JUNE 30, 2009 -- Xena Networks ApS (search Lightwave for Xena Networks), a developer of Ethernet test equipment, has announced general availability of its XenaCompact Gigabit Ethernet/10-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE/10GbE) test platform designed to enable deployment of Ethernet test infrastructure that is inexpensive, simple to manage, and scalable in terms of test port count and test capabilities.
The XenaCompact incorporates a hardware design providing wire-speed L2/L3 traffic generation and analysis capabilities in a 1-RU form factor. Each unit supplies up to six GbE ports or two 10GbE ports in a variety of copper and optical interfaces. The XenaManager test management software provides a graphical user interface requiring little to no training. A flexible scripting interface enables test engineers using the test platform to implement various test setups including those requiring interoperability with third-party test tools.
"As part of a cooperative test project between Internet2 in the United States and DANTE in the United Kingdom, MCNC used the XenaCompact to test and characterize various combinations of network equipment we use to terminate transatlantic OC-192 circuits with 10GbE customer interfaces," says John Moore, advanced services director at MCNC.
"On the European side of this transatlantic test project, DANTE's use of the XenaCompact was motivated by our urgent need for a cost-effective wire-speed 10GbE test solution," says Roberto Sabatino, chief technical officer at DANTE. "With Xena we found the very best price/performance proposition in an advanced wire-speed tester that enables us to affordably test and characterize operational nodes in our 10GbE network including our transatlantic links to the Internet2 Network."
"Internet2 is happy to have had such a successful collaboration among member and partner organizations involved in this test project," says Ellen Vaughan, industry relations manager at Internet2. "A key mission of Internet2 and its international counterparts is to provide a large-scale network laboratory for our members to test and refine new technologies and services prior to their commercial release. The collaboration between Xena, DANTE, MCNC, and Internet2 showcases how academia and industry can work together to achieve this important goal."
A product evaluation report is available from the Internet2 web site that describes how the XenaCompact platform was used on the test project. The report can be downloaded at www.internet2.edu/info/MCNC-Xena-product-eval-whitepaper.pdf.
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