PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today introduced the industry’s first line interface to support 10 Gigabit/s Ethernet (10 GbE) WAN serial testing, and the first dual interface, enabling testing of both OC-192c POS and 10 GbE equipment and services on the same hardware module. Agilent plans to deliver its 10 GbE Local Area Network (LAN) serial interface module later this year, providing a complete, integrated single-vendor 10GbE test solution. The new interfaces will allow network equipment manufacturers and service providers to accelerate the development of 10 GbE routers, switches, networks and services, while lowering related testing costs.

The Agilent test module is compliant to the current IEEE 802.3ae 10GBASE-LW (or -EW) draft standard. It allows manufacturers to speed delivery of 10 GbE equipment that meets customer performance and reliability standards, while service providers and network operators can utilize the test solution to evaluate and select 10 GbE equipment for network use. Users of the Agilent test module can configure the interface for either OC-192c POS or 10 GbE WAN serial testing, eliminating the need to purchase additional hardware or software. Customers currently using Agilent OC-192 modules will be able to add 10 GbE WAN serial testing at no charge by simply downloading new firmware.

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