Joel Snyder's lab

Lab overview: Opus One is a testing lab focusing on enterprise network products. Our facilities and expertise include equipment performance testing, usability evaluation, competitive analysis, interoperability testing, and quality assurance testing. Opus One has focused on security products, including VPN security gateways, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and authentication and authorization servers.

Equipment in the lab: Opus One maintains a complete inventory of network infrastructure devices, including the industry's most complete VPN interoperability testing lab, with over 20 different IPSec implementations available for full-scale evaluation and analysis. In addition, a large inventory of network infrastructure products from vendors such as Cisco Systems, Lucent, Extreme Networks, and Nokia provides a rich and varied environment for functional and QA testing. As a Spirent test labs partner, we also have a significant inventory of Spirent equipment for performance and conformance testing. Opus One also has over 40 Intel, SPARC, and Alpha-based servers which can be brought to bear on testing projects. Internal infrastructure also includes a production VOIP phone system, production firewalls from NetScreen and Check Point, and related management infrastructure.

Software in the lab: Opus One supports the industry standard operating systems, including a complete suite of Microsoft operating systems, Apple's MacOS and OS X, several Linux distributions, Open/BSD and Free/BSD, as well as OpenVMS. With a large, production, IP-based network with over 40 Mbits of Internet bandwidth and 4 PRI circuits, Opus One is able to provide a testing enviornment which is truly "real world."

Expanded lab capabilities: Opus One is closely allied with the University of Arizona and can make use of their infrastructure when appropriate. Opus One has also worked with other members of the test alliance and can draw on their experience when appropriate.

Network Connections: 15 T1 circuits to 4 different Tier 1 Internet Service Providers feed Opus One's basic infrastructure for Internet testing. An additional 2 T1 DSL circuits can be used for DSL-specific testing. ISDN capabilities include several BRIs and four PRI circuits to Worldcom's voice network. Analog testing is facilitated by 16 2-wire circuits to Qwest's voice network.

Personnel: Current information on Opus One's staff is available on the Opus One web site at http://www.opus1.com/o/about_staff.html.

Lab specific URLs: For more information about using Opus One in your test and evaluation program, contact Joel Snyder or see the Opus One Labs web site at http://www.opus1.com/o/consulting_labs.html

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