Ixia, Cumulus Networks, and Mellanox Demonstrate First 50GbE Interoperability on an Open Compute Platform at the OCP US Summit 2016

Ixia, Cumulus Networks, and Mellanox Demonstrate First 50GbE Interoperability on an Open Compute Platform at the OCP US Summit 2016

CALABASAS, CA— March 9, 2016— Ixia (Nasdaq: XXIA), a leading provider of network testing, visibility, and security solutions, Cumulus Networks, andMellanox Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX), have joined forces to deliver the world’s first public demonstration of 50GbE interoperability of an open compute platform operating system running on the Mellanox Spectrum switch.  This interoperability demonstration will be available for viewing in theMellanox booth (#B4) at the OCP US Summit 2016 at the San Jose Convention Center on March 9 and 10, 2016.

The joint solution at the OCP US Summit has been designed specifically for today’s hyperscale datacenters, and the extreme testing needs of application intense Web 2.0 companies, cloud and telecommunications service providers, as well as leading network equipment manufacturers (NEMS) for switches, servers, and network interface cards.  Attendees will see a live demonstration of Cumulus Linux running on a 50GbE Open Ethernet Switch System from Mellanox, using traffic generated by Ixia’s QSFP28 Xcellon-Multis load module, with Mellanox PSM4 QSFP28 transceivers transmitting Ethernet traffic over a single 2 kilometers (2km) optical fiber.

Xcellon-Multis is Ixia’s next-generation test solution. The company’s 50GbE validation solution, initially demonstrated as a proof-of-concept at industry event Interop in May 2015, strengthens Ixia’s leadership in setting the pace for new Ethernet protocol and network interface support.

 “Today’s demonstration illustrates that 50GbE interoperability on an open compute platform is real,” said Charles Seifert, Senior Manager, Product Management of Platform Hardware at Ixia. “Ixia, along with forward-thinking companies like Cumulus Networks and Mellanox Technologies, continually strives to prove that interoperability between open compute platforms and vendor-specific platforms in the same network is here today and available. The next evolution in Ethernet technology for data centers is ripe for deployment. Ixia is proud to show this significant advancement at this event.”

Cumulus Linux, from Cumulus Networks, is the first Linux operating system for data center networking that unleashes the power of Open Networking by running on industry standard networking hardware and enabling the disaggregation, i.e. separation into component parts, of data center switches.

“50GbE is a natural evolution for Cloud data centers looking to take advantage of the latest servers with Broadwell cores,” said William Choe, Vice President Products, Cumulus Networks.  “50GbE interoperability with Ixia Xcellon-Multis QSFP28 in an open systems environment demonstrates readiness and reliability for datacenter requirements today and, most importantly, enables customer choice of technology that is right for them.”

The Mellanox 50GbE Open Ethernet switch enables converged data centers to operate at maximum performance while reducing operational costs and infrastructure complexity.

“Big data and faster solid state storage is driving the rapid adoption of our 25, 50, and 100 Gb/s Ethernet networking gear,” said Kevin Deierling, Vice President Marketing, Mellanox Technologies. “Thus it is imperative that we have full hardware and software interoperability with switches, adapters, cables, and test equipment. We are pleased to showcase Ixia’s advanced traffic generation Xcellon-Multis platform running 50GbE with our Spectrum Ethernet switches at OCP. The availability of advanced, multi-speed test equipment from Ixia will accelerate the adoption of next generation networks in the data center.”

Ixia continues to work with industry leaders to drive deployment and adoption of new Ethernet speeds, and helped to create the specifications for both 25GbE and 50GbE as a contributing member of the 25G/50G Ethernet Consortium, the IEEE P802.3by draft standard for 25GbE, and the recent IEEE Call For Interest for 50 Gb/s Ethernet Over a Single Lane and Next Generation 100 Gb/s and 200 Gb/s Ethernet.

In addition, Ixia is a member of the Open Compute Project, whose ultimate goal is to spark a collaborative community of hardware and software providers who strive to be interoperable, creating in the most efficient computing infrastructure possible for customers.