jsantos@CCB.BBN.COM ("Joann M. Santos") (10/06/89)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Joann Santos (617) 873-2805
Sheryl Schultz (617) 873-2479
BBN COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVES NIST NVLAP ACCREDITATION
TO PERFORM DoD HIGH LEVEL PROTOCOLS CONFORMANCE TESTING
New Offerings Joins DDN X.25 on Dedicated Testbed
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., October 4 -- BBN Communications Corporation
announced today that it has received accreditation from the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s National Voluntary Laboratory
Accreditation Program (NVLAP) to perform conformance testing for Department of
Defense High Level Protocols (HLP). BBN Communications is the first, and at
this time the only, organization to provide this type of testing for HLP.
In accordance with a memorandum issued in August 1988 by the
Assistant Secretary of Defense for C3I, all implementations of military
standard protocols procured by all military services and agencies must pass
the tests conducted by a NIST NVLAP accredited laboratory. This requirement
specifically applies to MILSTDs 1777(IP), 1778(TCP), 1780(FTP), 1781(SMTP),
and 1782(TELNET). The requirement for testing went into effect June 1, 1989.
BBN received similar accreditation for X.25 testing in March. Both
X.25 and HLP testing services are available using dedicated facilities at the
company's Cambridge, Mass. TestNetTM lab.
According to Jack Haverty, Chief Architect at BBN Communications,
"The TestNet lab provides a realistic environment in which systems may be
configured, tested, staged and prepared for use on the DDN and other
networks. By using BBN facilities, vendors can draw on one centralized
resource, thereby eliminating the need for sophisticated protocol experts on
their own staffs.
"We test products the way they will be used in the field. We can
perform standalone tests, testing against reference hosts, or testing against
real production systems," added Haverty. "We can also assist users to
qualify new protocol implementations, stage new hosts before deployment to
the Internet, and do regression testing of software each time their host or
network software is changed."
HLP Testing on Dedicated Testbed
The HLP conformance testing performed by BBN utilizes the TCP/IP
Upper Level Protocol Qualification Tests developed by the Defense
Communications Engineering Center. BBN's TestNet includes a dedicated
network comprised of BBN Communications C/30TM Packet Switching Nodes (PSNs)
and PSN software, like those used in DDN/MILNET/ARPANET. The TestNet
environment also includes internet gateways and hosts running IBM and DEC
protocols as well as TCP/IP.
Protocol Testing Key to Networking Success
In addition to the NIST-accredited DDN HLP and X.25 testing, BBN
offers a range of protocol, interface and network-oriented application
testing services, including basic X.25 testing, basic/extended
interoperability testing, and basic/extended application testing.
BBN also offers general consulting in the areas of communications
protocols, testing, and software implementation of network protocols for
government and commercial clients.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., BBN
Communications designs and builds private wide-area communications networks
for commercial, government and international organizations. The company also
provides network consulting, management, and other professional services.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1989, Bolt Beranek and Newman had sales
of $292 million.
C/30 is a trademark of BBN Communications Corporation.
1989.