Ethernet Alliance Higher Speed Networking Plugfest set for December

The Ethernet Alliance will conduct a plugfest for port data rates ranging from 25 Gbps to 400 Gbps beginning Dec. 3, 2018, at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) in Durham, New Hampshire.

In addition, members of the 100G Lambda Multisource Agreement (MSA) Group also are invited to attend the plugfest, under terms of a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) between that industry consortium and the Ethernet Alliance.

The testing matrix for the December plugfest encompasses technologies based on both recently completed and soon-to-be-ratified standards. With the recent completion and/or expected approval of standards such as IEEE 802.3bs and IEEE P802.3cd™—as well as specifications such as 100G Lambda MSA’s 100G-FR and 400G-FR4, which are based on 100 Gb/s PAM4 signaling and designed for data center connectivity over links of up to 2 kilometers—meeting demand for greater Ethernet speeds while maintaining the technology’s legacy of proven interoperability is increasingly important. Among equipment to be tested during the December event are Ethernet physical layer transceivers (PHYs); network interface controllers (NICs); switches; test and measurement solutions, and an array of optical and copper media at speeds of 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 Gbps.

“With so much technology development underway and transpiring on different timeframes, industry is more and more often demanding opportunities for trustworthy interoperability testing for their solutions. This is a role for which the Ethernet Alliance has grown globally respected,” said Dave Chalupsky, plugfest chair and board member, Ethernet Alliance, and network product architect, Intel Corporation. “Ethernet is amid significant and historic growth, with so many new standards activities coming out over the last two years and still rolling out. Our plugfests allow Ethernet Alliance members to more rapidly iterate on product development and confidently deliver multi-vendor-interoperable products that their customers can rely on from Day 1."