802.3ae and the 10GEA
IMPORTANT!!!
In a recent append Jaime made the following statement:
> In that conference call Jay said that the GEA had decided
> that there will be
> only 3 solutions (the ones that Jay mentions in his email)
> and that the
> resolution Taken by the 802.3ae in Albuquerque (to restrict
> in July 2000 the
> number of proposals to no more than seven) was dead and
> superseded by the
> GEA's resolution.
10GEA decisions are not the IEEE 802.3ae decisions. Only P802.3ae has the
authority to decide P802.3ae business. Period.
The 10GEA is an independent organization which has a mission to positively
influence 10 Gigabit Ethernet market acceptance.
Any alliance (e.g. the SSIG) has the right to gather together to achieve a
consensus and based on the influence of the membership of the alliance
attempt to influence the standard's process. To imply that these alliances
have any authority in the IEEE is wrong. Ultimately, only 802.3 voters and
the IEEE standard's board have authority.
Now it may very well be that the 10GEA has a position regarding PMDs. That
may even be of some consequence in the IEEE as we share members.
BUT, THERE IS SOMETHING MUCH MORE IMPORTANT HERE! PMD customers (i.e.
members that are system integrators) will have a say in the content and
adoption of the standard. Is it too obvious to say that all IEEE P802.3ae
members (or group of members) bringing forth a PMD proposal should be aware
of the opinions of their customers and the group at large?
jonathan
Jonathan Thatcher,
Chair, IEEE 802.3ae (10 Gigabit Ethernet)
Director of Engineering, World Wide Packets
PO BOX 141719, Suite B; 12720 E. Nora, Spokane, WA 99214
509-242-9000 X228; Fax 509-242-9001; jonathan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx