DURHAM, N.H.& SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an independent provider of broad-based testing and standards conformance services for the networking industry, today announced the laboratory is currently accepting enterprise server and storage companies as members of a new consortium dedicated to PCIe – a storage technology that vastly accelerates performance of demanding, data-intensive enterprise and data center applications. Launched July 1, 2013, the PCIe Consortium will supplement testing services offered through several of the UNH-IOL’s existing storage and mobile consortia, further helping members reduce the amount of time and money spent on the rigorous testing required for introduction of new PCIe products to the market. As a trusted independent voice on data storage technologies, UNH-IOL Senior Technical Staff Member David Woolf will educate attendees about NVMe, a protocol which uses the PCIe interface, during two presentations at this week’s Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, CA.
Faced with the challenge of Big Data, enterprises and data center operators today seek storage solutions that offer faster processing throughput and greater storage performance. Using PCIe as an SSD interface allows implementors to connect storage devices directly to the chipset within a server, eliminating the requirement of a host bus adapter that is common among other alternative SSD interfaces. As a result of this direct connection, PCIe alleviates input/output (I/O) bottlenecks, speeds throughput and decreases latency to optimize server performance. This enhancement in operational efficiency allows enterprises and operators to meet demands of Big Data and ensure faster, seamless delivery of services, such as data-intensive applications reliant on virtualization and cloud computing, online transaction processing and video on demand.
The UNH-IOL’s PCIe Consortium is a vendor-neutral environment where member companies can verify the conformance of their products to the latest PCIe specification, PCIe Gen 3. By performing conformance tests on PCIe products submitted by member companies, the laboratory’s experienced technical team frees in-house engineers from the time-consuming burden of testing each individual PCIe Gen 3 lane – a task which often requires multiple rounds of evaluation. Upon completion of testing, the UNH-IOL team works closely with the member company to analyze results and determine if further testing is needed to ensure optimal performance of their PCIe product. Members of the PCIe Consortium also have direct access to costly, state-of-the-art test equipment, eliminating the expense required to set-up and operate their own multivendor environment.
The UNH-IOL will continue to evolve its testing services for current and future member companies as new enterprise storage requirements and challenges emerge in the market. Within the PCIe Consortium, the UNH-IOL will leverage its deep domain experience in data storage technologies like SAS and SATA to expand testing capabilities. By the end of 2013, the consortium will incorporate testing services for the SATA Express interface. In addition, the UNH-IOL has plans to offer testing services for Mobile PCIe in the near future.
This week at the Flash Memory Summit, an annual event that brings together top flash memory technologists and business leaders to discuss technical advances, applications, vertical markets, and emerging trends, the UNH-IOL will provide insight into NVMe, one of the developing use cases for PCIe. Today, August 12, from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. PT, the UNH-IOL’s David Woolf and other experts from the storage industry will give a pre-conference tutorial on NVMe for implementors. Mr. Woolf will introduce attendees to NVMe and explain how the standard interface will accelerate adoption of PCIe SSDs and enable further performance optimization for both client and enterprise applications. Tomorrow, August 13, from 8:30 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. PT, Mr. Woolf will join technical experts from Intel, Micron, Microsoft and sTec in a session titled “NVMe and PCIe SSDs.” He will discuss NVMe conformance and interoperability, as well as UNH-IOL NVMe test services, such as multivendor plugfests and custom test tools, which help member companies reduce product time to market.
For more information on the UNH-IOL’s data storage and mobile testing services, please visit:
UNH-IOL PCIe Consortium: www.iol.unh.edu/pcie
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NVMe Consortium: www.iol.unh.edu/nvme
UNH-IOL
SATA Consortium: www.iol.unh.edu/sata
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MIPI Consortium: www.iol.unh.edu/mipi
About the UNH-IOL
Founded in 1988, the UNH-IOL provides independent, broad-based interoperability and standards conformance testing for data, telecommunications and storage networking products and technologies. Combining extensive staff experience, standards bodies participation and a 32,000+ square foot facility, the UNH-IOL helps companies efficiently and cost effectively deliver products to the market.
www.iol.unh.edu | Twitter @UNH_IOL | Facebook @UNHIOL I LinkedIn @UNH InterOperability Lab
