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100 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) solutions are gaining momentum and are considered as a key technology for accommodating rapid increase in bandwidth-intensive, media-rich applications. In an effort to introduce multi-vendor 100GE benchmarking tests, European Advanced Networking Test Center (EANTC) and Ixia (News - Alert) collaborated to deliver testing criteria, methodology, and administration of multiple vendors' 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) switches.

According to a press release, EANTC and Ixia joined hands to deliver industry's first multi-vendor 100 GE benchmarking tests. In addition, the multiple vendors demonstrated adherence to rigorous Higher Speed Ethernet (HSE) standards and also proved scalability of services over 100GE.

The EANTC currently provides vendor-neutral consultancy and test facilities for network equipment manufacturers, service providers, and enterprise customers. Main business areas covered by EANTC includes interoperability, conformance, and performance testing for IP, MPLS, carrier Ethernet, and Voice over IP (VoIP)-related network technologies and applications.

As a provider of comprehensive converged IP services testing solution, comprehensive converged IP services testing solution, Ixia provides test and simulation platforms to design and validate a broad range of wired, Wi-Fi, and 3G/4G networking equipment and networks.

According to Ixia, its solutions create real-world conditions by emulating a full range of high-scaling networking protocols. These solutions also generate media-rich application traffic to validate performance, conformance and security of cloud, core, data center, wireless and multiplay networks.

Officials with Ixia said in the release that industry-first set of benchmark tests, led by EANTC, provides carriers, data center managers, and application service providers with a detailed insight into various Higher Speed Ethernet (HSE) products using a consistent test methodology via Ixia's 100GE testing solution.

According to sources, the first in the series of tests took place during May and June, 2011. The first two 100GE product test report for ZTE (News - Alert) and Alcatel-Lucent are available. EANTC validated the performance, service scalability, and power efficiency of the new HSE router interfaces, in the open test program.

The benchmark, which was powered by Ixia's 100GE testing solutions, ran a full spectrum of network tests that measured the following: RFC 2544 throughput and latency test across the backplane (100GE to 100GE); RFC 2544 throughput and latency fan-out (10x10 GE to 100GE); similar IP multicast traffic scenarios; RSVP-TE scalability; Layer 3 VPNs scalability; Virtual Private LAN Services (VPLS) scalability; Quality of service (QoS); and energy consumption.

"As more people use cloud services for data retrieval, streaming, and other resource-intensive media, providers will require exponentially increasing amounts of bandwidth -- and 100GE links satisfy this need," said Atul Bhatnagar (News - Alert), president and CEO of Ixia, said in a statement. "Ixia's participation in EANTC's groundbreaking test demonstration is proof of our ongoing innovation in and understanding of 100GE deployment scenarios and needs."

Carsten Rossenhövel, managing director at EANTC, said in a statement, "We selected Ixia as a testing partner for both its early involvement with the IEEE (News - Alert) standard's development, and the fact that its well-engineered 100GE testing solution is keeping pace with vendors' services scalability."