The University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab (UNH-IOL) has expanded its Non-Volatile-Memory-Express-over-Fabric (NVMe-oF) testing capabilities to include NVMe over TCP. Ratified in November 2018, the NVMe/TCP spec adds Transmission Control Protocol to the list of NVMe transport protocols, which previously included Fibre Channel, remote direct memory access (RDMA), and PCIe. “NVMe/TCP adds the most commonly used networking protocol to NVMe,” said David Woolf, senior engineer for data-center technologies at UNH-IOL, in a telephone interview with EE Times. “It will let...
Ethernet Switching Protocols News Articles
NVMe/TCP Conquers The UNH-IOL Plugfest
January 17, 2019
Entering the New Hampshire University InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL) in November 2018, I was surrounded by servers, network cards, Ethernet cables hanging from the ceiling, and a lot of cool nerdy lab rats—like me. We were there to run the first-ever NVMe Over TCP (NVMe/TCP) plugfest.
This Proof of Concept (PoC) plugfest for the new NVMe/TCP protocol would bring together multiple vendors for the first time to validate their hardware and software implementations, specification compliance, and interoperability against each other....
AppFest 2016: Testing at UNH-IOL
May 25, 2016
Rick Bauer provides a recap of the recent ONF AppFest at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab in this two part series.
We just returned from the second annual ONF AppFest, sponsored by the ONF Testing & Interoperability Working Group and the ONF Testing Leadership Council. In our next post, we’ll cover a similar event hosted by Beijing Internet Institute (BII) in Beijing—another ONF testing event (too much to cover these days!) The North American event was held...
Open Networking Put To The Test
November 11, 2015
UNH-IOL plugfest produces list of interoperable combinations of networking gear based on Open Compute Project specs.
If you've been eyeing open networking but remain skeptical, operators of a testing initiative at the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab hope to convince you otherwise.
The UNH-IOL recently published an Open Networking Integrators List, a public directory of validated, interoperable combinations of networking gear based on specifications from the Open Compute Project. The list shows the results of...
Trusting White Boxes
October 20, 2015
The IT kit in data centers could get a lot more efficient and less wasteful, if people move to standardized, “white boxes” based on open standards, instead of the proprietary kit they use now. But so far, there’s a trust issue: can you rely on a no-name box?
There are definite signs that users are moving towards converged hardware, including unbranded servers. According to a survey of 850 IT decision makers by 451 Research, the majority of enterprise data...
UNH-IOL Publishes Open Compute List
October 15, 2015
The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) has released an Open Networking Integrator’s List public directory of independently validated, interoperable combinations of networking products that are based on Open Compute Specifications.
The list is based on successful completion of interoperability and conformance tests performed at the laboratory’s most recent Open Networking Plugfest, held September 21-25, 2015 at the UNH-IOL. Devices tested during the Open Networking Plugfest included network operating system (NOS) software, 10G and 40G switches, optical modules,...
New List Details Open Network Interoperability
October 13, 2015
The networking project of the Open Compute Project and the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab today jointly released what they are calling the "consumer reports for open networking" -- an open networking integrator's list of hardware, operating systems, cables and optics that are known to work together.
They are calling the UNH-IOL's Open Networking Integrator's List, which you can find here, "the first and only public directory of independently validated, interoperable combinations of networking products that are based...
AT&T, Verizon, Windstream join MEF to advance Ethernet interconnection
April 29, 2015
AT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Windstream are among a group of Tier 1 service providers that are joining the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) to drive the next phase of the organization's Ethernet Interconnect Points (EIP) project to develop common guidelines service providers can use to interconnect their Ethernet networks when pursuing out-of-territory opportunities.
To help project participants agree on a common interconnection approach using MEF specifications, the EIP project will provide feedback on standard prototypes.
Whither Ethernet
February 3, 2015
Ethernet is spreading—enemies might say metastasizing—into applications far beyond its original use as a local network for workstations. This spread is pushed forward by three primary factors: Ethernet’s culture of standardization and interoperability, reduced price of components because of economy of scale, and the rapid evolution of foundational signaling technology that culture makes possible. At the same time, Ethernet is being pulled into new applications by increasing computerization and the absence of robust common interconnect standards (Figure 1). This pull...
TRILL Deployment Nears
October 11, 2010
The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory's (UNH-IOL) hosted a plugfest for Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) from August 3rd-5th, 2010. This white paper from the event discusses the results of the plugfest.