Keysight Technologies, Inc. has announced the Keysight Velocity 4900 Series, a new line of cost-effective Layer 1 automation switches designed to transform and automate physical connectivity in network test labs. Through software-controlled testbed configuration and management, the Velocity 4900 Series enables engineering teams to dynamically connect and automate the management of test equipment using an intuitive graphical user interface. Teams can securely access and share valuable lab resources remotely, improve equipment utilisation, and create repeatable testing workflows for increasingly complex networks and infrastructure supporting AI, 6G, and next-generation services.
As the speed, scale, and complexity of next-generation network technologies and services increase, test teams face growing pressure to perform accurate, comprehensive validation and keep pace with rising traffic volumes. Yet many test labs still depend on manual cabling and time-consuming physical topology changes, leaving valuable equipment underutilised or inaccessible to remote teams. These limitations slow testing, increase the risk of configuration errors, and prevent physical lab infrastructure from integrating fully with automated development and continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) workflows. Without greater lab automation, organisations risk delays to product releases and critical network updates, with significant business and operational consequences.
The Velocity 4900 Series addresses this physical-connectivity bottleneck by replacing manual testbed configuration with software-controlled Layer 1 connectivity. Engineering teams can quickly create, save, modify, and reproduce physical test topologies while securely sharing expensive or scarce test resources with authorised users across teams and locations.
The first two models in the series are:
- Keysight Velocity 4902: A high-speed Layer 1 automation switch supporting Ethernet speeds from 100 megabits per second (Mbps) to 100 gigabits per second (Gbps). The platform includes 72 QSFP28 ports, supporting 288 connections with breakouts, providing flexible connectivity for high-speed functional and performance testing.
- Keysight Velocity 4906: A high-density Layer 1 automation switch with 288 SFP28 ports supporting Ethernet speeds from 100 Mbps to 25 Gbps. Its density enables organisations to connect and automate a larger portion of their lab inventory within a compact, fixed-form-factor platform.
Both switches provide true Layer 1 forwarding through an ultra-low-latency, fully transparent switching matrix. They support single-mode fibre, multimode fibre, direct-attach copper, and active optical cables, with port speed and media configuration available on a per-port basis. Additional capabilities include port tapping for diagnostics and monitoring and one-to-many traffic replication for broader test coverage and more efficient reuse of traffic-generation resources.
Key benefits of the Velocity 4900 Series include:
- Faster, repeatable testing: Automates physical testbed setup and teardown, allowing teams to provision complex topologies in seconds or minutes rather than relying on hours or days of manual cabling.
- Secure global resource sharing: Helps authorised engineers remotely access and share test equipment across labs, teams, and geographic locations without requiring physical cable changes or equipment movement.
- Improved equipment utilisation: Enables organisations to pool scarce or expensive instruments, make underused assets available to more teams, and reduce unnecessary equipment duplication.
- Greater test coverage: Allows engineers using Velocity software to configure physical test environments, run tests, and automatically tear down and recreate those configurations in seconds, expanding test coverage while reducing manual effort and connection errors.
- Incremental lab modernisation: Provides a cost-effective starting point for Layer 1 automation that can expand into resource reservation, lab orchestration, test automation, and CI/CD integration through the broader Keysight Velocity portfolio.
Anil Kollipara, Vice President and General Manager of Automated Testing and Assurance, Keysight, said, “Engineering teams developing services and infrastructure to support AI, 6G, and next-generation systems need test environments that can change as rapidly as the technologies they are creating. The Velocity 4900 Series gives organisations a practical and cost-effective way to begin modernising the physical lab. By automating Layer 1 connectivity and making test resources easier to share, Keysight is helping customers improve utilisation, expand test coverage, and accelerate development without requiring a complete lab transformation.”
The Velocity 4900 Series integrates with the broader Keysight Velocity portfolio, enabling organisations to extend software-controlled physical connectivity into resource reservation, lab orchestration, test automation, and CI/CD workflows. The Keysight Velocity 4902 and 4906 are available for order immediately, with initial deliveries planned for January 2027.
