Reflections On Interop 2012

Well, we certainly had a great chance to discuss Ethernet and the Ethernet Alliance at Interop 2012. By the end of the expo, we had more than 500 people visit our booth – some even came back for more information or to discuss new questions that had come up in their minds. All in all, Interop proved to be a terrific opportunity for stimulating both new and ongoing discussions about the future of Ethernet.

One particular area of interest was the new cabling that was displayed at the exhibit. We heard many questions relating to length, as well as receiving lots of queries about when will the next generation of cable be available, what is 10GBASE-T, and how will the technology be used. Another popular discussion topic among visitors to the Ethernet Alliance booth was our demonstration of 10Gbps Ethernet aggregating to 40Gbps Ethernet before being transferred to the cloud. The idea that these capabilities are now available from multiple vendors who are able to provide solutions generated a lot of thought-provoking questions like, “When do I use 40Gbps?” and “Why is it a preferred speed for sending/receiving data to/from the cloud?” “Where will 10GBASE-T best fit into the data center?” was also a common question.

The Ethernet Alliance team spent a great deal of time explaining its role as a marketing communication organization that is working very hard to improve the knowledge of Ethernet and Ethernet improvements within the community at large.  Many visitors to the Ethernet Alliance booth were quite interested to hear about our ongoing webinars that are keeping everyone informed on the status of Ethernet and new standards as they evolve. It was very rewarding to be able to help educate Interop attendees, and have an open dialog that left them with some new ideas about how to more fully leverage Ethernet in their data centers.

Thank you to our participating Ethernet Alliance member companies, our on-site staff, and Interop 2012 show organizers, each of whom helped make this event a rousing success.

Chauncey Schwartz II

Chairman, Marketing Subcommittee, Ethernet Alliance