Mar 26 2010
The IEEE has approved work to begin on a new amendment to the IEEE 802.3™ Ethernet standard that will serve to enhance the 40 Gb/s Ethernet physical layer (PHY) capabilities already under development in the IEEE P802.3ba™ 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s Ethernet project.
The project is known as IEEE P802.3bg™, "Standard for Information technology--Telecommunications and information exchange between systems--Local and metropolitan area networks--Specific requirements Part 3: Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) Access Method and Physical Layer Specifications Amendment: Physical Layer and Management Parameters for Serial 40 Gb/s Ethernet Operation Over Single Mode Fiber."
The IEEE P802.3bg project aims to provide multiple system operators and telecommunications operators with an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet 40 Gb/s serial PHY that provides optical compatibility with existing carrier 40 Gb/s client interfaces. It is sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society's Local and Metropolitan Area Networks Committee and will be developed by the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group.
"This project is to build upon the current IEEE P802.3ba 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s Ethernet project to create a new PHY for 40 Gb/s Ethernet operation that is optimized for carrier networks," says David Law, Chair of the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group. "The ongoing liaison relationship between the IEEE 802.3 Working Group and ITU-T Study Group 15 will help to ensure interoperability between standards developed by the two organizations."
"There is a significant and growing deployment of 40 Gb/s serial interfaces in carrier networks and in access to carrier networks," says Mark Nowell, chair of the IEEE 802.3 40Gb/s Ethernet Single-mode Fibre PMD Study Group. "This new standard will have broad applications, allowing it to be used by multiple vendors. It will also help carriers to balance costs by providing backwards compatibility with deployed technology and minimizing OpEx costs due to simplified deployment."
The objectives for the IEEE P802.3bg project include:
- Support a Bit Error Ratio (BER) better than or equal to 10-12.
- Provide a specification which support 40 Gb/s Ethernet operation over at least 2 km on Single Mode Fibre.
- Provide optical compatibility with existing carrier 40 Gb/s client interfaces (OTU3/STM-256/OC-768/40G POS).
The Working Group will hold its first meeting to develop IEEE P802.3bg in May 2010, hosted by the ITU in Geneva, Switzerland.