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10G ETHERNET: Impact On LAN/MAN/WAN

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DQC Bureau
New Update

The new 10G Ethernet preserves the current Ethernet semantics, including
minimum and maximum frame size, and frame format. The 802.3ae specification
defines two sets of physical interfaces for 10G Ethernet called the LAN and WAN
physical interfaces. Thus it offers scalable, efficient and unified network
architecture for enterprises and service providers

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IEEE has ratified 10 Gigabit Ethernet in 2002 and offers a 10 fold
performance increase over its predecessor 1 Gigabit Ethernet. More importantly,
price points have shown a dramatic decline from $40,000 per port to now less
than $2,500 per port.

The 10G Ethernet preserves the current Ethernet semantics, including minimum
and maximum frame size, and frame format. The 802.3ae specification defines two
sets of physical interfaces for 10G Ethernet called the LAN and WAN physical
interfaces. Some of the most important LAN physical interfaces are:

10Gbase-SR: 850 nm serial interface with a range of 300 meters
over multimode fiber

10Gbase-LR:
1,310 nm serial interface with a range of 10 kilometers over
single-mode fiber

10Gbase-ER:
1,550 nm serial interface with a range of 40 kilometers over
single-mode fiber

10Gbase-CX4:
A copper-based interface with a range of 15 meters

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WAN PHY INTERFACES

The 802.3ae specification also includes a WAN PHY definition that operates
at a data rate compatible with a payload of OC-192c SONET/SDH. The WAN PHY
allows transport of Ethernet data using SONET/SDH infrastructure for Layer 1
transport, while preserving the Ethernet format at Layer 2 eliminating any
protocol conversions associated in traditional Packet over SONET/SDH (PoS). The
WAN PHY interfaces also provide the same distance ranges as the LAN interfaces.

All the existing Ethernet standards, such as 802.1q for virtual LANs, 802.1p
for traffic prioritization and 802.3ad for link aggregation, also apply to 10G
Ethernet. This makes the deployment of 10G Ethernet simply a plug-and-play
situation for most corporations and service providers with Ethernet networks.

10G ETHERNET APPLICATIONS

In LANs, where Ethernet is dominant, the most immediate application for 10G
Ethernet is in the LAN backbone. With processor speeds now reaching 3 GHz and
beyond, coupled with the rapid price decline in Gigabit Ethernet network
interface cards, which are now in the $100 range, most servers come standard
with Gigabit Ethernet network interface cards.

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10G
Ethernet provides a scalable uplink from the data center switches that connect
server farms with Gigabit Ethernet copper interfaces. Certain select enterprise
verticals such as entertainment and animation are deploying Gigabit Copper to
each desktop to foster faster productivity and collaboration between artists.

WAN APPLICATIONS

For WAN applications, the 10G Ethernet WAN PHY lets service providers use
existing SONET infrastructure, such as add/drop multiplexers and repeaters,
protecting their current investment in SONET/SDH gear. Recently, leading
research institutions created the world's longest native Ethernet connection
by using 10G Ethernet WAN PHY from Japanese Data Reservoir project to the CERN
research center in Geneva, Switzerland, spanning approximately 18,500
kilometers, and 17 time zones. Using the 10G WAN PHY technology, a local area
network connecting computers at the University of Tokyo was extended to include
computers at CERN in Geneva so that they all appeared to be on the same LAN.

Coupled with the momentum in 1 Gigabit Ethernet over copper market, 10G
Ethernet is strengthening the wave of technology migration in the industry
offering scalable, efficient and unified network architecture for enterprises
and service providers.

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IMPLEMENTATIONS OF 10G ETHERNET

University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute (USC-ISI)
is among the first in the world to deploy 10 Gigabit Ethernet in the LAN
backbone. Scaling to 10 Gbps speeds in the backbone allowed USC-ISI to offer
their research scientists a high-performance networking computing infrastructure
for grid computing. Grid computing is a rapidly growing concept where by
thousands of low cost computers connected over a high speed network provide
massive computing power at outstanding price/performance.

Crest Animation Studios is at the forefront in India to utilize 10 Gigabit
Ethernet for animation production applications. Crest utilizes 10 Gigabit
Ethernet to interconnect two buildings together and allows the artists to store
and retrieve massive amounts of image data from storage. The 10G Ethernet
network also cuts down the time it takes for artists to transfer images to
render servers allowing more time for production of quality images while meeting
production schedule deadlines.

In Metropolitan Area Networks or MANs, many service providers take advantage
of the price/ performance and simplicity of Ethernet to provide cost-effective,
scalable broadband Ethernet services. New industry organizations such as Metro
Ethernet Forum (MEF) coordinate the efforts between vendors and service
providers to enable mass rollout of Ethernet services to business and
residential customers. Examples of Ethernet services to businesses include eLine
or Point-to-Point VPN service and eLAN or multipoint-to-multipoint VPN service
that offer a low-cost, simple and high-speed alternative to existing ATM or
Frame Relay services. The 10Gbase-LR and 10Gbase-ER interfaces are
cost-effective 10G bit/sec options for building ring or mesh topologies in MANs.

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Enersource Telecom in Canada is a metro service provider that harnesses the
power of Ethernet technology into providing high-speed bandwidth connections to
businesses and universities at a very attractive price. Enersource uses 10
Gigabit Ethernet and 1 Gigabit Ethernet in a Metro Ethernet network and offers
100 Mbps to 1 Gigabit and 10 Gigabit connections to their customers at
attractive prices.

Chandra Kopparapu is
VP, Strategic Marketing and Business Development, Foundry Networks

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