Infiniband to Outpace Ethernet's Expected Force

Every good plan in networking ultimately seems to be borged into the Ethernet protocol. Even so, there's still a place in the market for its key rival in the data center, InfiniBand, which has constantly offered more bandwidth, lower latency, and often lower power use and cost-per-port than Ethernet.

But can InfiniBand keep outrunning the tank that is Ethernet? The members of the InfiniBand Trade Association, the association that manages the InfiniBand specification, think so.

InfiniBand, which is the result of the fusion in 1999 of the Future I/O spec espoused by Compaq, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard and the Next Generation I/O contending spec from Intel, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems, represents one of those rare moments when key players came together to create a new technology then kept moving it forward. Sure, InfiniBand was relegated to a role in high-performance computing clusters, lashing nodes together, rather than flattering a universal fabric for server, storage, and peripheral connectivity. Roadmaps don't always pan out.

But since the first 10 Gb/sec InfiniBand products hit the market in 2001, it's InfiniBand, more than Ethernet, which has kept pace with the discharge core counts in servers and gigantic storage arrays to feed them, which stipulate massive amounts of I/O bandwidth in the switches that link them. Which is why InfiniBand has persisted despite the offensive of Ethernet, which jumped to Gigabit and then 10 Gigabit speeds while InfiniBand evolved to 40 Gb/sec?

IEEE 1471 Block Diagram

IEEE Hammers Out Two Principles for Elegant Grids

The IEEE concluded one standard and superior another to help lay the groundwork for interoperable smart electric grids.

The IEEE ratified its 1815 Distributed Network Protocol standard for electric power systems communications. Then protocol is a version of a bequest technology expanded for greater device interoperability and security particularly in managerial control and data purchase systems.

The standard was completed in seven months in association with the DNP Users Group. DNP3 is already one of the most prevalent and commonly specific protocols in use today, said George Arnold, NIST’s National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability. IEEE has done a significant job of uniting an array of stakeholders to deliver a firm based upon which Smart Grid technologies can be built and deployed, he said in a press statement.

IEEE 1815 supports a NIST goal of mapping DNP to the IEC's 61850 Object standard. Separately, the IEEE has completed a draft standard for 1547.8. The pattern provides a platform for distributed resources interconnection applications and supports distributed energy storage systems. The spec should be ratified in 2012.

The standard provides greater support for alternating renewable energy sources, and more flexible use of inverters such as found in home solar power systems. It also addresses energy storage devices, hybrid generation-storage systems and aspects of plug-in electric vehicles.

Force10 Networks Issues Statement Supporting IEEE Passing Its P802.3ba 40 And 100 Gigabit Ethernet Standard

Force10 Networks, a data center service provider, announced it has released a statement commending the IEEE and its Task Force for ratifying its P802.3ba standard for 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE). 

The ratification sets a needed standard as dynamic data center setting impose aggregating more traffic at 40 GbE and 100 GbE speeds. Employees of Force10 Networks played an important role to help begin the standard ratification process by indicating how, through a variety of Ethernet use cases, their customers believed there was a need for higher Ethernet speeds. 

We commend the IEEE for their efforts as the standardization of 40 and 100 GbE is a key step, from a bandwidth viewpoint, toward converging storage, compute and network wealth on to Ethernet technology, said Henry Wasik, president and CEO, Force10 Networks. The standard is a necessary yardstick and an important step from which clients can build low-latency solutions capable of handling network traffic well into the future. 

According to Force10, the consent of 40 GbE and 100 GbE is probable to help drive initiatives by data center managers and service providers to modernize its respective networks. Going forward, even as they task their network to perform greater, they want smaller amount network layers to manage and less uplinks required in the network since consolidated I/O will perform much better with increments of 40 GbE. These configurations can transfer from 4 x 10G uplinks and move to 2 x 40 GbE, doubling bandwidth while reducing port count by 50 percent.

IEEE Standards Will Unite High-Speed Ethernet, Says Force10

The special elements of the high-speed Ethernet market will congregate as IEEE standards are adopted, according to Force10 Networks. President and chief executive officer Henry Wasik praises the IEEE - the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for its work on the P802.3ba standard, ratified for both 40 GbE and 100 GbE.

