Work begins on spec for 10-Gbit Ethernet on copper

摘要

San mateo, calif. - Six compa- nies will gather in Hawaii this week to kick off an effort to formalize a 10-G Base T standard for 10-Gbit Ethernet over copper. SolarFlare Communications, a closely watched startup that is part of the group, will use the occasion to disclose its work in applying antenna techniques and 400-MHz-plus signaling to carry 10-Gbit/second Ethernet signals over 100 meters of Category 5 wire. The effort could smooth the path for business networks to evolve gently from today's Gigabit Ethernet without having to retrofit offices with new kinds of copper or optical-fiber cable (see Oct 7, page 1). But the par-ticipants-SolarFlare (Irvine, Calif.), Plato Labs (Campbell, Calif.), Cicada Semiconductor Corp. (Austin, Texas), Accelerant Networks Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.), Mysticom Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) and startup Teli-cos-represent widely diverging ideas on cracking what some developers call the holy grail of wired networking.