10G Driving 40G and 100G to the Clouds at OFC

The Ethernet Alliance has a huge booth (724) at OFC/NFOEC from March 6-8^th and we’re filling it with some great technology and exhibits.  The theme of the booth is “High Speed Ethernet: From the Cloud to the Data Center” and we’re showing the latest 10 Gigabit Etherent (10GbE), 40GbE and 100GbE technologies.  Here’s a sample of what’s on display:

• 100G to the Cloud – the demonstration shows how a data center connects to a cloud service provider over 100G connectivity with 100GBASE-LR4, 100GBASE-SR10 and 100G OTN.
• 100G Optical Transport Network – The Ethernet Alliance is showcasing a 100G OTN connection that can span hundreds of kilometers between a data center and a cloud service provider.
• Second Generation 100GBASE-LR4 modules – This is the only place at OFC that is demonstrating these lower cost 100GBASE-LR4 modules that use directly modulated lasers to 10km reaches.
• 100G Traffic Generators – Two traffic generators are creating up to 100Gbps of traffic and sending it from data centers to the cloud.
• 40GbE Switching – One data center has 40GbE connectivity between servers and switches.
• 4x10GbE Uplinks to the Cloud – 40GbE QSFP ports are often broken out into 4x10GbE and we demonstrate this connectivity with octopus breakout cables.
• Ethernet Fabrics – Top-of-rack switches overcome the limitations of the Spanning Tree Protocol to form a 10GbE fabric.
• Past, Present and Future of Ethernet Optics – Posters highlights the evolution of Ethernet (and the optics that enabled it) over the decades and into the future.
• Live painting demonstration –  Joyce Poisson will paint data centers connecting to clouds via rainbows of light on the afternoons of the Tuesday March 6^th and Wednesday March 7^th.
• Panel on “Next-Gen 100GbE Optics  “ – Kapil Shikhande will host a panel of experts on Ethernet switching, optical transceivers and optical markets on March 7^th at 1-2pm in the Expo Theater II (614)
• Panel on “From Gigabit to Terabit Ethernet” – I will host a set of presentations from the largest selling optics vendor, switch vendor and Internet traffic provider on March 7^th at 2-3pm in the Expo Theater II (614)
• Static demonstration of Ethernet-base wireless antennas, 100GbE switching blades and optical cabling

The booth will also feature a café with plenty of tables and chairs for hanging out and talking about the latest lasers at OFC. We’ve really knocked ourselves out to create the largest demonstration that the Ethernet Alliance has ever put together.  Please stop by our booth that is located near the concession stands on the far left of the entrance.

Kind regards,

Scott Kipp

President of the Ethernet Alliance