[comm] new Ethernet speeds

[Ruth Milner]

FYI, couple of interesting HPC articles. Note that Canarie/CA*Net4
is the network involved in the experiment of using the network as
storage that I emailed about a few weeks ago.

Ruth.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 103739 Faster Ethernet Round The Corner                                      10.18.02
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 11:02:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: HPCwire <hpcwire at tgc.com>
To: rmilner at zia.aoc.NRAO.EDU

Faster Ethernet Round The Corner                                      10.18.02
NEWS BRIEFS                                                            HPCwire
==============================================================================

A 40Gbps Ethernet standard could be on the cards, and 10Gbps Ethernet could
run on copper - depending on an IEEE meeting in November. A high-speed Ethernet
standard originally developed to run over fibre networks could eventually run
over cheap copper cabling if the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) adopts a new standards effort for 10Gbps Ethernet at its
annual conference in Taipei, Taiwan next month.

"Ten Gigabit is already running on copper -- for distances of around 15 feet,"
said Bobby Johnson chief executive of Foundry Networks, in a wide-ranging
interview with Tech Update. "We need this to be 100 metres, but there should
be products that do this in around two years."

Key people in the Ethernet standards world have confirmed that two options
will be considered in Taipei. One option, 10GBase-CX4, uses XAUI (10 Gigabit
Attachment Unit Interface, pronounced "Zowie"), a standard defined in IEEE Std
802.3ae-2002, and used by Infiniband for short rack interconnects used in
server rooms. The extra work to get 10Gbps on copper this way would be pretty
minimal, said Bob Grow, chair of the IEEE 802.3 working group, a principal
architect at Intel and a former chair of the 10 Gigabit Ethernet Alliance.

Meanwhile, an effort to get 10Gbps running on conventional twisted pair cables
is referred to as 10Gbase-T. "This effort would take more time to generate a
standard than 10GBASE-CX4," said Grow. Both options will be discussed at the
Taipei conference, and either or both could begin the slow process to becoming
a standard.

Meanwhile, the next speed jump for Ethernet could be a four-times multiple,
rather than the traditional ten times, which has taken Ethernet from 10Mbps,
to 100Mbps, Gigabit and now 10Gbps.

Most Ethernet standards have reused physical specifications from other
communications protocols such as Fibre Channel (Gigabit Ethernet) and SONET
OC-192 (10Gbps Ethernet). However, there are no communication standards at
100Gbps, so Ethernet may simply adopt the highest available option -- SONET
OC-768, which is 40Gbps.

"Historically, 802.3 has been reluctant to do a four times multiple," said
Grow. A four-times speed jump was proposed and dismissed after both the Fast
Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet standards, he pointed out. "But 10Gbps Ethernet
is the first time we are at the same rate as the SONET world. Link aggregation
is now the standard method for accomplishing 2x or 4x the data rate."

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 103745 New Ethernet Enables Single Terabyte Data Transfer                    10.18.02
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 11:02:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: HPCwire <hpcwire at tgc.com>
To: rmilner at zia.aoc.NRAO.EDU

New Ethernet Enables Single Terabyte Data Transfer                    10.18.02
NEWS BRIEFS                                                            HPCwire
==============================================================================

Demonstrating the impact of its leading network technology, Extreme Networks,
Inc.'s 10-Gigabit switching platform enabled researchers to transfer one
Terabyte of information from Vancouver to Geneva across a single network hop,
the world's first large-scale, end-to-end transfer of its kind.

Extreme's scalable Ethernet technology was the LAN switching component of the
Terabyte data transfer; a Terabyte of data, which is equal to 1,000 Gigabytes
(or a trillion Bytes), is the amount of capacity required to store
approximately 200 full-length movies in digital format. The Terabyte transfer
used a combination of "light paths" comprised of dedicated portions of fiber
optic networks with resources from TRIUMF, a prominent particle accelerator
laboratory, ATLAS Canada, Canarie, Inc. and the facilities of CERN (European
Organization for Nuclear Research).

