IEEE approves 200G and 400G Ethernet spec

The IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group has approved 802.3bs - Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Media Access Control Parameters, Physical Layers, and Management Parameters for 200 Gbps and 400 Gbps Operation.

The new specification cover the operation of 200GbE and 400GbE across various interconnects, including applications such as cloud-scale data centers, Internet Exchanges, co-location services, service provider networks, and other bandwidth-intensive application spaces.

"IEEE 802.3bs represents a transformational moment in the move to next generation of networks. The delivery of 200G and 400G is arriving just in time to meet growing needs for reliable, high-speed connectivity from a diverse array of applications and markets,” said John D’Ambrosia, chairman, Ethernet Alliance; and senior principal engineer, Huawei. “The exceptional effort resulting in the completion of this standard is only the start of the industry’s investment in the networks of tomorrow. We’ve laid a firm foundation for 200G and 400G with our early interoperability demonstrations and plugfests, but it’s time to kick things into high gear. The real work of testing and verifying multivendor interoperability begins now, and the Ethernet Alliance is ready. We look forward to building on past successes, and helping accelerate 200G and 400G Ethernet’s rollout and adoption.”