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10 Gigabit Technology - Set the Speed

High-Speed Ethernet technologies allow simplifying the structure of computer systems in a significant way. 10G is available in advanced CPUs and Ethernet MACs for processing and storage subsystems. One pipe may handle both the operation of clusters as well as high-speed communications to the outside world. Resources may be allocated by virtualization, including network interfaces. Components and interfaces are entirely based on world-wide industrial standards. The paper presents a summary of 10 Gigabit technologies and 10G applied in embedded systems.

Why 10 Gigabits?

Multi-core CPUs come with 10 Gigabit/sec speed for inter process communication. There are many good reasons to use 10 Gigabit Ethernet now:

Interfaces: Prices have come down. There are SFP+ transceivers available in the same small form factor as SFP with passive copper links for short range, price sensitive applications (such as chassis interconnect, up to several meters), as well as optical connections for longer distances.

Single Pipe: Different traffic classes can be allocated to one single pipe (with QoS providing many service levels). With protocols such as iSCSI, storage can use the same interface technology as inter process communication or exterior services (such as Web-traffic or Voice over IP). For aggregation of traffic, 10G avoids multiple 1G links with complex link aggregation mechanisms.

Virtualization: The number of virtual machines per processor is increasing. Virtual machines are becoming a design principle on multi-core CPUs. 10G Ethernet MACs support virtualization, i.e. network interfaces can be shared between VMs in a hardware independent way.

LAN and WAN: The same technology is applied in local and remote communication, resulting in reduced complexity, reduced cabling and improved reliability. Carrier Ethernet services allow native connectivity for remote operation.