Force10 Networks Chief Scientist Highlights Importance of Advanced Backplane Design to Support 100 Gigabit Traffic.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- "Providing system-level support for 100 Gigabit Ethernet requires an advanced backplane design that can ensure line-rate transmission of traffic throughout the system," said Joel Goergen, chief scientist and vice president of technology at Force10 Networks([R])during the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association OIDA conference.

"The backplane is the foundation of a switching or routing system and provides the glue that interconnects all system pieces," said Goergen during the conference that explored the need for 100 Gigabit Ethernet interconnects. "If the backplane cannot process traffic at 100 Gig rates, the system cannot support 100 Gigabit ports; it's a single point of constraint."

The effort to create a 100 Gigabit Ethernet is underway in the IEEE802.3 Higher Speed Study Group. In conjunction, groups like the Optical Interconnect Forum are working to develop system-level standards to support 100 Gigabit Ethernet. Critical among these system-level requirements is the development of the backplane and transmission channels that ensure communication and processing within the system.

"Where existing channels on a backplane are typically 3.125 Gbps, to achieve 100 Gigabit Ethernet throughput, the channel should optimally be 22 Gbps," said Goergen. "This design concept supports not only 100 Gig speeds but also ultra high 10 Gigabit Ethernet densities at line rate."

As the 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard resulted in an increase in Gigabit Ethernet port density, the 100 Gigabit Ethernet standard will increase 10 Gigabit Ethernet densities, further driving down the costs of 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

Goergen holds 11 U.S. and international patents for his advances on the design and manufacturing techniques of high performance backplanes. This intellectual property is at the core of the Force10 TeraScale E-Series backplane, which has been tested to support up to four 100 Gigabit Ethernet ports per slot.

About Force10 Networks

Force10 Networks is the pioneer in building and securing high performance networks. Based on a revolutionary system architecture that delivers best-in-class resiliency and massive scalability, Force10's TeraScale E-Series switch/routers ensure predictable application performance, increase network availability, and reduce operating costs. Today, many of the world's largest Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks depend on Force10 Networks. For additional information, please visit www.force10networks.com.

Force10 Networks and E-Series are registered trademarks, and P-Series, S-Series, TeraScale and FTOS are trademarks of Force10 Networks, Inc. All other company names are trademarks of their respective holders.