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Business Strategy
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Special Report: That Was
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If you're planning to deploy 10-Gigabit within the data center, there's very good news: An even cheaper version of 10-Gigabit will be coming out this year. 10GBase-CX4, IEEE standard 802.3ak, is the new copper-based version. Dan Dove, chairman of the IEEE 802.3ak committee, said he expected the standard to be approved by press time.
Look for this technology to appear in vendor equipment in the first half of 2004. It will use twinax cabling with four pairs of conductors to provide copper connectivity for distances of up to 15 meters. Because expensive optics aren't used, the price will likely be a fraction of that of existing fiber-based 10-Gigabit ports. The cabling will be almost identical to Infiniband (a high-speed, external computer bus connection), but with tighter specs. Unlike most previous versions of Ethernet, the spec for the cable will come from the IEEE, not the TIA/EIA, because this cable won't involve structured wiring. It will be strictly for jumper cables, making it ideal for short runs within data centers and connections between stackable hubs.
As for 10-Gigabit over twisted pair, that's another story. We don't expect this technology to appear before 2006. A big issue with 10GBase-T is the type of twisted pair cabling it will require. The IEEE Group studying 10GBase-T appears to believe that running this 10-Gig over twisted pair for 100 meters over Category 7 cable won't be a problem. Unfortunately, Cat 7, which features individually shielded pairs, is expensive and has no installed base.
Cat 6 will likely support distances of around 55 meters, but the IEEE will be working for a way to get Cat 6 closer to 100 meters. It's not clear how well 10GBase-T will run over Cat 5e, and distance could be an issue. The shorter distances Cat 5e can handle will be suitable for little more than the data center. Installing Cat 6 instead of Cat 5e, therefore, will increase your ability to take advantage of 10-Gigabit over twisted pair.
At the other end of your LAN--the edge--vendors will be pushing you even harder next year to upgrade to gigabit, but stand your ground. If you've been replacing the PCs that connect to your wiring-closet switches, you've probably noticed that many desktop computers have built-in gigabit support. Perhaps you're thinking your lowly 10- and 100-Mbps switches aren't doing them justice. But remember, business needs should drive the technology choices, not the other way around. If your applications are running fine on 10-Mbps switched connections, you mustn't let pressure from a PC or switch vendor drive your network infrastructure.
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