Alliance champions Ethernet issues: member companies to pen monthly columns for Communications News' readers

Communications News,  Sept, 2007  by Brad Booth

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While IEEE 802 Ethernet technology has existed for more than 30 years, it has lacked a consistent industry voice that represented the spectrum of IEEE 802 Ethernet standards developments. To address this, the Ethernet Alliance was founded in 2006 with the goal of being a sustained umbrella organization that supports all Ethernet technologies.

The Ethernet Alliance is dedicated to promoting industry awareness, acceptance and advancement of technology and products based on existing and emerging IEEE 802 Ethernet standards. The Ethernet Alliance's mission is to accelerate industry adoption and remove barriers to market entry by providing a cohesive, market-responsive industry voice on IEEE 802 Ethernet projects.

Some highlights of the Ethernet Alliance's activities and accomplishments include:

* the formation of subcommittees to support the work of IEEE 802 Ethernet standards development committees;

* public demonstrations of 10GBASE-LRM optical interfaces, 10GBASE-T over 100 meters of Category 6a cabling, power over Ethernet and power over Ethernet plus, and 10GBASE-KR backplane;

* demonstrations of Ethernet technologies being used in a data center application with rackmount servers, clustering and aggregation points;

* exclusive market research results for Ethernet Alliance members; and

* development of presentations and white papers to educate the industry on IEEE efforts and market trends.

IEEE 802.1 and 802.3 have a number of projects that are currently in progress or just entering the early project phase. IEEE 802.3's Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG) is investigating what should be the next speed of Ethernet. In the past, an order of magnitude jump in speed was an easy sell to both customers and equipment vendors. Today, the story is different, as vendors contend that the requirements of servers are not the same as switches. As a result, the HSSG is considering the creation of two speeds to satisfy the respective market requirements.

Other projects, such as 10GEPON and power over Ethernet plus, are under way to enhance existing Ethernet standards. The goal is to improve the capabilities of the Ethernet technology as it matures and grows in these new markets.

Efforts in IEEE 802.1 are dealing with the next level up from the transmission of Ethernet packets. Projects such as MAC link security, audio/video bridging and congestion management are some of the efforts under way. These projects will provide enhanced capabilities for Ethernet and other IEEE 802 technologies, such as Wi-Fi and WiMAX, while also opening these technologies to new markets.

Members of the Ethernet Alliance work together to support these efforts by organizing, supporting, sponsoring and/or promoting activities that help educate users. These types of activities range from offering white papers to public interoperability demonstrations.

In June 2006, the alliance announced the formation of the Ethernet Alliance university program (EAUP). The EAUP serves as a forum for universities and educational organizations within the Ethernet Alliance to work directly with industry leaders, acquire practical perspectives of academic theories, and help foster the growth of Ethernet.

As members of the EAUP, universities and educational organizations can participate in IEEE 802 Ethernet and Ethernet Alliance activities, such as interoperability events and technology demos, contribute research studies, and provide students with hands-on experiences. In turn, Ethernet Alliance member companies can benefit from students as resources for Ethernet activities.

The Ethernet Alliance recently announced the EAUP's first annual white paper challenge program-open to both undergraduate and graduate students of universities who are members of the EAUP. The winning university and student representative will be awarded a cash prize and will have the opportunity to present a white paper at SC07 in Reno, Nev., Nov. 10-16.

Editor's Note: This month, we begin a monthly series on Ethernet technologies. This column will be authored by senior executives at some of the best-known technology companies on the scene today.

This month, we welcome Brad Booth, president of the Ethernet Alliance and a senior principal engineer for Applied Micro Circuits Corp., Hillsboro, Ore. The Ethernet Alliance plans to keep the readers of Communications News "Up to Speed" on the current happenings in the Ethernet industry and welcomes your feedback (send to kanderherg@comnews.com).

For more information: www.ethernetalliaace.org

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