The wait is over!  During this week’s IEEE 802.3 meetings in San Diego, a new Study Group was formed to investigate creating a “Next Generation BASE-T” balanced twisted-pair copper Ethernet application.  A call-for-interest (CFI) presentation profiled the ever increasing server uplink speeds found in the data center; leading to the prediction that 40 Gbps and even higher Ethernet speeds will be required to support these connections in the near future.  Discussion focused on the unique features and benefits of balanced twisted-pair cabling, including backward compatibility, auto-negotiation, and small form factor, that are driving the need for a Next Generation BASE-T data center application.  Once the Study Group is formed, issues such as reach, topology, media performance, throughput, and PHY (Ethernet chip) complexity will be investigated in detail.  61 individuals from 40 companies, including Siemon, formally supported the CFI presentation.

Here is the link to the IEEE 802.3 call-for-interest (CFI) announcement and slide presentation if you would like to learn more: