The Ethernet Alliance says it will hold its next Technology Exploration Forum (TEF) this January 25-29. Titled “TEF 2021: The Road Ahead,” the virtual event will feature a series of webinars highlighting the tradeoffs, use cases, and technology challenges surrounding selection of the next Ethernet rate.
The IEEE has launched a Study Group to tackle the subject of what should come after 400 Gigabit Ethernet (see “IEEE 802.3 Beyond 400Gb/s Ethernet Study Group formed”). It is expected any standards that may result will leverage the work now underway within IEEE P802.3ck to standardize electrical signaling of 100 Gbps per lane (see "IEEE launches task forces for high-speed electronic interfaces, 400G over multimode fiber standards development"). However, those lanes could be used in a number of combinations, leading to a need to drive consensus within the Ethernet community regarding potential next steps.
TEF 2021 will attempt to help meet this requirement. “Clear trends toward cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, corporate mandates to work from home, as well as new workloads such as machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and streaming gaming, are combining to drive ever-increasing traffic loads - both machine-to-machine and to the end-user,” said Peter Jones, chair, Ethernet Alliance. “The Technology Exploration Forum is an opportunity for individuals to present and share their ideas with component vendors, system vendors, and end-users across the broad Ethernet Alliance membership and beyond. Together, these constituencies provide a diverse set of backgrounds, ensuring lively discussion and debate for TEF 2021.”
The webinars will be held at 1 p.m. Pacific/4 p.m. Eastern each day of the TEF. Scheduled session topics include:
- Market Need – The Next Ethernet Rate
- New Applications Driving Higher Bandwidths
- Beyond 100G Electrical
- Technical Feasibility: Next Generation Optical Interfaces
- Test & Measurement
Information about registration and sponsorship is available at TEF 2021: The Road Ahead.
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