Moonv6 Uses Agilent's N2X

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that its test solution was chosen for the latest phase of the industry's leading IPv6 interoperability event, Moonv6. The Agilent N2X multiservices test solution -- the industry's most comprehensive solution for validating performance and scalability in next-generation network equipment for triple-play services -- enabled vendors at the event to rectify problems faster and achieve a successful IPv6 demonstration.

The multi-vendor interoperability test was conducted by the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) and University of New Hampshire's InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL), with the goal of identifying the maturity of systems that support IPv6. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) will use the results to determine a baseline set of standards to which vendors must adhere in anticipation of the U.S. government-mandated IPv6 cutover beginning in 2008.

The assessment environment consisted of network equipment, application software and test instruments from more than 15 leading vendors. The test bed was configured with mixed IPv4/IPv6 configurations, including native IPv6, dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 operation and IPv4 over IPv6 tunnels. The Agilent N2X, along with its companion Network Tester product, provided comprehensive IPv6 test coverage spanning IPv6 transport to end-to-end application services.

"Agilent's contribution was unique in verifying the IPv6 readiness of industry participants at this event," said Ben Schultz, University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory, IPv6 managing engineer and Moonv6 technical lead. "Effective tools and test methodologies are essential to the deployment of IPv6. Each critical technology issue that is discovered in the laboratory is a significant cost savings to the network operators."

Agilent worked with the JITC to help major equipment vendors certify their routing equipment and IPv6-capable cameras for use in the U.S. DOD networks. Agilent unveiled its latest N2X N5701A IPv6 conformance suites with an extensive test coverage of transition mechanism RFCs (standards) and specialized test cases for IPv6 encryption and authentication mechanisms such as ESP and keyed MD5 exchange. IPv6 tunnelling scenarios were verified using the N2X E7882A IPv4 and E7885A IPv6 emulation software's latest support for 6PE and VPNv6. Agilent also validated the security and application performance of IPv6 networks using the N2X companion product N4190A Network Tester. Agilent's latest application-mix test methodology, modelled from current service provider network statistics, was used to validate filtering and forwarding of applications, such as Web browsing (HTTP), file transfer (FTP), mail (SMTP, POP3) and voice over IPv6 (SIP, H.323) in conjunction with security mechanisms and IPSecv6 encryption.

"During our joint Moonv6 tests, Agilent's Network Tester gave me the ability to effectively analyze and measure the behavior of CheckPoint's FW-1 firewall," said Eran Nafusi, team lead for the FW-1 Quality Assurance team. "I found Agilent's Network Tester to be highly scalable and easy to configure and run. The output graphs allowed me to demonstrate the IPv6 real-time inspection capabilities of CheckPoint's FW-1 firewall, while forwarding real-world application traffic."

Agilent Technologies Inc.