He says: "We entrust the IEEE for their efforts as the standardization of 40 and 100 GbE is a key step, from a bandwidth perspective, toward converging storage, compute and network resources on to Ethernet technology."

Force10 Networks adds that its own employees were involved in the early stages of the consent process, demonstrating the desire among clients for higher Ethernet speeds to become possible.

John D'Ambrosia from Force10 Networks also co-wrote the 2008 Ethernet Alliance Technology Overview of 40 and 100 GbE, which was published following the IEEE's own journal of a draft adjustment to the 802.3 Ethernet standards, an important step towards unifying 40 and 100 GbE within its specifications.

RASIRC and Fraunhofer Will Present Paper at IEEE Photovoltaic Forum

The research paper titled “Purified Steam for Thermal Oxidation Processes” will provide an assessment between purified steam and pyrolytic vapor meant for falsehood of silicon solar cells. This paper will be presented during the “Posters, Crystalline Silicon: Device Fabrication and Manufacturing” conference session held on June 24.

The paper draws a similarity between the two steam production techniques, analyzes the physical uniqueness of steam-grown, purified thermal oxides, as well as implements a direct oxidation process that is based on steam into an industrial production chain meant for rear-surface passivity solar cells. It is found that by utilizing industrial equipment for thermal oxidation and wet chemical cleaning, high efficient carrier lifetimes can be achieved.

Jeffrey Spiegelman, president and founder of RASIRC, said that the company’s research activity with Fraunhofer on the subject of the treatment of purified steam in the fabrication process of solar cells has produced copious positive as well as cost-effective results. He also added that this result signifies that purified steam facilitates the growth of thermal oxides meant for the industrial production of silicon solar cells that are thermal oxide-passivity.

100 Gigabit Ethernet Standard Ratified

The IEEE 802.3ba 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s Ethernet standard has been ratified by who else? The IEEE P802.3ba 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s Ethernet Task Force.

Ubiquitous acceptance of bandwidth-rigorous technologies and applications, such as converged system services, video-on-demand, and social networking, is producing rapidly escalating demand for higher-rate throughput.

Non-standard 100Gb/s setups have already appeared in the field for example, the Dutch education networkers at SURF net announced Monday that they had achieved 100Gb/s speeds on T Series Core Routers from Juniper Networks. Global Quotes notes that Cisco, Brocade, and Extreme Networks have also developed 100Gb/s Ethernet routers, cards, and switches.

But as was true after the long and sore 802.11n wireless networking standards process, developers of current 100Gb/s hardware shouldn't have a complex time making the indispensable tweaks if any to be fully 802.3ba-compliant.

2010 IEEE Medal of Nobility for Viterbi

IEEE Life colleague Andrew J. Viterbi, whose Viterbi algorithm is used in all four international standards for digital cellular telephones, as well as data terminals and digital satellite transmit receivers, will be presented with the IEEE Medal of Honor at the 2010 IEEE Honors Ceremony. This year's event will be held on June 26 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

In 1985, Viterbi cofounded Qualcomm with Irwin Jacobs and helped develop Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, which applied spread spectrum to cellular phones. Viterbi's assistance to communications technology has impacted the lives of people throughout the world. There is a Viterbi detector in almost every disk drive and high-capacity MP3 player, images transmitted from deep space are made possible by the Viterbi algorithm, and third-generation mobile telephones employ one or more of Viterbi's systems.

Viterbi developed what became known as the Viterbi Algorithm in 1967 while a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. The Viterbi Algorithm was penetrating in wireless technology that alienated information from background noise, and it primarily changed the way digital communications are processed. The algorithm is used in most digital cellular phones and satellite receivers as well as in such sundry fields as magnetic recording, voice recognition, and DNA sequence analysis. It also has been incorporated into all NASA deep-space spacecraft since the 1970s.

Wimax Forum Publishes Femtocell Standard

The WiMAX Forum and the Femto Forum today announced the publication of the first WiMAX femtocell standard allowing vendors to start increasing consistent femtocells and allied network tools based on the IEEE 802.16e radio line and profiles. The WiMAX Forum aims to start certifying friendly products in early 2011 to guarantee efficient and effective interoperability between different vendors’ access points and core network equipment.

