IEEE Ratifies 40G Ethernet Optical Standard

The 40Gb/s Ethernet Single-mode fiber optical interface standard, IEEE 802.3bg-2011, has been ratified by the IEEE. The new standard enables 40 Gb/s serial Ethernet interfaces to be deployed on single-mode fiber. It is an amendment to the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard. The new standardized interface, called 40GBASE-FR, supports transmission up to 2km over single-mode fiber and can enable equipment to be configurable to interoperate with installed base of equipment conforming to existing telecom and ITU standards such as OC-768, OTU3, STM-256 or 40G Packet-over-SONET (POS).



The new standard builds upon last year's release of the IEEE 802.3ba-2010, IEEE's 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s Ethernet standard.



The IEEE said this new 40GBASE-FR interface was a specific need identified by the telecom carrier network operators as a key factor in their ability to seamlessly transition from installed equipment to new equipment supporting 40 Gb/s Ethernet.



"The telecom carrier community is very keen to adopt Ethernet technologies but also needs to leverage its significant installed base of OTN, SONET, SDH or POS equipment. Once the need was determined, the IEEE was able to quickly gather forces and develop a standard to meet the technical requirements as well as the schedule needs of the user community," said Mark Nowell, Chair, IEEE 802.3bg Task Force, Senior Director Engineering, SP Routing Technology Group, Cisco. "The excellent cooperation between the IEEE and ITU standards bodies and members enabled us to develop and complete this IEEE Ethernet specification in record time for an optical interface. Completing in only 16 months from the original Call for Interest and 12 months from the project approval enables the industry to quickly respond to the growing need for Ethernet adoption in the carrier networks."http://www.ieee.org/http://standards.ieee.org