Lab greenlighted for early Energy Efficient Ethernet testing

For those of you who have started fretting about the power consumption of your networking gear, the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory has just been given the go-ahead to test Energy Efficient Ethernet, or IEE 802.3az.

The protocol is designed to let network devices operate in a low-power mode when they aren't actively handling data, allowing them to be powered back on (which minimal latency) when required for "normal" operation.

Here's a statement from the lab, which is apparently one of the premier network technology testing facilities in the country. (The comment is from Jeff Papak, who is a senior engineer.)

"The standard is expected to be completed in 2011 and products that support the current draft of the standard are now being released. Energy efficiency is top of mind with our member companies and their customers so the pre-testing process will allow them to be able to deliver new solutions in the quickest possible timeframe."