University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory
Encyclopedia
The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) provides independent, broad-based interoperability and standards conformance testing for data, telecommunications and storage networking products and technologies. Combining extensive staff experience, standards bodies participation and a 32,000+ square foot facility, the UNH-IOL helps companies efficiently and cost effectively develop their products. More than 100 graduate and undergraduate student-employees from the University of New Hampshire work with full-time UNH-IOL staff, gaining hands-on experience with developing technologies and products from hundreds of major companies.
The RCC now had in-depth knowledge of both FDDI and 10BASE-T, and experience performing technical network testing. The university recognized the need for comprehensive interoperability testing of network equipment, and also the opportunity to educate its students in emerging technologies. Conceived with the vision of bringing together the collective resources of many companies in a vendor-neutral environment, the UNH-IOL began to develop common test beds, tools and methodologies, and was now uniquely positioned to provide testing services to companies, at a cost savings unattainable by any company or commercial laboratory. In addition, students now had the opportunity to work with the latest technologies and equipment and to engage the creators of those technologies directly. This model proved to be a win-win method, and in 1990 the first UNH-IOL Consortium was founded.
As its reputation for expertise in testing, procedural development and the interpretation of technical specifications grew, so did the UNH-IOL. This growth brought new technologies and equipment to the lab, providing more value for its members and more opportunities for its students.
The UNH-IOL is continually evolving with the computer networking industry and has worked with many technologies since its 10BASE-T and FDDI beginnings. Included in this list are Token Ring networks, IPv6, many varieties of Ethernet, Wireless communication, various flavors of DSL, and several network storage technologies.
While the core focus of the UNH-IOL has always been the development and execution of test suites and methodologies as well as the technical training of students, the lab has expanded its role in the industry. The UNH-IOL has been involved in industry trade shows and test events, operating booths and performing interoperability demonstrations at conferences such as SUPERCOMM, GLOBALCOMM, and TelcoTV. The lab also hosts group test events known as plugfests.
The UNH-IOL undertakes research and development projects and participates in many standards organizations, providing the industry as a whole with an experienced, neutral partner.
The UNH-IOL currently administers over twenty consortia and testing services, each involving a different technology:
Over time, as interest in a particular technology fades (such as what happened with ATM
and Token Ring), a consortium may be disbanded or converted into a testing service. Likewise, as interest in a new technology grows, a consortium may be founded in order to start testing devices of that type. Testing services are alternatives to consortia. They offer testing à la carte
rather than through an annual membership fee.
Mission
The UNH-IOL has a dual mission of providing a neutral environment to foster multi-vendor interoperability and conformance to data communications networking standards while educating students for future employment in the industry.History
The UNH InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) began as a branch of the University's Research Computing Center (RCC). In 1988 the RCC was testing Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) equipment with the intention of deploying it in its network. The RCC found that equipment from two vendors was not interoperable and contacted the vendors in an attempt to find a solution. After some debate the two vendors came together to solve the problem, which stemmed from differences between the draft and final versions of the FDDI specification. During the same time period the RCC was testing 10BASE-T Ethernet interfaces for another, unrelated project.The RCC now had in-depth knowledge of both FDDI and 10BASE-T, and experience performing technical network testing. The university recognized the need for comprehensive interoperability testing of network equipment, and also the opportunity to educate its students in emerging technologies. Conceived with the vision of bringing together the collective resources of many companies in a vendor-neutral environment, the UNH-IOL began to develop common test beds, tools and methodologies, and was now uniquely positioned to provide testing services to companies, at a cost savings unattainable by any company or commercial laboratory. In addition, students now had the opportunity to work with the latest technologies and equipment and to engage the creators of those technologies directly. This model proved to be a win-win method, and in 1990 the first UNH-IOL Consortium was founded.
As its reputation for expertise in testing, procedural development and the interpretation of technical specifications grew, so did the UNH-IOL. This growth brought new technologies and equipment to the lab, providing more value for its members and more opportunities for its students.
The UNH-IOL is continually evolving with the computer networking industry and has worked with many technologies since its 10BASE-T and FDDI beginnings. Included in this list are Token Ring networks, IPv6, many varieties of Ethernet, Wireless communication, various flavors of DSL, and several network storage technologies.
While the core focus of the UNH-IOL has always been the development and execution of test suites and methodologies as well as the technical training of students, the lab has expanded its role in the industry. The UNH-IOL has been involved in industry trade shows and test events, operating booths and performing interoperability demonstrations at conferences such as SUPERCOMM, GLOBALCOMM, and TelcoTV. The lab also hosts group test events known as plugfests.
The UNH-IOL undertakes research and development projects and participates in many standards organizations, providing the industry as a whole with an experienced, neutral partner.
