NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: OPTICAL NETWORKING 11/08/04 Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED],
In this issue: * Ethernet in the last mile and over copper cables * Links related to Optical Networking * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Cisco Systems Special Report: Bridging the Gap; Enterprise ROI IT professionals today don't indulge in the latest-greatest technology for their own sake; instead they concentrate efforts on projects that are most likely to help achieve business goals. Read about the challenges and opportunities when IT starts 'bridging the gap' and directly contributes to enterprise ROI. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=87972 _______________________________________________________________ SECURTIY SUMMIT: CAN SECURITY BE A COMPETITIVE EDGE? Recently 23 prominent IT executives and academics gathered at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH for a daylong roundtable to address such questions. CIOs and VPs from some of the largest and most well-known companies in the US shared with peers their security fears, goals, frustrations and challenges. Find out more: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=87867 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: Technologists push Ethernet to new areas By Phil Hochmuth Ethernet may be a commoditized technology in enterprise LANs but technologists are working to push, pull and stretch the technology into new areas and applications. A panel discussion at the Next Generations Networks show last week gave a preview of some of these new Ethernet frontiers, which include Layer 2 Ethernet for last-mile access and squeezing 10 billion bits of data over a Category 6 cable (a.k.a., 10G Ethernet over copper). But before Layer 2 Ethernet can become a reliable, fast WAN access offering for service providers, better management hooks must be built into the technology, says Matt Squire, CTO of Hatteras Networks, a maker of gear that runs Ethernet over copper last mile infrastructure. "The problem carriers have had with Ethernet is that, unlike IP... there is no intrinsic management layer built into" the technology, says Squire, who is also a member of the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), as well as the IEEE's 802.3ah Ethernet in the First Mile standard taskforce. The 802.3ah standard, ratified this spring, outlines how Ethernet would run over dual-pair telco copper infrastructure in the last mile, as well as introducing technologies for managing Ethernet more as a service, Squire says. But more work is needed to make Ethernet a bulletproof service technology. Squire says the MEF and IEEE are working on ways to introduce technologies such as ping and traceroute - ubiquitous tools for troubleshooting Layer 3 IP networks - into the Layer 2 Ethernet world. Technologies that can also warn network equipment of traffic congestion and provide re-route capabilities are also being investigated at the Layer 2-level for first-mile Ethernet. But the introduction of management and control hooks in Ethernet should not go so far as to complicate the technology, known for its elegant simplicity. "For things like traffic congestion control, those are best served by end-to-end applications," Squire says. "We're looking at ways to optimize traffic control... and make it work better - not to replace existing traffic congestion" management tools. Another boundary-pushing Ethernet technology is 10 Gigabit Ethernet over Category 6 copper cabling. While a standard for 10G Ethernet over copper was ratified by the IEEE earlier this year - the CX-4 standard, using InfiniBand-style cabling - this does not meet most 10G LAN needs, and is hindering the growth of 10G overall, says George Zimmerman, CTO and founder of Solarflare Communications, a maker of chips that process 10G Ethernet for copper cabling. "UTP [unshielded twisted pair cabling] has always dominated," as the choice cabling plant in enterprises, Zimmerman says. This is why "Gigabit Ethernet did not take off until there was a UTP solution was in place." Now, he says, Gigabit Ethernet is ubiquitous - a standard on many laptops and PCs, and available at under $50 per port. The finished standard for 10G over Category 6 is won't come until mid-2006, Zimmerman says. This is due partly to the technical challenges involved in migrating 10G to UTP cabling. At one time, Zimmerman says Fast and Gigabit Ethernet over copper were thought to be impossible, due to cross talk and jitter issues involved with running that much data over a copper line. With 10G Ethernet, those problems, are exponentially bigger, Zimmerman says. Running 10G over UTP creates so much noise - extraneous signals that interfere with actual data transmission - on a copper line that technologists have had a hard time coming up with ways to make it work reliably. This 10G-produced noise can interfere with signals traveling on a single copper wire, Zimmerman says, as well as signals transmitting over adjacent wires in a cable bunch. This is why the 10GBase-T standard is aiming at a specially qualified, enhanced Category 6 cable, which can cut down on internal wire and external or "alien cross-talk" noise, Zimmerman adds. _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Phil Hochmuth Phil Hochmuth is a Network World Senior Editor and a former systems integrator. You can reach him at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Cisco Systems Special Report: Bridging the Gap; Enterprise ROI IT professionals today don't indulge in the latest-greatest technology for their own sake; instead they concentrate efforts on projects that are most likely to help achieve business goals. Read about the challenges and opportunities when IT starts 'bridging the gap' and directly contributes to enterprise ROI. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=87971 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Breaking optical-networking news from Network World, The Edge and around the 'Net, updated daily: http://www.nwfusion.com/topics/optical.html Archive of the Optical Networking newsletter: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/optical/index.html _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE NEW! Website dedicated to Networking for Small Business now available The editors of NW Fusion and PC World have combined all their expert advice, authority, and know-how into a powerful new tool for small businesses, the new Networking for Small Business website. Get news, how-to's, product reviews, and expert advice specifically tailored to your small business needs. Find help with Security, Broadband, Networking, Hardware, Software, and Wireless & Mobile technology at: <http://www.networkingsmallbusiness.com/> _______________________________________________________________ May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. Apply today at http://www.subscribenw.com/nl2 International subscribers click here: http://nww1.com/go/circ_promo.html _______________________________________________________________ SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail newsletters, go to: <http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx> To unsubscribe from promotional e-mail go to: <http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Preferences.aspx> To change your e-mail address, go to: <http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/ChangeMail.aspx> Subscription questions? 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