Spirent Certified for PBT

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Spirent Communications plc (LSE: SPT), a global provider of IP network performance testing and service assurance solutions, announced today that Spirent TestCenter, Spirent’s innovative testing platform, attained the Nortel led Carrier Ethernet Ecosystem Compatible Product Certification*. The certification was provided at the Nortel Innovation Center for Carrier Ethernet located on the company’s Carling Campus in Ottawa, Ontario on January 31, 2007.

The certificate of compatibility, the first of its kind conferred by Nortel, confirms Spirent TestCenter is compatible with Provider Backbone Transport (PBT) technology, which uses industry standard Ethernet to drive a radical change in the economics of carrier networks. The certification also means Spirent TestCenter is ready to test PBT interoperability of hardware and software solutions in a carrier environment, thereby breaking down a key barrier to wide-scale adoption of PBT-based Carrier Ethernet in real world networks.

“The Carrier Ethernet Ecosystem relies on the range of skill sets brought to bear by its collective members. In this case Spirent’s efforts have led to a reliable and efficient tool to carry out our interoperability goals, which is clearly a great asset,” said Mike Adams, vice president of strategy and architecture, Metro Ethernet Networks, Nortel.

Empowered Networks, Spirent’s exclusive partner in Canada, played an integral role in Spirent TestCenter’s successful attainment of the compatibility certification. Empowered provided material inputs to evolve specific test cases for PBT trunk functionality and protection schemes, validating configuration management capabilities, 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) and ITU Y.1731 Ethernet OAM messages, and verifying performance, throughput and QOS. Empowered also demonstrated a number of ways to automate different aspects of the certification process, through leveraging unique features of Spirent TestCenter.

“Unique technical expertise and understanding of the newest technologies, combined with intimate knowledge of testing tools, are what Empowered brings to the table,” said Brian Hepburn, CEO of Empowered Networks. “Our team’s support of PBT interoperability testing, help demonstrate the business value of advanced testing capabilities, and the material contributions that Empowered brings to our customers and partners.”

"PBT certification by the Carrier Ethernet Ecosystem is a testament to Spirent TestCenter’s innovative system architecture that maximizes product quality assurance, and shortens testing and development cycles,” said Bill Burns, CEO Communications Group, Spirent Communications plc. “Additionally, Spirent TestCenter cuts a broad swath of capability by covering Carrier Ethernet performance, conformance and functional testing and giving test engineers a complete, integrated test solution to bring their products and services to market more cost effectively."

Spirent Communications plc