WiMAX femtocells cost-effectively boost coverage and power inside buildings and in small outdoor areas as well as sustaining advanced new services. The WiMAX Forum has been working with the Femto Forum since June 2009 to make sure that the entire femtocell and WiMAX ecosystems assist to enable the most efficient possible standard and discharge the full potential of both technologies.

The provision incorporates a safety scaffold that allows WiMAX networks to sustain a large number of access points via typical commercial IPSec based security gateways. This segment of specifications also contains simple Self Organizing Network (SON) capabilities to allow automatic design of large statistics of femtocells. Future revisions will promote the SON capabilities to regulate automatic interference management between femtocells and macro base stations.

IEEE Operational Group to Allocate Confined File Sharing

The IEEE P1817 working group has come into result last month and proposes a file security system that aims to allow users to share their digital files but keep them confined from complete copying at the same time. Known as Digital Personal Property (DPP), it includes two pieces of a digital file and would be a less restraining alternative to DRM file protection. There would be a title folder and a play key. The title folder would contain the encrypted file, while a play key would grant access.

Users could liberally share the title folder, but conceding access to the file within would only be acceptable if they shared a play key. It would be limited within either a tamper-protected circuit inside a computer or personal device or online at a play key hosting site. The play key is then lent out like a library book. Owners would need to be alert who they lend the play key out to, however, as the borrower could move it and never return it, much like lending out a physical item such as a CD.

Broadband Providers Maintain FCC Scheme

We, the undersigned spirited local exchange carriers and independent Internet Service Providers, cuddle an open and competitive market, and we know asset and innovation result when the rules of the game are steady and clear and the playing field is level. We also know patrons benefit when there is more broadband competition offering more choices. That's why we support Chairman Genachowski's proposal for a narrowly-tailored scaffold for oversight of broadband access.

The FCC is functioning tough to make sure every American can enjoy the opportunities broadband brings by ensuring its continual authority to supervise broadband access. Expressly, the FCC's proposal uses tightly targeted leniency and a light rigid touch pursuant to Title II to ensure it can stop anti-competitive behavior that could hurt consumers or the competitive broadband market. Approval of a Notice of Inquiry on the projected Third Way is the necessary step to uphold continual innovation, imagination, and investment in the technology sector that will result in fiscal growth and job creation. We add our communal voice to those sustaining the Third Way and acclaim the FCC for showing the kind of pioneering thinking and leadership grave in a broadband world.

ConnectBlue wins ZigBee-based power competence blueprint

ConnectBlue has acknowledged a 350,000 euros order from Schneider Electric for the growth of a wireless energy efficiency system based on IEEE 802.15.4 / ZigBee technology.

The system consists of numerous ConnectBlue (Malmý, Sweden) standard products and a wireless technology platform and includes ZigBee sensor modules, gateways, repeaters, configuration tools and installation testing tools.

ConnectBlue has become our usual partner in various wireless projects from Bluetooth technology to wireless LAN and now IEEE 802.15.4 / ZigBee, said Marc Bruel, power business/solutions/wireless instrumentation program manager at Schneider Electric.

47th DAC: Design Ecosystem Comes Collectively To Deliver Solutions from Design To Manufacturing

The 47th Design Automation Conference (DAC), the foremost conference devoted to electronic design and design automation, which starts Monday, June 14 at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA, will be remembered as the year that front-end and back-end design together, allowing attendees to see solutions that cover all processes from design through manufacturing. EDA tool companies, intellectual property (IP) companies, and service companies will reveal and present information on solutions that facilitate integrated circuit (IC) and system-on-chip (SOC) designers to optimize for performance and manufacturability at advanced process nodes. Major foundries are participating at an exceptional level to help design team customers recognize accelerated design, reduced design costs, faster system-to-IC implementation, and faster time-to-volume. For example:

• GLOBAL-FOUNDRIES will broadcast details of its partner ecosystem during DAC, going far beyond the design kits of the past to include EDA partners, IP partners, service partners, mask service partners, and assembly and test partners.

The increasing association of foundries in creating partnerships between design and IP are lowering the barrier to building a system, all the way from concept to feigned silicon, said Sachin Sapatnekar, General Chair of the 47th DAC Executive Committee. EDA is no longer just about the minutiae of producing silicon. It's nearly up to the system level, and at the same time, building on the foundry ecosystems so that complex designs can move efficiently into manufacturing.

TREND Net Introduces Its Latest Wireless N Gigabit Router

The 450 Mbps wireless N gigabit router features three external antennas broadcasting on the 2.4 GHz spectrum, with three spatial streams per antenna.

TREND net announced the general availability of its new 450 Mbps wireless N gigabit router this week. The router, model TEW-691GR was designed for intense performance, according to TREND net.

The router features three external antennas broadcasting on the 2.4 GHz spectrum. Three spatial streams per antenna produce a high 450 Mbps wireless throughput.

Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology boosts wireless exposure, signal strength, and throughput speed. One gigabit-wide area network port and four gigabit local area network ports offer high levels of wired throughput performance.

In addition, the new 450 Mbps wireless N gigabit router employs wireless encryption and a secure firewall protection. Moreover, WMM quality of service (QoS) technology prioritizes gaming, Internet calls, and video streams.

IEEE-ISTO Announces Discussion to Progress Interconnect Modeling Standard

IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO), the foremost trusted partner of the global technology community for the development, embracing, and certification of industry standards, has entered into a partnership with Synopsys to form a technical advisory board to facilitate the evolution of Synopsys' Interconnect Technology Format (ITF) into an industry standard format for interconnect parasitic modeling.

The founding members of the Interconnect Modeling TAB (IMTAB) are legislature from industry-leading semiconductor companies, EDA companies and silicon foundries including Altera Corporation, AMD, Apache Design Solutions, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, LSI, Magma Design Automation, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, STMicroelectronics and Synopsys.

IMTAB will join IEEE-ISTO's expanding federation of member programs. IMTAB will leverage ITF as the basis of interconnect modeling standard and drive its development to address future industry demands. ITF will be available industry-wide through an open source license agreement with Synopsys. IEEE-ISTO will manage the operations of IMTAB.

Startpage Search Engine Co-Sponsors International IEEE Tech & Society Symposium

Startpage (by Ixquick), the world's primary Internet privacy search engine, is conceited to announce its sponsorship of the ISTAS 2010 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society, taking place this week in New South Wales, Australia. Startpage is also sponsoring the attendance of privacy expert Dr. Katherine Albrecht, an executive with the company, who has been invited by IEEE to present her research on implantable RFID microchips and cancer.

Startpage, a leader in securing privacy and ambiguity through its proxy search engine Startpage.com, is ardently concerned with the impact of technology on privacy and civil liberties. The company is supporting ISTAS 2010 as part of its ongoing commitment to an open discussion of these themes.

ISTAS is an annual international symposium where the world's leading scientists and thinkers gather to discuss their research and assess the societal effects of new technologies. The forum is put on each year by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest professional engineering association. This year's event is hosted by the University of Wollongong, in New South Wales, Australia.

IEEE-ISTO Announces discussion to Evolve Interconnect Modeling Standard

The origin members of the Interconnect Modeling TAB (IMTAB) are representatives from industry-leading semiconductor companies, EDA companies and silicon foundries together with Altera Corporation, AMD, Apache Design Solutions, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, LSI, Magma Design Automation, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, STMicroelectronics and Synopsys.

IMTAB will join IEEE-ISTO's expanding federation of member programs. IMTAB will control ITF as the basis of interconnect modeling standard and drive its development to address upcoming industry demands. ITF will be available industry-wide through an open source license agreement with Synopsys. IEEE-ISTO will manage the operations of IMTAB.

IEEE-ISTO has a proven track record beginning and promoting new initiatives that foster market approval of standards, such as ITF, said Rich Goldman, vice president of corporate marketing and strategic alliances at Synopsys. IEEE-ISTO's guidance and support will enable IMTAB to fruitfully meet its goals during formation and beyond.

IMTAB marks the second Technical Advisory Board collaboration between IEEE-ISTO and Synopsys. The Liberty Technical Advisory Board was formed in 2008 and maintains the Liberty library modeling format the semiconductor industry's most widely accepted library standard.

