical transceivers, data center networking, and Nvidia's GPU-driven architectures, unlocking new possibilities in speed, performance...

Linear Pluggable Optics – The low-power optical interconnects for AI and Hyperscaled data centers.

Dec. 23, 2024
This LightWave webinar discussion will review the important technical differentiators found in this emerging interconnect field and how the electro/optic interoperability and ...