The newly-formed Ethernet Alliance brings the latest developments in Ethernet technologies to the International Engineering Consortium's (IEC) DesignCon 2006 in Silicon Valley this February 6-9 in the Santa Clara Convention Center. An industry group dedicated to the continued success and expansion of Ethernet technology, the Ethernet Alliance joins the IEC at DesignCon 2006 in providing continuous, cutting-edge information to high-technology professionals. "The Ethernet Alliance is delighted to be a sponsor of DesignCon," said Blaine Kohl, VP of Marketing, Ethernet Alliance. "Like IEC's DesignCon, the Ethernet Alliance's goal is to educate users of Ethernet on the many new applications and possibilities afforded by the technology. Our mutual goals of exposing designers to the latest technology information make the Ethernet Alliance's participation a natural fit." With a scope that includes all IEEE 802 Ethernet standards, the Alliance will show DesignCon attendees how to maximize technology developments by advancing existing and emerging Ethernet technologies. One technical panel, "The Impact of the Ethernet Ecosystem on Backplane and System Design," discusses backplane design and board fabrication, advanced signal conditioning, overall capacity forecasts, power requirements and integrity, and more. Another panel session organized by the Alliance at DesignCon 2006 takes place at the first-ever Management Forum entitled, "The Need for 100G Ethernet?" This panel describes features that next-generation devices must possess if they are to support terabit scale traffic aggregation, reduce the number of network devices, and explore power-related issues. Finally, the technical paper "Moving 10-Gigabit Ethernet onto UTP: Moving 10GE into a Volume Platform," explains how to achieve 10 Gbps on copper UTP cabling and meeting the application's requirements for low power and much more. Dr. Barry Sullivan, DesignCon Program Director, commented, "We are pleased to have the Ethernet Alliance participating at DesignCon 2006. Supporting industry initiatives such as this advances the IEC's educational mission. We look forward to expanding educational opportunities available for DesignCon attendees in this area, especially how the latest in Ethernet technologies applies to design." The Alliance's upcoming 2006 activities focus on Ethernet technology incubation, interoperability demonstrations, and education. At DesignCon 2006, the Ethernet Alliance will continue its efforts in educating high-technology professionals and designers. A members meeting will also take place at DesignCon 2006 on Tuesday, February 7 at 1 p.m.