PARIS -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A - News) today announced that its N2X multiservices test solution was used in the first validation of Layer 2 VPN (Virtual Private Network) service scalability in a multi-vendor interoperability test at MPLS World Congress 2005. The Agilent N2X was used in the functional and scalability testing of Virtual Private LAN Switching (VPLS) and hierarchical VPLS, which allows the connection of multiple sites over a provider-managed IP/MPLS network. VPLS enables carriers to deliver Ethernet multi-point services across a common IP/MPLS-based backbone rapidly and cost-effectively.

With the ability to generate and manage tens of thousands of pseudo-wires quickly and easily, the Agilent N2X was used to demonstrate that multi-vendor VPLS implementations can meet the highest scalability requirements of service provider networks and help accelerate the deployment of new services. The demonstration was prepared by a hot-staging event at the European Advanced Networking Test Center (EANTC) in Berlin, Germany.

"The support of the Agilent N2X was crucial in the scalability tests, verifying up to 50 VPLS instances with 25 provider edge routers and up to 2,000 pseudo-wires," said Carsten Rossenhoevel, managing director at EANTC. "The VPLS emulation capabilities of the N2X helped to prove that the multi-vendor networks could scale to current service provider network requirements."

Agilent N2X E7884A Layer 2 VPN emulation software supports simultaneous multiservices testing, including Ethernet, ATM and Frame Relay services of edge routers with an unprecedented level of scalability. This allows network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) and service providers to test the ability of these devices to transparently manage tens of thousands of customer connections over an MPLS core network under real world conditions:

The unique topology builder enables rapid and easy configuration of large dynamic VPLS topologies on N2X, accelerating test time and replacing the need for expensive test beds. The flexible traffic-generation capabilities allow users to easily generate bi-directional traffic between VPN sites and verify secure traffic forwarding between sites. The integrated data and control plane stressing allows for realistic test scenarios and rapid test execution on N2X. "The interoperability event validated, for the first time, the maturity and suitability of the VPLS services for large-scale deployment," said Dave Bass, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Data Networking Division. "Agilent N2X has been a key tool for many leading developers of VPLS, allowing them to validate their implementation and setting the stage for a successful multi-vendor interoperability trial."

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PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that the Agilent N3900A Modular Network tester has been selected and used as the sole tester for cross-territory field polarization mode dispersion (PMD) measurements by a tier-one telecommunications service provider in the United States.

Agilent offers the only field-portable PMD analyzer using the Jones Matrix Method -- the "golden standard" in PMD measurements -- and even measures second-order PMD. The Agilent N3909A PMD solution for the N3900A provides the industry's highest accuracy and repeatability, and is unique in that it displays differential group delay and loss.

The Agilent N3900A tester makes the easiest and most economical CD measurements in the industry in the smallest and lightest unit available, providing accuracy and functionality without sacrificing cost. The increased installation of 10G SONET/SDH and 10G Ethernet links in metro and long-haul networks is driving the demand for Agilent's field-portable PMD solution.

"The customer is deploying a 10G system and has made thousands of fiber characterization measurements with the Agilent N3900A," said Peter Schweiger, business development manager for Agilent's Optical Network Test, Fiber Optics and Systems. "After experiencing the ease and repeatability of the N3900A's PMD measurements in the field, they quickly abandoned new competitive test equipment and began using the Agilent solution exclusively across their territory."

Agilent Technologies Inc.