The History of the InterOperability Laboratory

From humble beginnings in 1988, the University of New Hampshire Research Computing Center's InterOperability Laboratory (IOL) has grown into a world renowned, highly respected center of data communications technology research, testing, and education. This is the story of how the IOL came about.

Impetus
In 1977, the Dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) stated that one of the greatest challenges universities would face in the twentieth century was the technical education of its students. He went on to further identify equipment costs, faculty knowledge, rapid changes in technology, and the integration of technical education into academic curricula as the central issues that would not be resolved easily by any university. In the years since, the words of Dean Davis have proven to be profoundly accurate and prophetic. Universities all over the world are recognizing the difficulties of providing both the fundamental skills and the detailed, hands-on experience needed for technical education in light of the ever-increasing fiscal constraints being imposed on their institutions.

Despite the challenges pointed out by Dean Davis more than twenty five years ago, UNH has developed a reputation as being one of the best schools in the nation for the training of students in the field of data communications and computer networking. Further, this reputation is being built without any additional funds from the State of New Hampshire, the Federal Government, or from student tuition. The success UNH is enjoying in this rapidly changing and complex field is in part due to a unique organization known as the InterOperability Laboratory.

Establishment
The InterOperability Laboratory developed as a branch of the University's Research Computing Center (RCC), which is the group responsible for supporting the computing and networking needs of the research groups at the university. By 1988, RCC was testing Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) equipment with the intention of deploying it in their network. They found equipment from two competing vendors did not interoperate and contacted the vendors to solve the problem. After some debate, the two vendors came together to solve the problem, which stemmed from differences between the draft version of the FDDI specification that one vendor built to and the final version that the other vendor used. Around the same time, RCC was doing Operating System testing with a now defunct brand of computer and part of the process required them to test the 10BASE-T interfaces that were being added to that line of computers.

Having developed a knowledge base in both FDDI and 10BASE-T Ethernet, expertise in methodical, technical testing, and having recognized the need for comprehensive interoperability testing of network equipment, as well as the need to develop educational opportunities in emerging technologies for UNH students, the stage was set for the birth of the IOL. By bringing companies together as a consortium in a neutral environment and using their collective resources to develop a common test bed, test methodologies, and test tools, the IOL was able to provide a service that most companies couldn't afford to do in-house while at the same time giving students hands-on training in these technologies. The formula proved to be a win-win situation for everyone involved. In early 1990, the first of many IOL Consortia was founded and it wasn't long before others followed.

Growth
As the IOL evolved, it developed a reputation for expertise not only in testing and test procedure development, but also in the interpretation of technical specifications and resolution of conflicts within the specifications themselves and between different implementations. Students apprenticed in data communications technologies at the IOL became much sought after by companies seeking experienced, knowledgeable employees. Nowhere else in the world could students gain experience with such a wide range of technologies and few other places provided the depth of knowledge in specific technologies provided by the UNH InterOperability Laboratory.

The following list not only shows the birth of consortiums and thus the addition of technology offerings by the IOL, but also mirrors the development of technologies in the industry as a whole.

  • Early 1990, 10BASE-T Ethernet
  • Mid 1990, FDDI
  • Early 1992, Network Management
  • October 1992, Token-Ring
  • March 1993, IPv6
  • March 1993, IP Routing
  • October 1993, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
  • December 1993, Fast Ethernet
  • Late 1993, Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (FDSE)
  • June 1994, 100VG-AnyLAN
  • February 1995, Fibre Channel
  • March 1996, Wireless
  • April 1997, Gigabit Ethernet
  • November 1997, ADSL
  • December 1997, Bridge Functions
  • January 1998, IEEE-1394
  • May 1999, HDSL2
  • June 1997, Linux
  • September 1999, DOCSIS
  • February 2000, MultiProtocol Label Switching (MPLS)
  • July 2000, Voice over IP (VoIP)
  • August 2000, SHDSL
  • October 2000, Voice over Broadband (VoB)
  • March 2001, iSCSI
  • December 2001, 10Gigabit Ethernet
  • February 2003, Power over Ethernet (PoE)
  • March 2003, VDSL

By the fifteenth anniversary of the laboratory in 2003, the staff had grown from a handful of students and staff sharing part of an office in Morse Hall on the UNH campus to 150 graduate and undergraduate students and 24 full-time staff members. Hundreds of companies have been and continue to be involved in testing at the IOL. Several technologies have come and gone while others are still going strong. New technologies are constantly emerging and the IOL continues its dual mission of educating students and fostering interoperability within the data communications industry.

Diversification
While the core of the InterOperability Laboratory has always been and continues to be the development and execution of test suites and test methodologies, as well as the technical training of students, that is not all the IOL does. The IOL strives to keep all its activities technically focused and educationally oriented, so as to benefit the industry as a whole while also increasing the educational opportunities for our students.

Since 1993, the IOL has been involved in industry trade shows and test events. From the early INTEROPnetTM test networks and later Networld+Interop iLabs demonstrations to Supercomm and the OFC Conference & Exposition interoperability demonstrations, as well as many other events, the IOL has provided assistance ranging from technical expertise in planning and problem solving to providing space, manpower, and logistical support for hot-staging industry forum sponsored demonstrations.

An outgrowth of the consortium model was the Group Test Period, often called a "Plugfest" in the industry. Bringing all the vendors in a given technology together in one place at one time to test their equipment together is a good first level of interoperability testing and has been a part of nearly every IOL consortium's life cycle since the very beginning. The technical, organizational, and logistical skills required to host such an event are much in demand. Hence, the IOL is often called upon to lend assistance to industry forum test events, as well as assisting with the operation of other organization's group test events.

The IOL is involved in research and development projects both for internal use and under contract to other organizations. The lab's experience in applied research has lead to the start of some forays into theoretical research, which may play a bigger role in the coming years. The intention of these activities is to pursue projects that ultimately provide benefit to the data communications industry.

The InterOperability Laboratory participates in many standards organizations, providing technical contributions, editorial assistance, verification, and feedback during the standards development process. By drawing on its vast experience at all layers of the OSI network model and detailed knowledge of the problems that have come up in the past, the IOL helps solidify and clarify draft standards before they are finalized, thus ensuring that new standards have fewer inconsistencies and less room for the kind of differing interpretations that often lead to interoperability problems.

The IOL is always looking for new technical areas in which to become involved. The lab looks for opportunities that provide interesting challenges and can benefit both the data communications industry and increase the knowledge base of the organization. New technologies are constantly emerging and the IOL is constantly evaluating which areas to pursue next. The laboratory's first fifteen years built a solid foundation on which continued growth and diversification can succeed.

Continuation
In order for US educational institutions to prepare students for successful careers in our rapidly-advancing technological world, better models for educating students in high technology must be developed. Over twenty-five years ago, Dean Davis foresaw this fact and clearly indicated the obstacles that institutions would need to overcome in order to better educate students in this critical field of study. He would have been proud to know that the university that he dedicated so much of his life to was the first to come up with an innovative model on how to effectively address these obstacles. Through its principles of industry involvement and apprenticeship training, the UNH InterOperability Laboratory is leading the way in high technology education and creating a better future for its students and our world.

The organization that began more than fifteen years ago in a small room on the University of New Hampshire campus continues to fulfill its dual mission of fostering interoperability within the data communications industry and educating students in a broad range of technologies. In August 2002, the InterOperability Laboratory moved to a 32,000 square foot facility on the edge of the campus and began the next great phase of its ongoing history.