Gigabit Ethernet Alliance to Demonstrate
Gigabit Ethernet Technology from
Multiple Member Companies for the First
Time at NetWorld+Interop; "Birds of a
Feather" Session at Show Will Highlight
Gigabit Ethernet
CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 1997--The
Gigabit Ethernet Alliance today announced that it will sponsor
the first Gigabit Ethernet technology demonstration from
multiple member companies at the upcoming
NetWorld+Interop show in Las Vegas. The demonstration will
take place May 6-8 within the Alliance booth No. 5317.
Additionally, the Alliance will hold an in-depth discussion on
Gigabit Ethernet technology at a "Birds of a Feather" session
to be held at the show on Wednesday evening, May 7th.
The technology demonstration, which will be comprised of
products from Alliance member companies, will illustrate the
various environments in which Gigabit Ethernet can be applied
in production networks. Products from 27 member companies
will be available in the Alliance booth; a subset of these
participants have also worked together to build the
multi-vendor Gigabit network that will be seen at the show.
Demonstration participants have conducted a large number of
one-on-one and small group tests in preparation for the
demonstration.
"The Gigabit Ethernet technology demonstration at Interop is
a leading indication of how quickly the technology will be
implemented," said Bob Grow, Gigabit Ethernet Alliance team
leader for the demo. "Consider the following facts gathered at
the `hot stage' testing: nine MAC technologies successfully
passed packets between systems; over 20 companies
participated in the `hot stage' with operating equipment; and
there have been dozens of one-on-one and small group tests
prior to the hot-staging. The ability to accomplish all this prior
to completion of a standard emphasizes two important
features of the technology: one, the value in starting with a
proven and familiar networking technology such as Ethernet;
two, that the basic features that were selected for Gigabit
Ethernet are stable."
Participants will show a broad range of Gigabit Ethernet
product types. Network equipment to be demonstrated will
illustrate switching between Gigabit Ethernet LAN segments
and between Gigabit Ethernet, FDDI, Fast Ethernet and
Ethernet LAN segments. A number of participants will
demonstrate Buffered Distributors which provide shared
Gigabit Ethernet access through full-duplex links. Gigabit
Ethernet-connected servers, PCs and workstations will further
illustrate the ways in which the technology can be widely
applied in user networks. In addition, demo participants will
exhibit components used to implement Gigabit Ethernet
products, as well as test equipment specifically targeted for
Gigabit Ethernet systems. The demonstration will be the first
opportunity to view Gigabit Ethernet products, some of which
are available for immediate shipment by participating Alliance
member companies.
Equipment used in the demonstration will be interconnected
via 1000BASE-SX, one of the physical layer options described
in 802.3z/D2, the current draft for Gigabit Ethernet.
1000BASE-SX uses component technology originally
developed for Fibre Channel. This includes the 8B/10B
encoding of information and the use of short wavelength laser
optical transceivers.
"The technology demonstration at NetWorld+Interop is an
important first step in one of the underlying Alliance principles:
to further the development of Gigabit Ethernet equipment by
facilitating interoperability testing, thus reducing the risk for
end-user adoption," said Tony Lee, chairman of the Alliance.
"This demo will show that the technology is real and that
products are on their way. Clearly, Gigabit Ethernet is
emerging as a strategic alternative for network backbones that
support mission critical applications."
The Gigabit Ethernet Alliance is also supporting the work
undertaken by IP Multicast Initiative (IPMI) in bringing
MULTICAST LIVE! to the NetWorld+Interop show. IPMI is a
group of networking vendors, service and content providers,
broadcast and satellite companies, public institutions and IT
organizations, formed to speed the adoption of native IETF
standards-based IP Multicast. MULTICAST LIVE! is an
educational program featuring industry experts telling the
story of IP Multicast, why it is important today and how it can
be deployed in networks. The Alliance is making the program
available via IP Multicast in high-quality video format at over 20
of the vendor demonstration areas in its booth.
In addition, the Alliance will sponsor a "Birds of a Feather"
(BOF) session, entitled Gigabit Ethernet and High-Speed LAN
Technologies, at the show. A panel of Alliance member
representatives from Cisco Systems, Extreme Networks,
Hewlett-Packard and XLNT will hold an in-depth discussion on
issues relating to the Gigabit Ethernet standard process and
implementation, as well as availability and basic
interoperability of the technology and its applications. The
BOF will take place on Wednesday, May 7th, from 8:00 to
10:00 p.m. in the Las Vegas Hilton, Pavilion 6. Alliance Booth
Participants
Alliance member companies demonstrating products in the
booth are: 3Com, Acacia Networks, Adaptec, Alteon
Networks, Bay Networks, Cabletron Systems, Cisco
Systems, Compaq, Essential Communications, Extreme
Networks, Foundry Networks, GigaLabs, Hewlett-Packard,
IBM, Intel, NBase, Netcom Systems, Network Appliances,
Packet Engines, PlainTree Systems, Prominet Corp., Rapid
City Communications, Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems,
Vitesse Semiconductor, WideBand Corp. and XLNT. New
Alliance Members
The combined Alliance membership already comprises many
of the most prominent companies in the networking,
computer, component and test equipment industry segments.
Total membership in the Alliance continues to grow. New
members include: 3M, Acclaim Communications, Applied
Micro Circuits Corporation, Boston Optical Fiber, Inc.,
ComCore Semiconductor, Inc., Corning Inc., E.T.R.I.,
Honeywell, Rockwell Semiconductor, Silicon Image, Inc.,
Winbond Electronics Corp. and Xyratex. Standards Progress
and Timeline
In keeping with the current aggressive schedule for
standardization of Gigabit Ethernet, the next meeting of the
IEEE 802.3z Task Force will take place in Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida, from May 14-16, 1997, to continue the work of refining
technical details. Between March and July, 1997, the Task
Force will work to ensure that the specification is complete
and ready for the ballot process. The goal for completion of
the standard is during the first quarter of 1998. About the
Gigabit Ethernet Alliance
The Gigabit Ethernet Alliance, founded in May, 1996, was
formalized around four common objectives -- to fully support
the Gigabit Ethernet standards activities being conducted in
the IEEE 802.3z and 802.3ab Task Forces, to contribute
technical resources to facilitate convergence and consensus
on technical specifications, to provide resources to establish
and demonstrate product interoperability, and to foster
two-way communications between potential suppliers and
consumers of Gigabit Ethernet products.
This multi-vendor vendor effort is committed to providing
customers with open, cost-effective and interoperable Gigabit
Ethernet solutions, and it supports the CSMA/CD (Carrier
Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection) protocol of
the original Ethernet standard. To date, representatives from
over 110 networking, computer, component and test
equipment companies are participating in the Gigabit Ethernet
standards activities. The Gigabit Ethernet Alliance
headquarters is located in Cupertino, Calif. Telephone:
408-241-8904, Fax: 408-241-8918, Email:
73530.2267@compuserve.com, Web Site:
www.gigabit-ethernet.org .
North America,United States of America
BUSINESS WIRE
Author: Business Editors
April 29, 1997 |