How Ethernet First Mile can condense leased line costs

Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM), also known as IEEE 802.3ah, is defined as a collection of protocols specified in IEEE 802.3, defining the Ethernet in the access networks. The first mile, is the link between the end user and the public network. On a typical LAN setting DSL and cable modems operate at a modest 5-10% of the LAN setup’s total capacity which causes application bottlenecks. Bottlenecks happen even with E1 lines, at speeds of 1.5 Mbps. Though E1 lines are faster they are expensive.

Ethernet in the first mile (EFM) can overcome this, using existing physical infrastructure whether it is ordinary telephone lines or dark fibre links. This technique is claimed to be the new highly resilient copper based Ethernet service, with the ability to transfer high bandwidth data at up to 10 Mbps speeds into users’ premises without the need for any end-to-end fibre leased lines.

An important aspect of the EFM is that it does not offer any improvement over nor replace existing equipment but it is just a set of additional stipulation that will enable users to run Ethernet protocol over previously unsupported media, such as single pairs of telephone wiring and single strands of single-mode fibre (SMF). It is more suited for subscriber access networks networks that connect subscribers to their respective service providers.

The access network in many areas is made up of copper cable based point to point connections and EFM can easily blend with the copper infrastructure because EFM mixes new technology with ‘old world’ copper in the first mile. As a network access technology, Ethernet offers a long list of quantitative and qualitative advantages over legacy first mile technologies.

IEEE Computer Society Rolls Out Assessment Courses for its CSDA and CSDP Software Development Certification Exams

The IEEE Computer Society is mounting its line of career-assistance assistance for software developers with the introduction of assessment courses for its Certified Software Development Associate and Certified Software Development Professional examinations.

The CSDA and CSDP assessment courses are intended to help software professionals who wish to evaluate their mastery of the software engineering body of knowledge, particularly those preparing for the CSDA or CSDP examinations. The courses help software developers assess the breadth and depth of their understanding in the 15 Knowledge Areas (KAs) contained in Version 3 of the Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK Guide).

The Computer Society has prosperity of high-quality content, and the relevant knowledge of our members and contributors is unmatched, said IEEE Computer Society Executive Director Angela Burgess. When we combine those strengths with the professional education tools our partners offer, I think we have a very robust and substantive set of courses.

The online, self-paced judgment courses were developed by 14 subject-matter experts in the software engineering field. We paired up software engineering experts from industry and academia so each course provides a balanced viewpoint. The self-assessment quizzes are particularly effective at investigative areas of strength and highlighting resources for further study.

Take the IEEE Green Your World Confront To Celebrate World Environment Day, 5 June 2010

In festivity of the 2010 World Environment Day (WED), and the positive impact global sustainability technologies have made on the environment, IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, initiates a call-to-action asking citizens of the world to accept the IEEE Green Your World Challenge.

Take the Challenge! Starting 1 June 2010, and enduring throughout the week leading up to WED (5 June 2010), IEEE invites folks from around the globe to take one or more of the five challenges, and commit to making simple, yet commanding changes in daily life that can benefit humanity and the environment:

• Step into the (Energy Efficient) Light: restore incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or light emitting diode (LED) light bulbs
• Be an e-Waste Hero: Find a narrow electronics recycler, and eco-consciously dispose of old computers, TVs, and mobile phones
• Every Drop Counts: Reduce your daily in-home water usage
• Reforest Your Community: Plant a tree or garden and create a sustainable future

• Stop 'Energy Vampires' from Draining Your Resources: Unplug standby electronics

When it comes to our environment, we must be agents of vary in our daily routines and in our support for sustainable developments through advancements in technology, said Pedro Ray, 2010 IEEE president and chief executive officer. IEEE and its members are working globally to exploit on the impact technology plays in sustainability efforts from implementing water maintenance and irrigation systems in underserved areas, and lowering the carbon footprint of consumer devices by engineering smaller, faster semiconductors, to preserving the Earth's natural resources by exploring new alternative energy sources. I encourage every individual to take the IEEE Green Your World Challenge and do their part to better serve this planet.