Vendors Test Shortest Path Bridging (802.1aq) Interoperability

The industry's first large-scale, multi-vendor interoperability test leveraging IEEE 802.1aq Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) technology was recently completed by leading vendors, including Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Huawei, Solana Networks and Spirent Communications.


SPB allows customers to greatly simplify how they create and configure networks -- across the enterprise and for the cloud -- by requiring service provisioning only at the edge of the network. It uses Intermediate System To Intermediate System (IS-IS), a proven carrier-grade link state protocol, to dynamically build the topology between network nodes, saving network administrators time and effort, and virtually eliminating human error.


The interoperability test simulated a large network environment of almost 200 nodes and more than 400 links. It demonstrated full control plane interoperability between each vendor's equipment, native network discovery in a multi-vendor network and Layer 2 Virtual Private Network (L2VPN) interoperabilityhttp://www.avaya.com http://www.alcatel-lucent.com