While the new Power over Ethernet standard, 802.3at and the 802.11n standard are still locked in the filing cabinet labeled ‘not yet ratified’, another little known standard that also seems to be becalmed, is that defining the 10GBASE-T PHY – i.e. the electronics and power needed at port level to drive 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) over copper.

However, 10GbE switch hardware vendor Solarflare and others are probably putting a fair amount of overtime to sort this out.

In a world which is seeking to reduce power utilization across all hardware, releasing new kit which increases the leccy bill – well, in the words of that well known Harry Enfield character, Mr You-Don't-Wanna-Do-It-Like-That, “I do not believe you want to do that.”

Talking to Force10 Network’s Steve Garrison about the situation, his view was, “The truth is that the industry is still in quandary over this – we're still in the same boat – we can't give our customers the right mix of price and density until the IEEE comes back with a much lower power consumption standard.”

For a technical discussion of the factors involved in the move to 10 GbE over copper, check out Solarflare CTO Steven Pope’s in-depth analysis of the current state of play.

I’ll leave the final word to Garrison, “At this time it's still a wait-and-see situation and the customers are saying ‘at that price I'd just as soon move to fibre.’”

31 Jan 2008