VISUALIZATION

The Ethernet Alliance, an industry group dedicated to the continued success and expansion of Ethernet technology, today announced its participation in the 5th Annual Server Blade Summit, April 18-20, at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Garden Grove, CA. Members of the Ethernet Alliance will lead sessions on topics including networking issues, backplane Ethernet, and bringing 10GbE to the datacenter. In addition, the Ethernet Alliance will host a members meeting and an open information session for those interested in joining. The Ethernet Alliance also announces its newest members: Alloptic Incorporated, Fujitsu Microelectronics, ImmenStar, KeyEye Communications, Leviton Manufacturing, Panduit, Teranetics, NetXen, and Vitesse Semiconductor. “The Ethernet Alliance is pleased to announce that our membership continues to grow. New members help us strengthen our efforts in achieving our goals to help create awareness and educate our target audience on IEEE 802 Ethernet standards," said Brad Booth, president, Ethernet Alliance. “Our objective at the Server Blade Summit is to continue those efforts, and to inform potential member companies of the many benefits of joining the Ethernet Alliance.” Below are the schedules for the technical sessions and Ethernet Alliance meetings at the Server Blade Summit: Session 101 - Networking Issues Panel Date: April 19, 2006 Time: 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Chairperson: Brad Booth, Quake Technologies (sponsored by the Ethernet Alliance) Panelists: Uri Cummings, Fulcrum Microsystems; Allen Light, Broadcom; Amit Sanyal, Cisco Systems; Mike McConnell, KeyEye Communications; Siddiqui Kamran, Blade Network Technologies; Steven Kotowski, Vativ Technologies Location: Pacific Room Backplane Ethernet: An Overview (Workshop A3) Date: April 19, 2006 Time: 4:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. Presenter: John D'Ambrosia, Force10 Networks Abstract: Ethernet has become widely deployed as a backplane fabric in a variety of applications, including wireless and wireline access equipment, blade servers, and high-capacity switches. To date, this practice has not been addressed by any formal standard. The IEEE P802.3ap (backplane Ethernet) Task Force, formed in May 2004, has been working to define Ethernet operation over electrical backplanes covering distances up to 1 m. This forum will review the current state of the specification and the underlying architecture of backplane Ethernet. Location: Salon 7 Special Session: Bringing 10GbE to the Data Center Date: April 20, 2006 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Moderator: Steve Garrison, Force10 Networks Panelists: Alessandro Barbieri, Cisco Systems; Blaine Kohl, Tehuti Networks; Norm Strole, IBM; Dwight Barron, HP Abstract: Ethernet is the dominant technology in today’s data centers. Will that situation continue? As low latency and low power become more critical, can Ethernet’s “good enough” value proposition survive? Today’s data centers must carry much more than just data – they must also carry VOIP, IPTV, storage, and interprocessor communications. This is the network architecture that blades and modular servers must support. The panel will examine the demands on today’s data centers and blade servers, discuss whether Ethernet can meet those demands, and explain how Ethernet technologies are changing to meet new requirements. Location: Salon 7 Ethernet Alliance Members Meeting Date: April 20, 2006 Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Location: Garden 3 Ethernet Alliance Information Session Date: April 20, 2006 Time: 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Location: Garden 3