Consortia
The UNH-IOL’s consortia represent a collaboration of the industry leaders in network equipment, test equipment, industry forums and service providers to benefit each other by reducing expenses associated with research and development and quality assurance, providing trusted third-party verification, reducing product time to market and driving the industry acceptance of a technology. The UNH-IOL uses this collaborative testing model to distribute the cost of performing trusted, third-party testing and validation through an annual membership in each technology specific consortium. By bringing together the key players of networking technologies, the UNH-IOL provides a service that is critical to driving multi-vendor interoperability.The UNH-IOL currently administers over twenty consortia and testing services, each involving a different technology:
- 10BASE-T10BASE-TEthernet over twisted pair technologies use twisted-pair cables for the physical layer of an Ethernet computer network. Other Ethernet cable standards employ coaxial cable or optical fiber. Early versions developed in the 1980s included StarLAN followed by 10BASE-T. By the 1990s, fast, inexpensive...
Testing Service - IEEE 1588
- 10 Gigabit Ethernet10 Gigabit EthernetThe 10 gigabit Ethernet computer networking standard was first published in 2002. It defines a version of Ethernet with a nominal data rate of 10 Gbit/s , ten times faster than gigabit Ethernet.10 gigabit Ethernet defines only full duplex point to point links which are generally connected by...
- 40/100 Gigabit Ethernet
- Backplane EthernetBackplaneA backplane is a group of connectors connected in parallel with each other, so that each pin of each connector is linked to the same relative pin of all the other connectors forming a computer bus. It is used as a backbone to connect several printed circuit boards together to make up a complete...
- Bridge FunctionsBridging (networking)Bridging is a forwarding technique used in packet-switched computer networks. Unlike routing, bridging makes no assumptions about where in a network a particular address is located. Instead, it depends on flooding and examination of source addresses in received packet headers to locate unknown...
- Cable Testing
- Data Center BridgingData center bridgingData center bridging refers to a set of enhancements to Ethernet local area networks for use in data center environments. Specifically, DCB goals are, for selected traffic, to eliminate loss due to queue overflow and to be able to allocate bandwidth on links. Essentially, DCB enables, to some...
- Digital Home Networking DLNA ICV
- DSL
- Fast EthernetFast EthernetIn computer networking, Fast Ethernet is a collective term for a number of Ethernet standards that carry traffic at the nominal rate of 100 Mbit/s, against the original Ethernet speed of 10 Mbit/s. Of the fast Ethernet standards 100BASE-TX is by far the most common and is supported by the...
- Fibre ChannelFibre ChannelFibre Channel, or FC, is a gigabit-speed network technology primarily used for storage networking. Fibre Channel is standardized in the T11 Technical Committee of the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards , an American National Standards Institute –accredited standards...
- GPON
- Gigabit EthernetGigabit EthernetGigabit Ethernet is a term describing various technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second , as defined by the IEEE 802.3-2008 standard. It came into use beginning in 1999, gradually supplanting Fast Ethernet in wired local networks where it performed...
- IPv6IPv6Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
- iSCSIISCSIIn computing, iSCSI , is an abbreviation of Internet Small Computer System Interface, an Internet Protocol -based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. By carrying SCSI commands over IP networks, iSCSI is used to facilitate data transfers over intranets and to manage...
- MIPIMIPIMIPI can refer to:* Music Industry Piracy Investigations* Mobile Industry Processor Interface...
- OpenFabrics AllianceOpenFabrics AllianceThe OpenFabrics Alliance is a non-profit organization that evangelizes remote direct memory access switched fabric technologies for server and storage connectivity...
Interoperability Testing - Power over EthernetPower over EthernetPower over Ethernet or PoE technology describes a system to pass electrical power safely, along with data, on Ethernet cabling. The IEEE standard for PoE requires category 5 cable or higher for high power levels, but can operate with category 3 cable for low power levels...
- RoutingRoutingRouting is the process of selecting paths in a network along which to send network traffic. Routing is performed for many kinds of networks, including the telephone network , electronic data networks , and transportation networks...
- SASSerial Attached SCSISerial Attached SCSI is a computer bus used to move data to and from computer storage devices such as hard drives and tape drives. SAS depends on a point-to-point serial protocol that replaces the parallel SCSI bus technology that first appeared in the mid 1980s in data centers and workstations,...
- SATASataSata is a traditional dish from the Malaysian state of Terengganu, consisting of spiced fish meat wrapped in banana leaves and cooked on a grill.It is a type of Malaysian fish cake, or otak-otak...
- TR-069TR-069TR-069 is a DSL Forum technical specification entitled CPE WAN Management Protocol...
- VoIP
- Wireless LANWireless LANA wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...
Over time, as interest in a particular technology fades (such as what happened with ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
and Token Ring), a consortium may be disbanded or converted into a testing service. Likewise, as interest in a new technology grows, a consortium may be founded in order to start testing devices of that type. Testing services are alternatives to consortia. They offer testing à la carte
À la carte
À la carte is a French language loan phrase meaning "according to the menu", and used in* A reference to a menu of items priced and ordered separately, i.e. the usual operation of restaurants * To order an item from the menu on its own, e.g...
rather than through an annual membership fee.
External links
- UNH-IOL
- Testing the Limits Blog featured on Test & Measurement WorldTest & Measurement WorldTest & Measurement World is a magazine published by UBM Electronics, a division of United Business Media. Test & Measurement World serves the information needs of engineers in electronic test, measurement, and inspection industries....
- InterOp Insider Blog provides further insight into new developments at the UNH-IOL