The Ultimate Guide to 100G Gigabit Ethernet

The current evolution of the networking world is toward a data-driven approach to meet the growing demands of networking. For the backbone of next-generation Ethernet, 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100 GbE) is currently the most widely available, and the development of this network is driving the continued growth of capacity for network providers, the adoption of high-bandwidth-demanding networks, and the evolution from TDM to packet transport in metro networks. This article describes what 100 GbE is, its evolutionary path, how it provides benefits, and in which industries it is being used.

 

What is 100G Gigabit Ethernet?

 

100GbE refers to 100 Gigabit Ethernet, a high-speed networking standard, a 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) data transfer rate network protocol, a technology that is one of the more common types of Ethernet family, and that builds the foundation of communication for the majority of local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) around the world. Compared to its predecessors, 10GbE, and 40GbE, there are significant improvements in speed and capacity.

 

To address the need for high bandwidth networks, the IEEE established the HSSG (Higher Speed Study Group) in 2006 to develop a standard for 100G Ethernet, which was formally transformed into the IEEE802.3ba group in 2007, which specifies the 40G/100G Ethernet standard, of which 40Gbps is primarily for computing applications, while 100Gbps is for core and sink services. The current 100G Ethernet interface key technologies include physical layer(PHY) channel aggregation and wavelength-division Multiplexing (WDM) technology. Higher-order coding and modulation techniques exist, such as Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM). Compared to 10G Ethernet technology, 100G Ethernet provides a higher uniformity of interface standards and bandwidth performance and better performance in attenuation and dispersion.

 

Although 100GbE is virtually identical to its predecessor in terms of the Ethernet protocols and principles used, it achieves data transfer efficiencies of up to 100Gbps through more advanced technology. This efficiency has helped make 100GbE the backbone of data centers, network infrastructures, and high-performance computing, an essential component of modern networks.

 

100G Ethernet is the fastest Ethernet speed sustained over a single channel.IEEE 802.3ck became the third generation of 100G Ethernet using a single 100G Gb/s channel in December 2022, as well as 200G and 400G Ethernet using two and four of these channels, respectively, and specifies the use of twinaxial cables to transmit 100GBASE-CR and 100GBASE-CR using twinaxial cables over distances up to 2 meters. In addition to 100GBASE-CR, which specifies a maximum transmission distance of 2 meters over twinaxial cable, and 100GBASE-KR, which uses an electrical backplane, the 100GBASE-ZR standard supports 100G Ethernet over a maximum distance of more than 80 kilometers through the use of a multichannel architecture as well as the use of a single-wavelength DWDM system. If cost-effectiveness is a priority, a four-channel configuration using 25G NRZ SerDes can also be a reliable transmission medium.

 

 

100G Ethernet Evolution Introduction

 

Ethernet, the most widely used LAN technology today, originated in 1973 at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in California. It was initially developed to transmit data between computer workstations, servers, and printers.

 

This was a groundbreaking achievement in its time, as significant, expensive mainframe computers had previously dominated computer networks.

 

Ethernet's initial connection speed was only 2.85 megabits per second (Mbps). In 1980, a consortium of vendors from Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel, and Xerox released the DIX Ethernet standard, a 10 Mbps Ethernet standard. As a result, Ethernet was limited to a maximum speed of 10 Mbps until the 1980s.

 

In 1995, 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet systems were introduced, including a variety of twisted-pair and fiber-optic media systems. Four years later, 1,000 Mbps (1 GbE) Ethernet was introduced.

 

The transition from 1 GbE to 10 GbE took about 7 years, but the transition from 10 GbE to 40 GbE took only 4 years.

 

Subsequently, as data centers phased out 40 GbE, the cost of 100 GbE networking equipment began to fall, and widespread adoption of 100 GbE networks followed.

 

100 Gigabit IEEE Standard

 

The IEEE 802.2 Working Group is responsible for maintaining and expanding the Ethernet data communication standards; when we look at a particular regulation, we see that additions to specific standards are generally named by one or two letters. For example, the 802.3z Task Force defined the original version of the Gigabit Ethernet standard.

 

Here are 3 essential 100G Ethernet IEEE standards:

 

In the previous section, we mentioned IEEE 802.3ba, a task force completed in 2010 to support speeds higher than 10Gbit/s. This protocol specifies 40 and 100G bit/s rates, corresponding to the need to support endpoint and link aggregation. This standard was the first IEEE protocol to specify 100G rates. The following are some of the more important 100G-related protocols.

