IEEE Ratifies Standard for 25GBASE-T

Ina press release, the Ethernet Alliance applauded the IEEE Standards Association’s (IEEE-SA) publication of IEEE 802.3bp™, IEEE 802.3bq™, IEEE 802.3br™, and IEEE 802.3by™, noting their importance to Ethernet’s continued evolution and significance as an indicator of what lies ahead.

“Ethernet is erupting in every direction. Whether you’re talking new markets like automotive or historic proving grounds such as networks and data centers, Ethernet’s ongoing expansion has reached critical mass. There’s growing velocity behind work being done to develop the next generation of speeds, innovative technologies, and forward-looking specifications for emerging application spaces,” said John D’Ambrosia, chairman, Ethernet Alliance; and senior principal engineer, Huawei. “These new standards are the latest product of the surge in enthusiastic activity permeating the Ethernet ecosystem, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg – there’s much more yet to come. We commend the members of IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group for their efforts and congratulate them on a job well done.”

Ethernet’s scope continues to broaden at an unprecedented rate, impacting sectors encompassing hyperscale data centers, enterprise, cloud computing, automotive, Internet of Things (IoT), and Power over Ethernet (PoE), among others. With this unbridled growth comes increased demand for cost-efficient Ethernet and BASE-T Ethernet solutions at a variety of speeds, including 1 Gigabit per second (Gb/s), 25 Gb/s, and 40Gb/s:

• IEEE 802.3bp, “IEEE Draft Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Physical Layer Specifications and Management Parameters for 1 Gb/s Operation over a Single Twisted Pair Copper Cable”, defines physical layer (PHY) specifications (including optional single-pair autonegotiation and Energy Efficient Ethernet) and parameters for full-duplex 1 Gb/s Ethernet operating in harsh environments found in automotive and industrial applications.
• IEEE 802.3bq, “Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Physical Layer and Management Parameters for 25 Gb/s and 40 Gb/s Operation, Types 25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T”, opens the door to higher-speed 25 Gb/s and 40 Gb/s twisted pair solutions with auto-negotiation capabilities and Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) support for data center applications.
• IEEE 802.3br, “Standard for Ethernet Amendment Specification and Management Parameters for Interspersing Express Traffic”, addresses the needs of industrial control system manufacturers and the automotive market by specifying a pre-emption methodology for time-sensitive traffic.
• IEEE 802.3by, “Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Media Access Control Parameters, Physical Layers and Management Parameters for 25 Gb/s Operation”, introduces cost-optimized 25 Gb/s PHY specifications for single-lane server and switch interconnects for data centers.

Category 8 cabling is designed to support emerging IEEE 25GBase-T and 40GBase-T needed as server-to-access-switch interconnect applications.

Tags: 25GBASE-T, Ethernet Alliance, IEEE

Category: News