New Ethernet group vows relevance

THEEthernet Alliance reports it was formed recently to promote Ethernet technology and all IEEE 802 Ethernet standards. The organization’s founding members are 3Com, ADC, Agere Systems, AMCC, Aquantia, Broadcom, Force10 Networks, Foundry Networks, Intel, Lawrence Berkeley Labs, Pioneer Corp., Quake Technologies, Samsung, Sun Microsystems, Tehuti Networks, Tyco Electronics, University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) and Xilinx.

“Ethernet has existed for more than 25 years, but it doesn’t have an industry voice that represents the spectrum of IEEE 802 Ethernet standards developments, and serves the IEEE 802 Ethernet industry as a whole,” says Brad Booth, Ethernet Alliance’s president. “With the strong support of our founding members, the Ethernet Alliance will be that voice, and we will move aggressively to accelerate the growth and expansion of IEEE 802 Ethernet technologies.” 

Historically, companies that manufacture, support, or design systems based on Ethernet technologies have formed short-term industry alliances to help launch individual technologies or particular market segments. Most observers agree the scope of these projects has often been too narrow, and that these groups drift into insignificance before fulfilling their missions.

Unlike past alliances that supported single IEEE 802 Ethernet projects, this new organization states it will remain relevant to IEEE 802 Ethernet technology, and support IEEE 802 Ethernet projects by speeding acceptance and time-to-market for new Ethernet markets and technologies. It will accomplish this by cultivating efforts to define and develop new Ethernet technologies, and by educating Ethernet users on choices and implementations for various applications.