Behold the data tsunami: IEEE begins work on 400Gbps and 1Tbps Ethernet

After completing a global study of the internet that shows bandwidth usage to be accelerating at an exponential rate, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) has begun the task of defining a new Ethernet standard capable of between 400Gbps and 1Tbps per second.

The current state of the art for high-speed connectivity is 40 Gigabit Ethernet (40GbE) 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE), both of which were ratified by the IEEE in 2010. Just two years later, the burgeoning growth of the internet data tsunami — mostly caused by increased connectivity and streaming video — is causing the IEEE to reevaluate the situation.

Earlier this year, the IEEE commissioned the 802.3 Ethernet Bandwidth Report (802.3 is the Ethernet standard’s designation, like 802.11 for Wi-Fi). The report, published in July, painted a very rosy picture of the internet — but it highlighted a few areas of concern. In short, the internet is growing at an utterly insane pace. At a core router level, total traffic is doubling every 18 months. Wired access (cable, DSL) is growing by 25% every year; wireless (WiFi) access is growing 39%; and mobile data (GSM, LTE) is growing by 92% every 12 months.

By 2015, the IEEE predicts that bandwidth requirements will be 10 times greater than in 2010. By 2020, the bandwidth requirements will be 100 times greater. At a core infrastructure level, where 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) is still the standard high speed connection (40 and 100GbE are making very slow inroads), this is a problem. By 2015, the IEEE predicts that core infrastructure will need to support 1Tbps — and by 2020, 10Tbps. So far, the fastest internet connection ever created maxed out at 186 gigabits per second, which is a good sign that 400Gbps should be realistically obtainable.

The flip side, of course, is that if you were sucking down 1Mbps in 2010, you might just have a 100Mbps connection by 2020. This definitely lines up with various attempts to roll out fiber to homesteads around the world, including the recently unveiled Google Fiber.

Following on from the report, the IEEE has now set up the 802.3 Industry Connections Higher Speed Consensus Group, which will focus on hammering out the details of new wireline (wired) standards. The Consensus Group will contain any company or institution that has even the slightest connection to the internet, or wired networks in general, from data centers to OEMs to supercomputer installations to stock markets. The report suggests that there will probably be two new standards: 400GbE and 1000GbE (or, I guess, 1TbE). Like 10, 40, and 100GbE, the standard will likely support copper wires (over a few meters), and multi- and single-mode fiber.

If you’re interested in some very pretty graphs that showcase the growth experienced by almost every facet of the internet, be sure to check out the Ethernet Bandwidth Report[PDF].

Behold the data tsunami: IEEE begins work on 400Gbps and 1Tbps Ethernet