Ixia First to Offer 100 GE Testing Capability

100 GE Development Accelerator System Shortens Time to Market for 100 GE Component and System Developers
Broadband World Forum Europe 2008
Booth #568

Ixia (Nasdaq:XXIA), a leading, global provider of IP performance test systems, today announced that it will begin shipping the industry’s first 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) Development Accelerator System in mid November. This world’s first-to-market 100 GE test system provides network equipment and communications chip manufacturers the capabilities that they urgently need for layer-2 traffic generation and analysis. Following its successful proof-of-concept demonstration with Infinera and XO Communications in June, Ixia has demonstrated its test platform to select NEMs worldwide. Ixia will feature the 100 GE Development Accelerator System from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 at Broadband World Forum Europe in Brussels (stand #568).

With Internet backbone bandwidth growing at an estimated rate of 75-125 percent per year and the increase in broadband users and bandwidth-hungry applications, it has become essential that carriers and their suppliers plan for the next major increase in bandwidth and data transmission rate. The growth of converged, multiplay network services and rapid advances in computer technology and network architecture are causing bandwidth bottlenecks — and has convinced network operators, large Internet service providers and data center managers of the urgent need for higher throughput at faster data speeds: 100 GE for aggregation and core networking applications, and 40 GE for server and storage applications.

“It’s clear that the growth in network bandwidth demand is fueling the need for higher speed Ethernet links – to 40 and 100 Gigabits,” said Atul Bhatnagar, Ixia’s president and CEO. “Network equipment manufacturers need to start now to develop their components and systems. Ixia’s 100 GE Development Accelerator System will speed their development so they can be ready for the market in 2009-2010.”

The 100 GE Development Accelerator System a unique implementation for and testing of the 100 GE physical coding sublayer (PCS) layer approved as the baseline proposal in May 2008 by the IEEE 802.3ba task force, with the underlying multilane distribution (MLD) architecture.

“The PCS sublayer implementation is a challenging design for 100 GE systems, so making sure that it works properly is critical,” said Errol Ginsberg, founder, chairman of the board, and chief innovation officer of Ixia. “Our 100 GE Development Accelerator System provides the reference implementation for 100 GE development, including MLD, that developers can use to prove their designs.”

Ixia’s 100 GE Development Accelerator System provides engineers working on next generation high-speed components with the test capability necessary to prove that their products are rock-solid for 100 GE traffic generation, reception and error handling. The development system includes an Ixia XM2 chassis, a one-port bi-directional 100 GE interface module, and test application software. Traffic generation capabilities include the generation of Ethernet streams of any size, pattern and rate, with internal or external clocking. Valid and error statistics are provided real-time at line rate.

Ixia is continuing rapid development of its IEEE 802.3ba complaint 40 GE and 100 GE test products, which will offer full layer 2-7 testing for both speeds in 2009. Ixia’s 100 GE Development Accelerator System is the first technology innovation developed by the newly formed Ixia Labs, headed by Ginsberg. For more information on Ixia’s high speed Ethernet (HSE) testing solution, please visit Ixia’s HSE site. Two white papers on 40/100 GE and MLD technology are available there.

About Ixia

Ixia is a leading provider of IP service verification platforms and performance test systems for IP-based infrastructure and services. Ixia’s multiplay test systems address the growing need to test voice, video, and data services and network capability under real-world conditions.

For more information, visit our Web Site at http://www.ixiacom.com.
Ixia, IxNetwork and the Ixia four-petal logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Ixia. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

This material is for informational purposes only and subject to change without notice. It describes Ixia’s present plans to develop and make available to its customers certain products, features and capabilities. Ixia is only obligated to provide those deliverables specifically included in a written agreement between Ixia and the customer.

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