ArasanChipSystemsInc.

WhitePaper

10 Gigabit Ethernet: Scaling across LAN, MAN, WAN

By DennisMcCarty

March2011

10G Ethernet Technologies

Overview

Ethernetisoneofthefewprotocolsthathasincreaseditsbandwidth,whileretainingitsbasic functional characteristics such as Layer 2 protocol, frame format, packet oriented, non guaranteeddelivery.Asthecapabilitytodrivesignalsfasteroverbothcopperandfibermedia hasincreasedduetoadvancesincircuitdesignandprocesstechnology,Ethernettoohasseen itscapabilitiesextendbeyondtheubiquitoustriplespeed(10/100/1000Mb/s)MACto10Gb/s andbeyond. The 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard is specified in IEEE 802.3ae 2002 and its most recent amendments(2008).Withrapidlychangingpatternsofcomputingshiftingbetweenthickto thin clients, powerful workstations to centralized servers, and advancing regulatory requirementsfordatabackup,Ethernethasbeenextendedtosupportmanyapplications. Theincreaseinaffordablecomputingandmultimediaprocessinginbothhomeandenterprise systems has resulted in the explosion of data generated and consumed in public and private networks.Ethernetplaysavitalroleindeliveringthisdataendtoendandprovidingacommon backhaulforinterconnectanddatabackupasshowninFigure1. In this whitepaper, we present some of the market drivers for the next generation of higher speedEthernet10GigabitEthernet.

Figure1:10GigabitEthernetdeploymentbeyondtraditionalLANenvironment Arasan Chip Systems Inc.

10G Ethernet Technologies

Trends Driving 10 Gb/s Ethernet Adoption

Therapiddigitizationofmultimediahasresultedinmorepacketorienteddatatrafficthanever onnetworks.WhileconsolidationofmultiplenetworksontotheubiquitousEthernetplatform has been forecasted for a while, 10 Gigabit Ethernet offers the first opportunity for such networks can be costeffectively realized. The convergence of multiple applications onto Ethernet, coupled with its increasing bandwidth and transportable distance make 10 Gb/s Ethernettheidealchoiceforacommonbackhaulinfrastructure. Enterprisenetworkmanagerscanuse10GigabitEthernettoscaleacrossbuilding,campusand remoteoffices(within40kmradius)withouttheneedtotranslateEthernetframesalongthe way. This helps them preserve their investment in Ethernet technologies while reducing the cost of deploying the network. 10 Gigabit Ethernet is the first networking technology that encompasses LAN, MAN and now even WAN links. The versatility simplifies campus wide networkingpermittingasinglestandardtoserveworkgroup,intrabuilding,interbuildingand campuswidesecurenetworks. Theincreaseinnetworktrafficisalsodrivenbytherapidadoptionof1Gb/sEthernet,further fueling the deployment of 10 Gb/s Ethernet for traffic aggregation and storage applications. Theincreaseinclient/servercomputationalloadsnecessitatesthebulktransferofdataacross anetwork.Enterprisewideoperationssuchasbackup,recoveryandremotedatamanagement canbedeployedusing10Gb/sEthernet,withminimalimpacttonetworklatencies.Allofthese network uses strain the current 1 Gb/s Ethernet connectivity and hence greatly benefit from theupgradeto10Gb/sEthernet. 10GigabitEthernetpreservesmanyofthecharacteristicsoftheoriginalEthernetprotocoland many vendors offer interoperable equipment. This compatibility reduces the cost of the necessary infrastructure from cabling to host bus adapter cards and active network componentsloweringthecostofdeploying10Gb/sEthernet.Enterpriseandserviceproviders areassuredofmultiple,interoperablesourcesof10Gb/sEthernetinfrastructure,eliminating anypotentiallockinwithequipmentprovider.

Arasan Chip Systems Inc.

10G Ethernet Technologies

Figure2:10GigabitEthernetProtocol Thekeyaspectsof10GigabitEthernetprotocolasshowninFigure2are: Increasedbandwidthupto10Gbps Fullduplexoperation NoCSMACDneeded Packetformatarebackwardscompatible Increasedphysicalnetworkrange

10 Gigabit Ethernet also permits Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Network Service Providers(NSPs)toeasilyconnectequipmentusingashort,highspeedinterfacebetweenco locatedcarriergradeswitchesandrouters.TheinterfaceenablesISPstoprovidefasteraccess withoutthelatenciesassociatedwithformattranslations. 10GigabitEthernetisthusthefirsttechnologythatenablestheconvergenceofdifferenttraffic typesdata,voice,multimediaontoanallIPandEthernetplatform.

