The Fellowship of Ethernet: Making “It Just Works” Work
Time for some real talk: even with the genius of Bob Metcalfe, Ethernet didn’t just magically burst onto the scene to upend connectivity as we know it. There wasn’t some mythical Ethernet genie that turned it into the world’s most ubiquitous networking protocol; its longevity and success is the result of hard work, collaboration, and innovative thinking by a whole lot of extremely dedicated people.
What’s our role in this grand scheme? Well, the Ethernet Alliance has a clear mission:
- Promote the awareness, adoption, and advancement of existing and emerging Ethernet technologies.
- Educate Ethernet technology consumers using a unified, vendor-neutral voice.
- Drive Ethernet’s multi-vendor interoperability through validation, demonstration, certification, and events.
- Expand the market by making Ethernet technologies easier to adopt.
That’s a lot to unpack, so let me break it down.
At the Ethernet Alliance, we’re about all things Ethernet, something we’ll proudly tell you anytime, anywhere. Ethernet’s hallmark is, “It just works!” But don’t be fooled – if you think that just happens magically, I have a lovely bridge to sell you.
As rule 10 and rule 12 of RFC 1925: The Twelve Networking Truths says:
- (10) One size never fits all.
- (12) In protocol design, perfection has been reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
When it comes to taking new technology from “vision” to “deployment”, there are a few fundamental truths you need to know:
- Understanding is key – what the problem is, who needs the problem solved and why, and who will benefit from the end result.
- Being at the right place, at the right time, with the right set of people is essential to achieving a “good enough” answer.
- It’s a three-step process: build it, test it, deploy it.
In real estate, it’s all about “location, location, location!” and the same holds true for Ethernet standardization. Where the work gets done is as equally important as how it gets done. xkcd’s “How Standards Proliferate” puts it most eloquently:
Source: https://xkcd.com/license.html
Think of it as a good ol’ fashioned “barn raising”, where everyone has to come together to solve problems that can’t be resolved in isolation. You guessed it – it takes an Ethernet village.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barn_raising_in_Lansing.jpg
The Fellowship of the (not Token) Ring
So, who should be involved? Solving the right problem in the wrong place never works. If you’ve ever read Tolkien or nearly any other fantasy author, you know that every series has its own world. Here’s ours. Welcome to the “Ethernet World” (map not to scale, naturally).
What role does the Ethernet Alliance play in this fair land? As the guildmaster of collaboration, we bring together the diverse nations of “Ethernet World” – uniting stakeholders, enabling cooperation, and guiding efforts to define problems and solutions. We saw this most recently in action during the recent Technology Exploration Forum: Ethernet in the Age of AI (TEF 2024), but also as the creators and keepers of the industry’s only roadmap (2025 edition coming soon).
The Ethernet Alliance works with its members to:
- Ensure “It just works” (in the form of plugfests)
- Prove “It just works” (if you haven’t seen our demos at OFC, take a look at this webinar)
- Explain “It just works” through blogs, webinars, and more.
What doesn’t the Ethernet Alliance do? Great question! Here is what we don’t do:
- Pick winners. We champion in “Everything Ethernet” and “Ethernet in Everything”. There’s rarely a single solution, Ethernet thrives on flexibility.
- Write technical specifications. That’s the role of Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) like IEEE 802.3, Multi-Source Agreements (MSAs) such as OSFP and QSFP-DD, and other industry groups.
Ultimately, our goal is to connect the industry with the right solutions, from the right people, at the right time – almost like magic.
