From Plugfest to Progress: Driving Ethernet Interoperability Forward
“Interoperability” is a term that constantly gets thrown around, but at the Ethernet Alliance, it is more than just a buzzword. Helping to ensure reliable interoperability across the Ethernet ecosystem is a core tenet of what we do, and there has been plenty of activity lately demonstrating that commitment.
HSN Plugfest Highlights (Dec 2024)
At the last Ethernet Alliance High Speed Networking (HSN) Interoperability Plugfest held in December 2024, 16 companies from around the Ethernet industry tested link conformance and functionality on configurations from 100GbE to 800GbE. The anonymous report is now available, and for those keeping score at home, the link-establishment success rate increased from 80% at the previous event to 90%. This shows great strides – but also that there is a lot more work to do!
The event also closed out with an Ethernet Alliance plugfest first: an interop demonstration utilizing the participating equipment to build a single interconnected system. The demo was built based on the successful testing from the week and is pictured below. In addition to showcasing the success of the HSN Plugfest, the demo proves that we can leverage the work done at the plugfests into the hot-stage effort for the big industry conferences and create a possible consolidation point to help reduce the burden of participation for those who attend both.
Image Caption: HSN Plugfest Interoperability Demo
Multi-vendor Interoperability Displayed at OFC 2025
Public interoperability demos give the industry a chance to see state-of-the-art products operating in a real-world setting. The Ethernet Alliance put on one of the organization’s most popular interoperability demonstrations at OFC in San Francisco, CA on April 1-3, 2025. The Ethernet Alliance’s OFC 2025 exhibit showcased Ethernet’s evolution in speed, efficiency, and performance to support AI and high-speed networking.
Partnering for Interoperability
Complexity in the Ethernet industry and technology is growing exponentially, and the value of partnering with other industry groups is immeasurable. Cross-industry collaboration will be a key to the success of these groups, since there is significant overlap in the goals and test requirements – not to mention the personnel pushing these efforts forward. Since the December plugfest event, that work has continued in the form of supporting the LPO MSA (Linear Pluggable Optics Multi-Source Agreement) Group interop test event, where the Ethernet Alliance managed logistics, data collection, and reporting.
Next HSN Plugfest Call for Interest
We have just announced a call for interest for the next Ethernet Alliance plugfest, hosted at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL). This event is planned for Q3 2025.
We encourage all of those interested in ensuring reliable Ethernet interoperability to join us. The event plans and goals are always driven by member interest and industry needs, so bring your ideas and requests to the Ethernet Alliance High Speed Networking Subcommittee as we prepare for this event. Hope to see you there!
Collaboration is key to driving Ethernet forward. To participate in the next HSN Plugfest or explore partnership opportunities, contact us at admin@ethernetalliance.org.