10 Gb/s Ethernet Protocol

The10GigabitEthernetprotocolwasfirstratifiedinJune2002,astheIEEE802.3ae2002.This standardextendsthebasicbehaviorofEthernettoabandwidthof10Gb/sinFullduplexmode. Infullduplextherearenopacketcollisionsthatcanoccur.Packetformatsareunchangedin10 Gb/sEthernet. Arasan Chip Systems Inc. 4

10G Ethernet Technologies

Ethernet is a Layer 2 protocol in the networking stack as defined by the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. 10 Gigabit Ethernet uses the same IEEE 802.3 Ethernet MAC protocol,frameformat,framesizes,andisaconnectionless,nonguaranteedpacketdelivery protocol. Several physical media are available that extend all the way to WAN type of links. 10 Gb/s EthernetdefinestwotypesofPHYs:aLANPHYandaWANPHY.Thelatterpermitsconnections toSONETSTS192c/SHDVC464cnetworks.BothcopperandfiberPHYmediaaresupported. 10GigabitEthernetMACdefinesa74signal,parallelXGMIIbustointerfacewithaPHY.Toease systemdesign,anewinterfacecalledXAUIhasalsobeenspecified.Thisservesasanalternative totheparallelXGMIIbuswhichisdifficulttoplaceandrouteonaPCB.XAUIisahighspeed, lowpincountdifferentialinterface,whicheasesPCBlayoutandcomponentlocation. ThefeaturesandbenefitsaresummarizedinTable1. 10Gb/sFeature Enables 10Gbpspeakbandwidth Scale to meet bandwidth needs of next generationEnterpriseAppsandStorage Fullduplexoperationonly Fastersyncandtwowaycommunication NoCSMACDfunction Simplifies protocol, reduces overhead and eliminatesretransmissionsduetocollisions Packetformatbackwardcompatibility Maintain application layer interface and investmentinnetworksoftwarestacks Increasedphysicalnetworkrange ExtendEthernetintocampus,metroandwide areanetworks Table1:Overviewofnewfeaturesin10GigabitEthernetandtheirbenefits Avarietyofmediatypesaresupportedforphysicallytransporting10GigabitEthernetframes over the PHY (Layer 1) layer. Due to the full duplex nature of traffic, the range of 10 Gb/s is extendedsignificantlyinthisstandard(refertoTable2). PHYMedia Range 10GBASECX4 15m 10GBASESR 26m 10GBASELX4 300m 10GBASELR 10km 10GBASEER 40km Table2:Physicalnetworkreachfor10GigabitEthernet Arasan Chip Systems Inc. 5

10G Ethernet Technologies

Traffic Consolidation on 10 Gb/s Ethernet

Enterprise and service provider network architects so far had to rely on a complex set of networking technologies to provide endtoend services to their customers. Ethernet, OC12, OC48, SONET, SDH, and packet over SONET/SDH are some of the technologies that these providershadreliedon. WithEthernetbeingthedefactostandardinsidetheEnterprise,anentirerangeofdevices fromsimpleswitchestointelligentEthernetbasedmultilayerswitcheshaveproliferated. Serviceproviderswouldliketoextendthisnetworkarchitecturetocoverintracampusand ultimatelyintercampusinternetworking. Ethernethasscaledbothinbandwidth(10Gb/s)aswellasphysicalrange(over40km),while preservingtheframeformatsandotherfeaturesoftheprotocol.Hence,Enterprisescan continuetobenefitfromtheirinvestmentsinEthernetsuchasoperatortraining,higherlayer processingsuchasrouting,caching,serverloadbalancingandpolicybasedintranets.Now,with 10Gb/sEthernet,thesesamefunctionscanbesupportedfortrafficinLAN,MANandeven WAN. Theconvergenceofbothmedia(voice,video)anddataontopacketswitchednetworksusing TCP/IPrunningoverEthernetisnowareality,withallpartsofthisecosysteminplace.The promiseofconvergencecanfinallyberealizedwith10GigabitEthernet.

Figure3:ConvergenceofVoice,Data,MultimediaontoacommonIP/Ethernetplatform

Arasan Chip Systems Inc.

10G Ethernet Technologies

Arasans Ethernet IP Portfolio

ArasanChipSystems,InchasbeenaleadingdeveloperofEthernetIPofferingcomprehensive solutionfrom10,100Mb/s,1000Mb/supto10Gb/s.Thetotalsolutionshavebeenusedin diverse applications ranging from custom networking ASICs to highperformance Ethernet systems.EthernetcoresenhancedtosupportIEEE1588RealtimeTransportprotocolarealso available.For10Gb/sEthernet,ArasanhasalsodevelopedaXAUIIPanda64B/66BPCSIPthat canbeseparatelylicensed.ArasanprovidesaTotalIPSolutionforEthernetconsistingoffully compliant, siliconverified IP cores, verification IP, portable software stacks and hardware developmentplatforms,backedbyourWorldclasscustomersupport.

Summary
10GigabitEthernetprovidesthenecessaryperformanceattherightcostpointtofacilitatethe convergenceofdiversenetworktrafficontoacommonIP/Ethernetplatform. The tenfold increase from 1 Gb/s Ethernet, allows it to support next generation Enterprise applications with ease. Network operators benefit from economies of scale by having to manageasinglenetworkprotocolthatcanhandlediversetypesofnetworktraffic. The increase in its range, supported by fiber media, allows this ubiquitous interface to scale across small to midsize campuses. The higher bandwidth permits storage access and backup operationstobesupportedonthesamenetwork. WithitsportfolioofTotalIPSolutionsforEthernet,Arasaneasestheintegrationofthishigh performanceinterfaceincomplexnetworkingASICsandchipsets. ArasanChipSystemsInc. 2010N.FirstStreet,Suite 510,SanJose,CA95131 Phone:4082821600 Fax:4082827800 Email:sales@arasan.com For a complete directory of Arasan IP products, please visit: www.arasan.com DataSheetsLink: http://www.arasan.com/datasheets /login.php

Arasan Chip Systems Inc.