400 Gb/s Ethernet call for interest

The following request for agenda time for a 400 Gb/s Ethernet call for interest has been received from John D'Ambrosia. It will be discussed at the IEEE 802 LMSC March 2013 Plenary meeting in Orlando, FL, USA.

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In July 2012 the IEEE 802.3 Industry Connections Ethernet Bandwidth Assessment forecast that networks, on average, would need to support 58% compound annual growth rates. Such growth rates would force the use of solutions aggregating or bundling multiple 100GbE links, whose capability would be quickly exceeded by the noted growth rate. The development of a 400GbE solution would provide the next step for the industry to deal with an ever increasing exponential bandwidth growth rate. This call for interest is to request the formation of a 400 Gigabit Ethernet Study Group (400GbESG) to begin this effort.

The call for interest will take place during the IEEE 802.3 Opening Plenary on the afternoon of Monday 18th March. A call for interest consensus building meeting has been scheduled to occur from 18:30 to 20:00 on the evening of Tuesday 19th March. The vote to determine if a Study Group will be formed will take place at the IEEE 802.3 Closing Plenary on the afternoon of Thursday 21st March.