IEEE will write 40, 100 Gbit/s Ethernet specs

Engineers struck a consensus this week to pave a road map to both 40 and 100 Gbit/second options for Ethernet networking. The IEEE is expected to set up an official task group to start writing specifications for the data rates starting in March. In meeting in San Francisco, the IEEE Higher Speed Study Group decided to support one effort that will draft specifications for 40 and 100 Gbit/s Ethernet. The 100 Gbit/s spec will include versions at 40 and 10 kilometers over single mode fibre, 100 meters over multimode fibre and 10 meters over copper cables.