PODCAST: IEEE Ethernet pioneers reflect on half century of technology, A.I. frontiers
For the new episode of The Cabling Podcast, CI&M sits down with George Zimmermann and John'D Ambrosia.
A self-avowed "ecosystem and technology shepherd for wired technologies," George Zimmerman is President and Principal Consultant of CME Consulting, Inc., where he operates as a consultant specializing in wireline technologies and advising on intellectual property, standards, cabling, communications systems, and line-powering technologies.
Zimmerman is the current Chair of the IEEE P802.3dg 100Mb/s Long-Reach Single Pair Ethernet Task Force. His LinkedIn bio fills in his professional background:
Throughout the past 30 years, I have been involved in the continual increase in rates, capabilities, and applications of communications and signal processing systems driven by the explosion in practical computation power. This explosion has allowed me to develop new communications and signal processing systems which were previously thought infeasible. Today I am involved in Ethernet in commercial and industrial applications, but I began my journey at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I developed processing systems for Radar, to receive weak signals from deep space probes, or to Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Each system set new thresholds for sensitivity and performance. I brought this quest to industry at PairGain Technologies, as Chief Scientist, initiating and driving standards for DSL (including HDSL2, ADSL and DSL spectral compatibility) in the early days of DSL. I then founded Solarflare Communications, the first to develop 10GBASE-T - 10 Gigabit Ethernet on LAN wiring, where I was at times President, CTO, and CEO, and member of the board. I led the successful completion of the IEEE Standard for 10GBASE-T and helped build the industry ecosystem necessary for 10GBASE-T, including cabling standards for new Cat 6a cabling and alien crosstalk testing. When the need arose, I was a key contributor to the technology for Energy Efficient Ethernet.
John D'Ambrosia is IEEE 802.3 Task Force Chair. John is recognized globally for his proven track record in the development of challenging Ethernet projects, such as 40GbE and 100GbE, 200 GbE and 400 GbE, and the new effort to drive 100 GbE and 400GbE over DWDM systems.
As listed on his LinkedIn profile, his current industry roles include:
- Chair, IEEE P802.3cw 400 Gb/s over DWDM Systems Task Force
- Chair, IEEE P802.3df 400 Gb/s and 800 Gb/s Ethernet Task Force
- Chair, IEEE P802.3dj 200 Gb/s, 400 Gb/s, 800 Gb/s, and 1.6 Tb/s Ethernet Task Force
- Recording Secretary, IEEE 802 LAN / MAN Standards Committee
John's other industry roles have included:
- Chairman, Ethernet Alliance
- Chair, IEEE 802.3cn 50 Gb/s, 200 Gb/s, and 400 Gb/s over greater than 10 km of SMF Task Force
- Chair, IEEE 802.3bs 200 GbE & 00 GbE Task Force
- Chair, IEEE 802.3bj 100 Gb/s Backplane and Copper Cable Task Force
- Chair, IEEE 802.3ba 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s Ethernet Task Force
- Secretary, IEEE 802.3ap Backplane Ethernet Task Force
- Chair, IEEE 802.3ct 100 Gb/s over DWDM systems Task Force
- Advisor, European Photonics Industry Consortium
PODCAST TIMELINE
Here’s a timeline of topics George and John discuss on the podcast:
00:40 - George Zimmerman introduction.
2:09 - John D'Ambrosia introduction.
3:37 - Panel question one: Broadly speaking, over Ethernet technology's 50 years, how have IEEE standards worked to shape and guide the technology's adoption from it's inception up til present-day?
06:17 - Ethernet Alliance PoE Certification program co-pioneers make discoveries.
06:40 - John: "We had to fill out the paperwork." Also: A PoE-enabled dog collar.
08:06 - The Marriage of Ethernet Applications and Technologies
09:49 - The Six Criteria for Standards Development
10:56 - How long can we talk before we talk about A.I.?
11:52 - The Plumbers of the Internet
13:22 - An Eight Lane Solution
17:10 - "A.I. comes with its own special requirements."
18:07 - What is the A.I. process?
21:47 - Hello, that's known as 'Ethernet'...
23:30 - Industrial automation, smart buildings and sensor applications: SPE technology update
27:27 - SPE: A Lot of Speculation
29:25 - Asking About Sustainability: How can IEEE standards address technology stakeholders' sustainability concerns and forthcoming ESG requirements? Is there a role for Ethernet in addressing sustainability? John: "Power comes into all of those conversations. You want to have something that will evolve to lower power." Notes on Energy Efficient Ethernet.
32:06 - Final notes: "Competition invites improvement."
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