Extreme Networks' 10-Gigabit Ethernet technology and its BlackDiamond(R) core
switching platform create the Ethernet/IP foundation of communication and
applications including high-capacity network storage, super-computing clusters
and high-end CAD/CAM graphic applications. The recently completed Terabyte
data transfer by TRIUMF is recognized as the world's first inter-domain end-
to-end light path transfer utilizing a single network hop to pass information
across a distance of 12,000 kms. The "light path" directly connecting TRIUMF
and CERN is the longest known single hop network -- spanning the distance from
Vancouver to Geneva where the transfer utilized one provincial (BCNET) and two
national research and education networks, CA*Net 4 and SURFnet.

"Progressive research projects and advanced network technology go hand-in-hand
as demonstrated with the recent Terabyte data transfer from Vancouver to
Geneva," said Wade Hong, HEPnet technical manager. "We were able to realize
the full potential of Ethernet and optical networking to extend LAN speeds
across a global distance."

"Canarie's goal is to provide an advanced research and innovation network that
Canadian researchers, scientists and educators can use to collaborate with
each other and their peers around the world, as demonstrated by the Terabyte
data transfer," said Dr. Andrew Bjerring, president and CEO, Canarie, Inc.

Extreme Networks has been at the forefront in the development of standardized
10 Gigabit Ethernet switching. The Company's co-founder and CTO, Steve
Haddock, serves as the vice-chair of the IEEE 802.3ae task force which has
developed the industry standard for 10-Gigabit Ethernet. Tony Lee of Extreme
Networks served as the 10GEA's president over a two-year period beginning in
March 2000; and another Extreme Networks' technologist, Ameet Dhillon,
currently serves on the 10GEA board of directors.

"The meaningful implications of the Vancouver to Geneva Terabyte transfer
signify the progress of high-performance, standards-based Ethernet
technology," said Duncan Potter, vice president of marketing for Extreme
Networks. "Extreme Networks' scalability and high-end switching performance
enables premier research organizations, corporate enterprises and Metro
service providers to realize the future of networking."

Extreme Networks, Inc.

Extreme Networks delivers the most effective applications and services
infrastructure by creating networks that are faster, less complex and more
cost-effective. Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., Extreme Networks sells
it awarding-winning switching solutions in more than 50 countries. For more
information, visit http://www.extremenetworks.com.

ATLAS Canada

The ATLAS detector is one of 4 major experiments at the Large Hadron Collider
at CERN. It is a large international collaboration involving 2,000 researchers
from 35 countries including Canada. ATLAS is one of the top priorities for
Canadian particle physicists with approximately 90 researchers and
technicians. Canada is currently constructing components of the ATLAS detector
at many universities across Canada. Further, Canada has made significant
contributions to the CERN accelerator complex through the TRIUMF Laboratory in
Vancouver.

Canarie, Inc.

Canarie is Canada's advanced Internet development organization, a not-for-
profit corporation supported by its members, project partners and the Federal
Government. Canarie's mission is to accelerate Canada's advanced Internet
development and use by facilitating the widespread adoption of faster, more
efficient networks and by enabling the next generation of advanced products,
applications and services to run on them. Following a $110M funding agreement
with Industry Canada, Canarie, Inc. designed, developed and is operating
CA*Net 4, Canada's national research and innovation network.

CERN

CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, located in Geneva,
Switzerland, it is the world's largest particle physics center. CERN is an
international project supported by 20 European states in collaboration with
researchers from North America and Asia. Currently CERN is building the
world's largest accelerator, called the Large Hadron Collider, which will
study the nature of matter and the fundamental forces of the universe.

HEPnet Canada

HEPnet Canada, the Canadian High Energy Physics Network, a research project,
funded by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC), provides support for advanced computer wide area networking in
subatomic physics research across Canada.

TRIUMF (http://www.triumf.ca)

TRIUMF has the world's largest cyclotron and is considered to be one of the
major particle accelerator laboratories in the world. It is operated as a
joint venture by five Canadian universities and counts an additional six
universities as associate members. It is funded via a contribution agreement
through the National Research Council of Canada.

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