Articles

RSS

The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), the networking industry's premier independent third-party proving ground for developing technologies, today announced the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), a nonprofit, non-governmental, public service, membership society, has accredited the laboratory for technical competence in the field of Information Technology testing in accordance with the recognized International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005, General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories. The accreditation demonstrates technical competence for Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) conformance and interoperability testing in accordance with the U.S. Government IPv6 (USGv6) Test Program and the operation of a quality management system.

In 2010, U.S. Government agencies will require IPv6 compliant products in IT acquisitions. The National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST) recognized A2LA to accredit testing laboratories under the USGv6 Test Program, which requires that laboratories performing testing of IPv6 products for use in the United States government be accredited by an International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) signatory. The UNH-IOL's IPv6 Consortium is open to all companies and organizations seeking compliance with the USGv6 Profile to ensure the capabilities of their products match federal acquisition requirements. Specifically, the ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation allows the UNH-IOL to offer testing of host and router products to verify compliance with the USGv6 Profile; this type of testing is not possible without the accreditation.

"For organizations planning to sell IPv6 products to the federal government, it is imperative that the laboratories they work with have met strict testing guidelines and can demonstrate technical competence," said Peter Unger, president and CEO, A2LA. "The UNH-IOL's accreditation from the A2LA provides a high-level of confidence to vendors that the IPv6 products they test at the UNH-IOL will meet the compliance standards set forth in the USGv6 Profile."

"As industry and government move toward the reality of IPv6, our focus will remain on reducing time to market for our member companies," said Erica Johnson, director, UNH-IOL.

In order to receive accreditation, the UNH-IOL was required to clearly document testing policies, procedures, and test plans. Accreditation also required a well implemented training process, a focus on customer relations, validated test tools, and methodical shipping, receiving, and device handling procedures. The accreditation assessed the UNH-IOL's ability to meet the ISO/IEC 17025 standard, as well as the NIST Special Publication 500-273, "USGv6 Test Methods: General Description and Validation – Version 2.0," which describes the test methods and traceability requirements necessary to operate an IPv6 testing laboratory for the USGv6 Profile requirements. ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation is subject to reaccreditation, including audits and proficiency testing, every two years.

The UNH-IOL has been testing IPv6 since 1996 and remains an industry leader. In July of 2009, the UNH-IOL collaborated with NIST on a test review event confirming the first test specifications for the USGv6 Test Program and contributed to NIST Special Publication 500-273. The UNH-IOL also collaborated with the North American IPv6 Task Force (NAv6TF), Department of Defense (DoD), equipment vendors and government agencies to host the Moonv6 test events, which spearheaded IPv6 testing worldwide. Highly involved in the IPv6 Ready Logo Program as the North American regional officer and a technical contributor, the UNH-IOL offers accredited testing for the IPv6 Ready Logo program in addition to accredited testing for the USGv6 Test Program.

About the UNH-IOL

Founded in 1988, the UNH-IOL is one of the networking industry's premier third-party proving grounds for developing technologies. Approximately 200 companies use the UNH-IOL's 32,000+ sq. foot facility to extend their development and quality assurance efforts by testing and fine-tuning technologies, protocols and products for multi-vendor interoperability and conformance to standards. For more information, visit http://www.iol.unh.edu./.