The UNH-IOL has been steadily working with the NVM Express (NVMe) working group for over a decade, beginning with the development of the NVM Express standard, which is still being used today. In close partnership with NVMe collaborators, the IOL designed and created IOL INTERACT, a software tool aimed at streamlining and automating the testing process for NVMe compliance. This tool is utilized for pre-testing storage devices before official testing and is employed worldwide to ensure product validity. Additionally, the...
IOL Blog: Storage Technologies
Revolutionizing Data Center Operations and the Impact of NVMe Host Managed Live Migration
By Austin Snow - July 30, 2025
Advancing NVMe Technology: Over A Decade of Collaboration with NVM Express and UNH-IOL
By Mara Johnson - July 29, 2025
The relationship between the UNH Interoperability Labs (UNH-IOL) and NVM Express has grown over the last decade, marked by significant milestones in storage technology testing. In fact, the IOL has been at the forefront of storage technology testing dating back to 1995, starting with Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), and Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA). In 2011, when the NVMe Promoters Group was formed, key contributors from the group and the SATA specification reached out to...
5G Super Blueprints Use Case Spotlight: Reference Open Source Testbed
By Mara Johnson - April 15, 2025
The Reference Open Source Testbed, developed by the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory as part of LF Networking's 5G Super Blueprints initiative, aims to simplify the integration of diverse open source components for 5G and Open RAN systems. It provides pre-tested deployments, streamlined tools like Ansible playbooks, and comprehensive documentation to facilitate faster and more reliable deployment and validation. Key features include modular, blueprint-based deployment, an integrated testing and results dashboard, and a focus on community engagement and transparency....
Advancing NVMe® Storage Solutions Through Compliance Testing: Highlights from NVMe Plugfest #22
By Carter Snay - March 26, 2025
The UNH-IOL and the NVM Express organization have collaborated for over a decade to promote NVM Express specifications, focusing on compliance and interoperability testing of NVMe devices. During the IOL hosted 22nd NVMe Plugfest last November, we brought together NVMe SSD manufacturers to test their products against the most recent NVMe specifications. The goal was to ensure that these products meet the rigorous standards required for interoperability and performance in a multi-vendor environment.
Products that pass testing are added...
NVM Express Integrator’s List 101: Your Guide to NVMe Interoperability and Compliance Testing
By Mara Johnson - May 16, 2022
NVM Express proudly collaborates with the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) to conduct compliance and interoperability testing for the NVM Express® (NVMe®) specifications. As a vendor-neutral test lab, the UNH-IOL provides members with confidential and unbiased test results, helping companies get products ready to market, faster. NVM Express member products that pass UNH-IOL’s required testing can be listed on the NVMe Integrator’s List. The NVMe Integrator’s List consists of configurations that have proven to be...
UNH-IOL Plugfest #16 Performs Product Testing for NVMe Integrator’s List
By Jade Kwitkiwski - December 13, 2021
The UNH-IOL wrapped up the NVMe® Plugfest #16 where members tested their NVMe SSD and NVMe-oF™ products against the NVMe and NVMe-oF test specification. The primary goal of the Plugfest is to qualify products for the NVMe Integrator’s List or the NVMe-oF Integrator's List . This past event tested nine devices from six different companies which took place over the course of two-weeks, virtually.
At the UNH-IOL, test plans serve as a beneficial and informational indicator...
IOL INTERACT Latest Release Streamlining Product Testing for NVMe & NVMe-oF
By Jade Kwitkiwski - November 9, 2021
The IOL INTERACT™ test software streamlines testing conformance and automation of NVMe® SSDs and NVMe-oF™products, with the goal of verifying products for the Integrator’s List as well as testing overall NVMe conformance. UNH-IOL customers gain access to the tool through annual memberships, which allows testing in your own labs. Testing within your own lab qualifies as pre-testing, with a “pass” granting it validation to be sent to the UNH-IOL for further testing.
Annually, IOL INTERACT PC Edition launches two...
Testing NVMe® Conformance Through Virtual Plugfest Events
By Owen O'Brien - February 12, 2021
Here at the University of New Hampshire’s Interoperability Lab (UNH-IOL), the collaborative efforts of Plugfests, also known as group test events, have been hosted and developed since the late 1980s. The lab’s dedicated space for these types of events holds up to 60 companies in a neutral, third party environment. Common among the UNH-IOL’s group testing efforts, are the multi-vendor Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe ® ) and NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF ™) Plugfests which are held two times per year....
SSD Power and Performance Levels: The Latest Release of IOL INTERACT™
By Gerry Donahue - April 6, 2020
Going into summer 2019, I was a full time software developer in the NVMe testing group at the UNH-IOL and focused primarily on test script development for the automated testing application, IOL INTERACT™ . IOL INTERACT™ is a software package used to automatically perform the NVMe Conformance Test plan, which can qualify products for the NVMe Integrators list. As a test script developer, I worked directly on with testing prototype NVMe drives, which gave me a hands on and...
Wuhan Plugfest: The NVMe Testing Service Takes on China
By Carter Snay - February 1, 2019
Hello reader! My name is Carter Snay, and I have been working at the UNH-IOL since March 2017. I was initially working in the iSCSI testing service, but moved to NVMe in August of 2017 where I currently still work. I am an Environmental Science major, which is different than all of my peers who are either IT or CS. Generally I’ll get a confused look when a vendor asks me what I’m studying, but I’m still able to do...