Background on Optical Gigabit Ethernet ECE 4006A October 18, 2001 Ashley Lee and Mashaun Rosemond

Project and Purpose Project Purpose Make Cost Effective Improvements to Gigabit Ethernet Card Single Ended versus Differential Purpose Less money, fast data rates Reduced error rates

Why is project feasible? Fiber-optic communications is wave of future Too costly to implement currently (to residential areas) media expensive technology expensive One way to reduce cost is make transceiver module less expensive

Driving Force Behind Gigabit Ethernet VoIP and Multimedia Move to WAN Networks Need for Increased Performance while maintaining cost effectiveness Businesses with Servers

Gigabit Ethernet Standard Forming IEEE 802.3z Gigabit Ethernet Standard Combining IEEE 802.3 with ANSI X3T11 FibreChannel IEEE 802.3 Frame Format Compatibility with Ethernet and Fast Ethernet New Physical Interface Technology

Physical Standards of Gigabit Ethernet

Goals Maintain low, inexpensive cost Improve upon existing single-ended implementation by applying opto-modules to boards with differential capabilities Make sure new board/opto-module interface with differential capabilities on network card properly

Project Plan Understand previous single-ended implementation Order parts Build new modules Test new modules to verify improved functionality Reconnect modules to network card and evaluate performance