Energy-efficient Ethernet standard project approved to move forward
Ethernet standard IEEE P802.3az is specifically directed at power reduction and is designed to reduce energy used by network equipment.
-- Control Engineering, 7/21/2009
The IEEE 802.3 Working Group has approved forwarding the draft of the IEEE P802.3az Energy-Efficient Ethernet standard to Working Group ballot. The standard project is now on plan to meet its target September 2010 approval as a standard by the IEEE-SA Standards Board.
When completed, the project will extend the existing IEEE Std 802.3 Ethernet standard to facilitate transition to and from lower power consumption in response to changes in network demand for twisted-pair and backplane PHYs. IEEE P802.3az will provide end-users with the ability to reduce energy used by network equipment.
"This is the first project in the history of Ethernet aimed specifically at reducing energy use," says Michael Bennett, senior network engineer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and chair, IEEE P802.3az, Energy Efficient Ethernet Task Force. "Consumer interest in energy efficiency is driven, in part, by initiatives such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program. This has attracted the attention of computer and network equipment manufacturers to contribute to the IEEE P802.3az standard" says Bennett. "The industry is committed to creating a sensible Energy Efficient Ethernet standard to facilitate its rapid adoption so end users can mitigate the energy crunch in their facilities."
IEEE P802.3az will be known by its full name of "IEEE Standard for Information Technology - Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems - Local and Metropolitan Area Networks - Specific Requirements Part 3: Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) Access Method and Physical Layer Specifications - Amendment: Media Access Control Parameters, Physical Layers and Management Parameters for Energy-Efficient Ethernet."
For more information on the IEEE P802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet Task Force, visit http://www.ieee802.org/3/az/ .
For more Control Engineering articles on network standards, see links below:
- Plug into Industrial Ethernet Protocols
- Wireless Standards
- Solution for mixing industrial, standard-office Ethernet
- Gigabit Ethernet: Is the Time Right?
- Edited by David Greenfield, editorial director
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