Ixia Adds Native 2/4/8Gb FC

Ixia, provider of network test solutions, announced a new native fibre channel test solution for network equipment manufacturers (NEMs), enterprise data centers, information and storage service providers, and cloud computing services.

Ixia’s fibre channel solution supports the industry’s highest density, with selectable 2/4/8 Gbps native fibre channel ports – up to 96 ports per chassis. The combination of Ixia’s native fibre channel interface with data center-capable Ethernet interfaces enables complete testing of technologies, such as fibre channel over Ethernet (FCoE) switches, converged network adapters (CNAs) and SAN controllers. Ixia’s fibre channel load module is finalist for ‘Best in Show’ at Interop 2010.

Data centers are expanding rapidly. Economic, high-speed 10 Gbps Ethernet networks are providing the impetus for the convergence of individual Ethernet and fibre channel networks into a single Ethernet network using FCoE, substantially lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO). Testing networks using a mix of Ethernet, fibre channel, and FCoE technologies is critical to the timely deployment of converged network products and services.

"Ixia’s converged data center test capabilities are key to our upcoming assessment of fiber channel and fiber channel over Ethernet switches," explained IT Brand Pulse CEO Frank Berry. "In order to certify overall data center switch performance you must make measurements when the device is fully loaded with both stateful application and data storage traffic, and during periods of extreme control plane stress associated with new Data Center Bridging and FCoE protocols. Ixia has the port density and breadth of supported applications that allow us to do complete switch characterization, including throughput, I/O performance and energy efficiency, in a single unified test platform."

Ixia’s converged data center test solution is the industry’s only high-density unified platform that includes both FCoE and fibre channel interfaces, converged traffic performance tests, and real I/O performance testing. Ethernet interfaces can operate at speeds from 1 and 10 Gbps, while the fibre channel interface module’s 4 or 8 port variants can be dynamically programmed to 2, 4, or 8 Gbps. Ixia’s solution includes IxANVL, IxNetwork, and IxSAN test applications that utilize the same hardware platform:

• IxANVL validates device conformance to FCoE protocols, including FIP and DCBX.
• IxNetwork offers performance testing over Ethernet, FCoE, and fibre channel connections by emulating large-scale network environments, allowing end-to-end testing of converged FCoE switches, CNAs, and other mixed protocol devices.
• IxSAN is a complete SAN test solution, with real-world, large-scale emulation of fibre channel protocol (FCP) targets and initiators over Ethernet, allowing true characterization of I/O performance of converged network systems.

"Ixia recognized early on that Ethernet/fibre channel convergence would be a key technology challenge for data centers and the NEMs supplying their equipment," said Atul Bhatnagar, president and CEO of Ixia. "Our continuing efforts to provide comprehensive testing solutions for these environments allow data center operators to utilize this new technology and roll out their converged services with confidence."