OIF to host public workshop on 25G electrical interfaces

JANUARY 13, 2010 -- The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) will host a workshop on a Common Electrical Interface (CEI) for 25- and 28-Gbps on Monday, February 1, 2010, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm PST at the Cypress Hotel in Cupertino, CA. This workshop is open to the public and OIF members.

The OIF is currently developing an implementation agreement for the third generation of CEI work. The workshop will give attendees a history of the OIF’s CEI work and an update on the current 25- and 28-Gbps project. The afternoon session will provide a forum for discussion and feedback on where the industry is headed as electrical interface bandwidth increases to support increased system bandwidth density and the next generation of 100G optics modules.

“The OIF is hosting this workshop to draw in other communities to participate in broadening the application space for the CEI Implementation Agreement,” said David Stauffer of IBM Corp. and the OIF’s Physical and Link Layer Working Group chair. “We are looking for input both to provide a robust CEI specification to the industry, and to develop additional projects for future specifications that are needed by the industry.”

Workshop Agenda and Speakers:
Morning Session - CEI Content, History, & Status

Welcome - Rod Smith, Tyco Electronics and OIF MA&E co-chair
CEI Overview & Status - David Stauffer, IBM Corporation and OIF PLL WG chair
CEI Signaling - David Stauffer
CEI Channels - Joel Goergen, Force10 Networks
Relation to IEEE 802.3 - John D'Ambrosia, Force10 Networks and IEEE P802.3ba 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s Ethernet Task Force chair

Afternoon Session - Industry Feedback
System Vendor Perspective - Gary Nicholl, Cisco Systems
Channel Discussion - Adam Healey, LSI
Short Reach Channels – Dave Helster, Tyco Electronics
Power and Module Form Factors - Chris Cole, Finisar
Equalization, Power and Channels - Ali Ghiasi, Broadcom
Power Considerations from an Architectural Perspective - Tom Palkert, Xilinx and chair of the INCITS T11.2 Task Group
Backplane Applications: System Considerations - Scott Kipp, Brocade
Backplane Channels – Dave Helster
Summary & Wrap-Up - (including Q&A and audience discussion)

“This workshop is an excellent opportunity for non-members to see what the OIF is doing to address the need for higher capacity electrical interfaces,” said Rod Smith of Tyco Electronics and the OIF’s Market, Awareness and Education co-chair. “We are inviting participation and contributions from companies across the industry that may be affected by the work taking place in the OIF.”

The CEI workshop is open to the public. Fee for OIF members is $100. Fee for non-members is $125 (includes continental breakfast and lunch).

You can register online.

Visit the OIF