Aiming to accelerate the deployment of multi-gigabit Ethernet, the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab today unveiled testing services for 2.5 and 5 gigabit Ethernet products.
The independent UNH-IOL will provide electrical conformance and interoperability testing for products based on both the NBASE-T specification and the IEEE 802.3bz 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T standard. The new multi-gigabit Ethernet technologies are designed to enable networks to boost their speeds without needing to replace their existing Cat 5e and Cat 6 cables.
"By collaborating with the industry, the IOL has built the most varied interoperability test bed for two-and-a-half and five gig technologies," Michael Klempa, Ethernet and storage technical manager at UNH-IOL, told me in a phone interview. "This will accelerate deployment, allowing businesses to reap the benefits."
The testing will assure vendors that products based on NBASE-T and 802.3bz work together while enabling enterprises to adopt new wireless technologies without having to replace their cable infrastructure, he said. Increasing wireless speeds are the main drivers for 2.5G and 5G Ethernet, Klempa said, adding, "The point of the spec was to make sure the Ethernet link wasn't the bottleneck."
"By using this new technology, you're able to increase your throughput in the same scenario you have now because this technology leverages the same Cat5 infrastructure you have for 1 gig," Klempa said. "So by swapping out your ports to the two-and-a-half and 5 gig, you're able to get increased bandwidth and throughput with little up-front infrastructure costs."
The NBASE-T Alliance, a vendor organization that includes Cisco, drove the 2.5G and 5G Ethernet standardization effort. The idea is that adoption of 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless access points requires more than a 1 Gbps Ethernet link and using 10GbE would require an expensive cabling upgrade to Cat6E; 2.5 Gbps and 5 Gbps Ethernet ports allow use of existing cabling.