Ixia's nex-gen Virtualized data center testing

CALABASAS, USA: Ixia, provider of IP performance test systems, today unveiled its virtualized data center testing initiative at Interop, Las Vegas. The company will also intoduce the TestTalk social media web site for the test and measurement industry.

Ixia’s data center test solutions featured at Interop include:

* IxNetwork and IxLoad solutions for network scalability testing and realistic application traffic generation and scale testing.

* Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE): Testing of FCoE network components used to support merged fibre channel and Ethernet networks and applications, using IxExplorer and IxNetwork test applications and IxYukon 10 GE test interfaces.

* Storage Area Networks (SANs): Large-scale simulation of SCSI initiators and targets such as disk arrays to test SAN components, using IxSAN.

* Virtualization: Testing of virtualized infrastructures with IxVM, finalist for Best of Show at Interop. IxChariot VM, a component of IxVM, uses software endpoints, small software components that run on each virtual machine, that send and receive test traffic, while measuring performance.

This makes it possible to source traffic from virtual servers in the same manner as the supported applications. IxExplorer VM uses software endpoints to generate layer 2/3 traffic to test features such as VLAN and QoS.

* Higher Speed Ethernet: Industry’s first 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps layer 2-7 test interfaces, with test application support.

* Green Testing: Measuring energy consumption for networking devices under varying loads for realistic power measurements, using IxGreen.

* Security: Security and robustness testing of network components and information servers, using IxDefend.

“Ixia is strongly committed to supporting the next-generation data center, hosting converged voice, video and data in a virtualized architecture. The breadth and depth of our service offerings in this space is evident by our conformance, interoperability, performance and monitoring solutions,” said Atul Bhatnagar, president and CEO of Ixia.

Ixia will also debut the TestTalk Community, a social media platform for the test and measurement industry, featuring discussion forums, blogs, news and an idea exchange. Interop attendees may sign up and post to the TestTalk community. The TestTalk Community is available at testtalk.net.

“Data centers have their own unique testing requirements above and beyond those of their individual components,” said Zeus Keravala, Senior Analyst at Yankee Group.

“Virtualization by itself replicates and complicates performance testing issues by a significant factor. Ixia has demonstrated strong leadership and claimed first mover advantage with their virtualization test initiative," added Keravala.