The UNH InterOperability Laboratory (IOL) is on the move and, come Jan. 4, is scheduled to be up and running in its new location adjacent to campus at Madbury Commons.
The IOL is the leading test facility for data and networking communications products. Its work includes determining that products work, meet specified standards and can be used together. For example, in lay terms, the IOL tests technologies that enable you to connect your phone, laptop and car to the Internet. The lab works with companies ranging from local firms to Fortune 500-businesses such as Cisco, Dell, HP and AT&T.
The IOL is relocating to be closer to campus, and the move was fully funded through commercial partnerships. Making this 2.4 mile-move from Technology Drive to Madbury Road in downtown Durham will be no small task. For starters, the IOL has installed nearly 20,000 feet of Ethernet cable in the new building, and an additional 10,000 feet will move with equipment including 50-plus server racks and hundreds of computers, explains Mara Bernazzani, Communications Coordinator for the IOL.
Touring the IOL’s new home as contractors were busy assembling cubicle space and painting, IOL Senior Engineer Lincoln Lavoie described the process of working with the developer from the very start, two years ago, to have the new facility purpose-built to meet the IOL’s needs. It provides more energy-efficient climate control and includes dedicated areas for the IOL’s sensitive test and measurement equipment, including such state-of-the-art accouterments as anti-static carpeting.