* IEEE Higher Speed Study Group votes to pursue 100Gbps Ethernet
As you might have expected, the IEEE Higher Speed Study Group has decided to pursue 100Gbps as its objective for the next speed for Ethernet.
The study group had been looking at 40Gbps as a possibility, as that speed would have dovetailed nicely with available speeds in carrier-grade fiber optics. But the group went for the big number, the 10X increase (over 10 Gigabit Ethernet) that has typified Ethernet’s progress through the years.
You might be wondering what exactly is driving requirements for speeds like that. Network World recently wrote about those requirements here.
The group also chose to pursue a reach of 10 kilometers on single-mode optical fiber and a reach of 100 meters on OM3 multimode fiber.
No word yet on copper. Doing 10Gbps on copper was initially thought to be impossible by some, and now it is a standard. Would we see a similar move on 100G? Can anyone really answer that, given that technological advances in the next few years could change the picture?
Not surprisingly, the group voted to focus the higher speed on full-duplex operation only, to keep the current 802.3 frame format and to keep the current minimum and maximum frame sizes.
The group decided to request that the IEEE allow it to continue, and it plans to meet again in January and May.
Deciding the speed was really just the first hurdle. A lot has to happen between now and actual standard 100G Ethernet products hitting the market. A lot. Here’s wishing them the best of luck.
