With 10-Gigabit Ethernet still on the drawing board, Cisco and other network companies are already indicating that they will support " jumbo frames " - a feature destined to stay completely outside of the 10-Gig standard.
Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, jumbo frames are firmly a part of LAN culture. These are Ethernet frames that are supersized. They have a data payload that can range from four to six times the size of the maximum frame allowed for in the Ethernet standard.
The idea is that, with high speeds, it makes sense to move data in larger chunks. Since it takes time to process a packet header, it would take less time to process the same amount of data if you had fewer packets to deal with. You can cut down on the number of packets generated if you allow for larger packets.
The concept of jumbo frames was championed by the now-disassembled Alteon WebSystems, a company that made a name for itself with some novel ideas and the marketing savvy to foster industry discussion about those ideas. Other big-name companies followed suit, and now it is common practice for vendors to support jumbo frames.
However, it would be difficult to standardize the technology, and Alteon tried it once. The problem is that the IEEE doesn't want to muck with the Ethernet frame format. It's hard to blame them, since Ethernet has enjoyed tremendous success.
With 10 gigabits per second coming down the pipe, some users running intense server-to-server traffic will probably find a use for jumbo frames. The vendors will certainly offer it, standard or no.
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In addition to writing this newsletter, Jeff Caruso edits Network World's e-mail newsletters from his office on New York's Long Island. If you would like to make suggestions about newsletter format or content, or even just express your opinion on today's topic, you can reach Jeff at jcaruso@nww.com.
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