Many thanks go out to Ed Cady, who in this issue of Connector Specifier updates us on the goings-on within the IEEE 802.3 Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG) that is working on a 100-Gbit Ethernet standard and (this part’s the real news) a 40-Gbit Ethernet standard simultaneously. This publication is fortunate to have such a trusted source who is on the inside of so many of the technological goings-on that directly affect the efforts of connector makers.
Ed’s article on Page 10 provides an overview of what went on inside the group’s most recent meeting, held in July. It then delves into the directions in which engineers will have to move in order to develop products that can indeed support such high rates of data transmission.
The fact that he did not detail the ugliness in that July meeting is a testament to Ed’s tact, as well as his continuous efforts to move the industry technologically forward. It is my hope that others in the large group will follow this example because, although I wasn’t there, I have confirmed reports that it did indeed get nasty.
The “hostage taking” that Ed mentions in his article refers to the tactics of the subset of the HSSG that supported developing a 40-Gbit standard alongside a 100-Gbit standard. To sum it up, that group threatened to no-vote the 100-Gbit proposal if their 40-Gbit proposal got voted down. It did so in the presence of the “1,600-pound mammoths” that Ed Cady refers to-user organizations like Google, Yahoo! and Verizon-that operate ridiculously huge and complex data centers and are ready to deploy 100-Gbit product whenever it is available.
So, the 100-Gbit proponents in the HSSG faced a decision. They could stand their ground, vote down the 40-Gbit proposal, and explain to their largest potential customers why they did so, knowing it would kill the chances of a 100-Gbit standard moving forward. Or, they could acquiesce, “negotiate with the terrorists” (as the saying sometimes goes), and vote in support of the 40-Gbit standard.
They chose the latter. And that’s where the HSSG stands today.
A year ago in this space, I quoted Otto von Bismarck as saying, “Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them made.” At the time, I said something along the lines of it being appropriate to substitute the word “standards” for “laws” in that statement. Somewhat ironically, I also noted a contribution in that issue that detailed the goings-on within a certain standards body. That contribution was made by ... Ed Cady.
In the year since that column, some things have not changed. Our editorial advisory-board member, Cady, continues to be a leader in standards creation and continues to inform the industry of pertinent happenings. And the standards themselves, well, they continue to put on a pretty good performance as the sausages referred to by Otto von Bismarck. But one thing that is different now is that the “sausage factory”-the 802.3 HSSG-probably has reached an all-time low in terms of playing politics. (Although, maybe not. If someone can recall a time when a meeting of the group got this bad, or worse, I’d be interested in hearing about it.)
Putting my self-righteousness aside for a moment, let’s hope that what ultimately results from the group’s decision in July is the development of specifications that provide the world’s communications-systems users with a clear path for growth. One reason that proponents of the 40-Gbit specifications were so adamant about their cause was that the transmission speed provides a logical upgrade path for many of today’s users. They are now challenged to build the products and technologies that will pave that upgrade path.
I, for one, expect them to put every bit as much effort into that cause as they put into getting the 40-Gbit proposal approved. And I expect them to be just as creative about accomplishing it.
Patrick McLaughlin, Editor-in-Chief
patrick@pennwell.com
