Keeping pace with Gigabit Ethernet

Fauziah Muhtar
New Straits Times
03-19-2001
Keeping pace with Gigabit Ethernet
Byline: Fauziah Muhtar
Edition: Computimes; 2*
Section: Lab Report Technology

GIGABIT Ethernet, which promises 10 gigabits per second, is fast gaining acceptance. One of its most exciting applications of the technology is the growth of long-distance Gigabit Ethernet networks that can operate over the metropolitan area network (MAN), according to C.Y. Lee, president of the 10GB Ethernet Alliance.

Lee, who is Extreme Networks' senior director of marketing for Asia- Pacific, said Gigabit Ethernet is currently extending local area network (LAN)-based Ethernet to the MAN.
"And soon it will be applied in the wide area network (WAN)," he said during a seminar on Gigabit Ethernet Technology organised jointly by Extreme Networks and Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn (KUiTTHO) in Subang Jaya.

Lee said with the increasing acceptance of Gigabit Ethernet as the "backbone" technology, 10GB Ethernet meets several criteria for efficient and effective high-speed networks.

These, he added, include easy, straightforward migration to high levels of application without disruption, low cost of ownership, including both acquisition and support costs, familiar management tools and common skills base, ability to support new applications and data types, and flexibility in network design.

"Apart from providing a higher bandwidth, the good thing about Gigabit Ethernet is that it allows existing application to be used or supports the backward compatibility and no new network management tools are needed," he said.

Basically, 10GB Ethernet follows the same form, fit and functions as its 10-megabits per second (Mbps), 100Mbps and 1GB Ethernet predecessors, enabling a straightforward incremental migration to higher speed networking.

The advantage of 10GB Ethernet is that it can be the best alternative to synchronous optical network (SONET) for much simpler high-speed WAN network implementation.

Lee said 10GB Ethernet is compatible with SONET/synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH), thus enabling direct attachment of packet- based Internet protocol (IP)/Ethernet switches to the SONET/SDH multiplexed infrastructure.

This feature is important because it promises the ability for Ethernet to use SONET/SDH for Layer 1 physical transport across the WAN transport backbone, he added.

"Experience with previous generations of Ethernet technology has shown that each new generation of Ethernet provides 10 times the bandwidth at only three to four times the cost of the previous generation."

Moreover, he said, 10GB Ethernet is purely Ethernet and consequently makes no changes to the Ethernet media access control (MAC) protocol or packet format.

The capability to deploy 10GB Ethernet to long-distance network has been made possible through the Ethernet IEEE 802.3ae standard development.

This standard allows Ethernet bandwidth to be scaled from 10Mbps to 10Gbps without compromising intelligent network services in Layer 3 routing and Layer 4 (the transport layer) to Layer 7 (the application layer) which include quality of service, class of service, caching, server load balancing, security and policy-based networking capabilities.

Lee said because of the uniform nature of Ethernet across all environments when IEEE802.3ae is deployed, these services can be delivered at line rate over the network and supported over all network physical infrastructures in the LAN, MAN, and WAN.

Concerning the 10GB Ethernet standard, Lee said if everything goes well, the standard will be released in March next year and the first product is expected to be introduced later inthe same year.

He explained that the only difference between 1GB Ethernet and 10GB Ethernet technology is the capability to either support full or half duplex operation.

As 10GB Ethernet supports only full-duplex operation and does not support shared media, the Ethernet protocol becomes unlimited in reach. Only the physics of transmission and the physical media limit the distance of the link.

"10GB Ethernet is the Ethernet, except that it is faster and transmits in full duplex over greater distance," said Extreme Networks' senior scientist Randall Atkinson.

KUiTTHO's rector professor Dr Ismail Hj Bakar said the purpose of the seminar was to promote the knowledge of new technology, especially 10GB Ethernet and its potential in the next five years.

"As a new university, we would like to be on the forefront of new technology, especially on the application side and in the near future, we will be promoting more information and communications technology (ICT)- based technology," he said.

fauziah@itp.nstp.com.my

Illustrations/Photos:
Caption: Ismail: To be at forefront of new technology.

(Copyright 2001)