Ethernet: The future network access technology

The telecommunication industry has been through disruptive times, but data networking service revenue has continued to rise. Services such as Frame Relay (FR), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and IT Virtual Private Networks (IP VPN) are growing in terms of use and revenues and the signs are that the legacy layer 2 services are growing, and part of the reason for this is the emergence of a strong Ethernet alternative. This paper will focus on the standards of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) along with its advantages, applications, potential cost savings as well as the uses and benefits of 10GbE in extending the range and capabilities of Local Area Networks (LANs), Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs). It will also take a brief look at Ethernet's past, and it will look to the future of Ethernet with a brief overview of 40 Gigabit Ethernet and the reasons why it will be the next logical step in Ethernet's life cycle.