March 25, 2008 -- The Ethernet Alliance announced that its Small Form Factor Pluggable Module/Electronic Dispersion Compensation (SFP+/EDC) and Backplane Ethernet subcommittees will host interoperability Plugfests for short wavelength multimode fiber transceiver (10GBASE-SR) and long wavelength single-mode fiber transceiver (10GBASE-LR) SFP+ optical modules, and for passive electrical backplanes. The Plugfests will be held at the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab (UNH-IOL) in Durham, NH.
The 10GBASE-SR and 10GBASE-LR SFP+ Plugfest will be held March 31 to April 4, and will give Ethernet Alliance members the opportunity to demonstrate technology readiness to the industry by presenting several 10GBASE-SR and 10GBASE-LR SFP+ optical modules interoperating and compliant with IEEE Std. 802.3ae-2002. SFP+ enables high-density 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) connectivity using a small form factor previously only possible for GbE connections. Ethernet Alliance members participating in the SFP+ optical modules plugfest will include: AMCC, Avago Technologies, Broadcom, ClariPhy, Cortina Systems, ExceLight Communications, Finisar, Gennum, Inphi Corporation, Intel, JDSU, MergeOptics, NetLogic Microsystems, Opnext and Vitesse.
The backplane Ethernet Plugfest will be held April 7 to 11 and will give Ethernet Alliance members the opportunity to demonstrate IEEE Std. 802.3ap-2007 technology readiness to the industry. Backplane Ethernet allows transmission of serial 10 GbE for up to one meter over passive electrical backplanes, enabling a new generation of modular platforms for enterprise networks and data centers. The goal of this Plugfest is to advance the interoperability status of IEEE Std. 802.3ap-2007. Ethernet Alliance members participating in the backplane Ethernet plugfest include: AMCC, NetLogic Microsystems and Vitesse.
The SFP+/EDC subcommittee plans to hold a second Plugfest in 2008 to demonstrate Long Range Multi-Mode (10GBASE-LRM) interfaces interoperating with different Electronic Dispersion Compensation Internet Connections (EDC ICs), ensuring compliance with IEEE Std. 802.3aq-2006. The backplane Ethernet subcommittee also plans to hold a follow-on Plugfest in 2008. More detailed information on these Plugfests will be available in the coming months, says the Ethernet Alliance.
Separately, the Ethernet Alliance also announced the addition of 15 new members including: Akros Silicon, Alcatel-Lucent, Amphenol, Chelsio, Fluke Networks, Gennum, Huawei, Kenet, Leoni Special Cables, Moschip Semiconductor, Realtek Semiconductor, Sarance Technologies, SMC Networks, St. Cloud State University and VIT University.
"The Ethernet Alliance continues to enhance its membership and to offer new programs to support removing barriers to broad market adoption of emerging technologies," said Brad Booth, Chair, Ethernet Alliance. "There is strong interest in emerging technologies like SFP+ and backplane Ethernet while support grows for developing technologies like Energy-efficient Ethernet, Power over Ethernet (PoE) Plus, as well as 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100 Gigabit Ethernet."