 

The IEEE 802.3cu standard is an amendment to the Ethernet physical layer and management parameters that allows for high-speed data transmission of 100Gb/s and 400Gb/s over single-mode fiber.802.3cu is a revision of the 802.3 base standard approved by the IEEE in February 2021, meeting the growing demand for high-speed data. The standard aims to enable cost-effective and energy-efficient single-mode fiber interfaces for 100G and 400G Ethernet, utilizing 100G optics to lower costs and boost density.

 

IEEE 802.3ck, which primarily specifies the 100G, 200G, and 400G electrical interfaces, was voted on in September 2022 for adoption. When completed, the standard is intended to enable 100Gbps electrical interfaces and support the development of higher density or lower cost electrical interfaces for 100, 200, or 400G Ethernet. This specification is also an error correction specification, by establishing a set of technical specifications, it can significantly reduce bit error rates (BERs) and transmission errors, enhancing both the quality and efficiency of data transmission., such as FEC (Forward Error Correction) coding techniques, clock synchronization, and so on.

 

IEEE 802.3ct, which primarily specifies 100G operation over DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) systems, has been completed and is under final review before publication. This standard is significant because it is the first Ethernet specification for coherent DWDM technology that supports 100G connection lengths of at least 80 kilometers.IEEE P802.3cw, on 400G operation over DWDM systems, is still in progress, extending the Ethernet specification for coherent DWDM technology to 400G.

 

The Benefit of 100GbE Ethernet

 

The adoption of 100 GbE brings numerous advantages to the networking and datacom world. Here are some of the key benefits:

 

Significant speed benefits: Provides higher data transfer speeds and enhances file access speeds in corporate networks, especially in data centers and server rooms.

 

Responds to complex network demands: Adapts to the growth of Internet traffic and complex requests from virtual servers and devices in data centers, ensuring real-time updates and efficient processing.

 

Backward Compatibility: It supports compatibility with existing infrastructure, allowing the reuse of existing cables by replacing transceivers or modules. This simplifies deployment and reduces power and space requirements, resulting in cost savings.

 

Broad product support: A wide range of 100GbE-compatible products, such as network interface cards, servers, switches, etc., are already available, reducing the number of nodes and connections, improving performance, and lowering the total cost of ownership.

 

Relieves network load: 100GbE helps reduce contention and core network overload risk in backbone networks.

 

Supports emerging technologies: For organizations adopting Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) and other emerging technologies, enhancing flexibility for future growth.

 

100G Gigabit Ethernet Application

 

Due to its excellent high-speed performance, 100GbE has been widely used in various industries. Here are some critical 100G gigabit Ethernet applications.

 

Data Centers: Data centers are the backbone of the data world architecture, hosting and processing large volumes of data. 100GbE enables more efficient collaboration between servers, storage, and network devices, making a significant difference to data center networks. Relying on the data center, data processing is faster, performance is higher, and network bottlenecks become fewer.

 

Cloud infrastructure: With the rapid development of artificial intelligence in recent years, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, a cloud computing service has been vigorously developed, for the arithmetic power is also imminent, and the high-speed performance of 100GbE can help these service providers to connect to the customer faster, and for the application and the database of the rapid data transfer between the great help.

 

High-Performance Computing (HPC): For large-scale HPC clusters that share big data and conduct scientific research and simulations, ultra-fast networks are also significant for handling large data sets more efficiently. 100GbE is also increasingly becoming the backbone architecture in HPC environments.

 

Entertainment and Media: The media and entertainment industry's most significant network needs are low latency and high bandwidth. 100GbE builds platforms for streaming media delivery, content creation, and high-resolution video and audio files to allow real-time data transfer, providing consumers with a better online video experience.

 

As you can see, most of these application scenarios rely on the high bandwidth and low latency performance of 100GbE, and these mainstream data centers are well suited to meet the demand, especially for data centers with traditional workloads but with a higher degree of virtualization.

 

Conclusion

 

In short, with the emergence of 100GbE, data centers have grown tremendously, and the network landscape has changed because of it. 100G gigabit Ethernet networks with high bandwidth and low latency have built a critical backbone for high-performance computing and telecom infrastructures. As networks evolve, 100GbE will take on even greater dimensions in data communications to enable faster and more efficient data transfers, ultimately benefiting businesses and consumers alike.