GigaTest
Business may be bad, but there are opportunities out there - if you look hard enough. One of those opportunities came recently to the University of Hawai'i (UH).
For you long time readers, you already know that the UH and the Mau'i High Performance Computing Center have some of the most advanced computers in the world. Some of you even know that what is now called Ethernet was first developed at UH.
So it should come as no surprise that the university is partnering with InfoWorld magazine to do a "shoot-out" between Internet equipment companies Foundry Networks and Force 10 Networks. The tests pit the companies' 10-gigabit Ethernet switches and routers against each other to determine which has higher performance and ease of use.
The upside for UH is they get to keep much of the equipment. The upside for the companies is they get bragging rights based on a disinterested third-party (as well as saving on the cost of having to contract out for their own independent testing). And the upside for InfoWorld is they get to publish the results. Sounds like UH could become a hub of testing activity.