Carrier Ethernet is now becoming a widely deployed technology to connect metropolitan area networks. With Ethernet becoming immensely popular with customers, service providers are keen to roll out Ethernet networks that are carrier class. The key to the large scale roll out of these networks is two fold – standardization and conformance.
For Ethernet networks to become carrier class, they have to bring to the table, the same kind of services that have been available with traditional networks like Frame relay and ATM. Besides services, the networks have to pass the tests of reliability, simplicity and rapid provisioning. To achieve this and to increase interoperability amongst equipment vendors, there is need to standardize the services and requirements of carrier Ethernet.
This is being achieved by forums like the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) and by standards bodies like IEEE. Once standards are decided and services and implementation agreements reached, the task shifts to conformance.
For interoperability, its imperative that equipments that be certified for conformance to standards. There are various ways to achieve this – one obvious way is to publish the standards and let vendors decide their degree of conformance. The other option to is to setup certification bodies that issue compliance certificates. By doing the latter, it becomes important for vendors to put their equipment through Ethernet testing before going to service providers to sell their gear. There are many types of tests that need to be passed in certification – performance and functionality. Performance testing measure the network and subsystems at both ends of the scale – high and low speeds and congestion. Functionality tests measure protocol and feature requirements – q-in-q, VPLS, PBT etc.
An offshoot of the twin requirements of standardization and compliance is the need for test suites that can qualify equipments. The suites can run tests for performance and functionality and helps both service providers and equipment makers to achieve certification. Vendors run these tests to check if the devices they make conform to standards and service providers use them to check if equipment they are buying are compliant. Network testing suits are thus a crucial component in the widescale adoption and deployment of carrier Ethernet
