Abstract

Anritsu Co. commissioned The Tolly Group to evaluate the Layer 2 and Layer 3 switch interoperability of the MultiFlow 5128, version 2.5.1, a backbone and/or edge switch. The Tolly Group engineers put the MultiFlow 5128 through a battery of tests designed to reveal the depth of interoperability the switch provides. The MultiFlow was tested for interoperability with nine other switches from six other network infrastructure vendors.

The Anritsu MultiFlow 5128 is positioned as a Layer 2/Layer 3 backbone or edge switch built for heterogeneous enterprise networks where multivendor interoperability is essential. In Tolly Group testing, the MultiFlow 5128 was evaluated against nine third-party switches from six other networking vendors to verify interoperability across both core Layer 2 functions and dynamic Layer 3 routing protocols.  

In mandatory interoperability testing, the MultiFlow 5128 passed auto-negotiation, IP RIP versions 1.0 and 2.0, and OSPF with all nine switches tested. This means the switch successfully negotiated common Ethernet speed and duplex settings and exchanged dynamic routing information across mixed-vendor environments. The third-party systems included platforms from Alcatel, Enterasys, Extreme Networks, Foundry, Marconi, and NEC, showing broad compatibility in enterprise switching and routing scenarios.  

Optional testing further expanded the interoperability picture. The MultiFlow 5128 passed Link Aggregation with all participating switches that supported the feature, enabling creation of higher-bandwidth logical trunks across vendors. It also passed IPX RIP with eight switches, with NEC’s BlueFire 730 not supporting IPX RIP at the time of testing. In VRRP testing, the MultiFlow 5128 interoperated with eight other switches, proving it could both provide and accept hot-standby default-gateway services in a multivendor Layer 3 network. At Layer 2, the switch also passed 802.1p/Q VLAN tag and priority forwarding tests with all nine peer switches and successfully supported Gigabit Ethernet uplinks with all nine. In Accelerated Spanning Tree testing, it interoperated with six switches; the remaining three did not support the feature.  

The report presents the MultiFlow 5128 as a modular platform with up to 128 Fast Ethernet or 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports, 24 million packets per second forwarding capacity, and support for wire-speed Layer 2/3/4 switching and routing. Overall, Tolly’s results position it as a strong fit for mixed-vendor enterprise networks that require standards-based interoperability, resilient failover, VLAN transparency, and support for dynamic IP routing.