Knowledge Base

Title Authors Category Updated
Clause 40 Auto-Crossover White Paper Matthew Hersh

A brief tutorial that covers the basics behind the Clause 40 Automatic MDI/MDI-X Configuration.

Tutorials April 18, 2006
Clause 40: 1000BASE-T Physical Medium Attachment (PMA) Sublayer

1000BASE-T PMA overview (location in the OSI stack, interface with PCS, interface with Auto-Negotiation, PAM-5 Encoding Scheme, PMA Sublayers Functionality and Functions, and PMA Electrical Specifications).

Tutorials January 1, 2004
Clock Synchronization Terminology Jeff Laird

Terms used when discussing PTP

White Papers June 28, 2012
Comparison of DCBX Versions Daniel Shea

A comparison of the baseline versus the IEEE standard versions of Data Center Bridging Capabilities Exchange.

Tutorials September 11, 2012
Comparison of Environments on 802.11 Throughput Performance Diana Lewis, Justin Rebe, Jeremy deVries

The chaotic nature of the radio frequency medium of 802.11 wireless networks makes it problematic to obtain accurate and precise repetition of performance tests and measurements. Environmental variables that deeply influence link performance must be addressed before throughput testing can be accurately measured across various devices. An RF shielded room with anechoic foam provides the most ideal environment for throughput tests compared to either an RF shielded room without foam or an open air laboratory. Location within the RF shielded room with anechoic foam was shown to have a negligible effect on performance, but using an RF absorbing rubber mat under a device was shown to reduce reflections, producing an optimal environment for throughput testing.

White Papers September 18, 2014
Data Center Bridging Tutorial Mikkel Hagen

Describes the upcoming IEEE standards related to Per-priority PAUSE, Enhanced Transmission Selection, DCB Exchange and Congestion Notification.

Tutorials February 1, 2009
Demystifying the IPsec Puzzle Sheila Frankel

Now that the Internet has blossomed into the "Information Superhighway" with its traffic and drivers becoming increasingly diverse, security has emerged as a primary concern. This book offers the reader a global, integrated approach to providing internet security at the network layer. The author gives a detailed presentation of the revolutionary IPsec technology used today to create Virtual Private Networks and, in the near future, to protect the infrastructure of the Internet itself. The book addresses IPsec's major aspects and components to help the reader evaluate and compare features of different implementations. It provides a detailed understanding of this cutting-edge technology from the inside, which enables the reader to more effectively troubleshoot problems with specific products. Based on standards documents, discussion list archives, and practitioners' lore, this resource collects all the current knowledge of IPsec and describes it in a literate, clear manner.

Recommended Textbooks July 10, 2012
Design and Implementation of a SCSI Target for SANs Ashish A. Palekar

The Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) has been used to transmit data between applications (Initiators) and storage devices (Targets). One of the major limitations of SCSI has been the length of the SCSI bus. With the evolution of Storage Area Networks (SANs), several protocols have been proposed to extend the length of the SCSI bus e.g., Fibre Channel, SCSI Encapsulation Protocol (SEP), and Internet SCSI (iSCSI). The evaluation of these technologies requires the use of an Initiator and a Target that implement the said protocols. A large portion of what such Initiators or Targets need to do from a SCSI perspective can be isolated into a logical code unit referred to as a mid-level. While there exists in the Linux kernel a generic SCSI Initiator mid-level that drivers written for various Initiators can interface with, no corresponding facility exists for the Target side. This thesis involves the development of a Generic SCSI Target midlevel for Linux along with implementing front-end drivers for Fibre Channel, SEP and iSCSI that can utilize the said Target mid-level. Other uses for the Target Emulator are as a bridge between two protocols and as an interface for SAN Management.

Theses May 1, 2001
Design and Implementation of iFCP Claire Kraft

iFCP is one form of storage over TCP/IP that allows hosts and Fibre Channel storage devices to communicate directly. It is an encapsulation protocol that dictates the means by which Fibre Channel frames become the payload in an iFCP message. In addition, iFCP introduces a few new types of messages for purposes of control. This thesis is comprised of the design and implementation of iFCP end devices. The initiator has been implemented as a software module that behaves like a Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter with an attached encapsulator. The target has been implemented as a stand-alone software program that acts both as an encapsulator and as a Fibre Channel switch that is attached through a generator to a Fibre Channel disk.

Theses May 1, 2004
Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Fibre Channel Driver for IP on Linux Vineet M. Abraham

Fibre Channel, which is used for high-speed data transfers, supports several higher layer protocols including Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) and Internet Protocol (IP). Until now, SCSI has been the only widely used protocol over Fibre Channel. IP over Fibre Channel had not been successful mainly due to inadequate specification in the standards. Currently IP specifications have reached a stage where interoperable implementations are possible. Although some support does exist for SCSI on Linux, there is no support for IP on Linux. This thesis aims at designing, developing, testing and evaluating a Fibre Channel driver for IP on Linux.

Theses March 26, 2019
Digital Communications John G. Proakis

From the preface: "The third edition of Digital Communications has undergone a major reorganization. Compared with with the second edition, which had eight chapters, the third edition contains fifteen. Chapter 1 (Introduction) and Chapter 15 (Multiuser Communications) are new. Other new material that has been added includes a treatment of run-length-limited codes, Nakagami fading statistics, trellis codeing for fading channels, multicarrier modulation, and an expanded treatment of blind equalization. Since this is an introductory-level text, the treatment fo these topics is limited in scope. Some topics that were in the second edition have been deleted, including echo cancellation and suppression of narrowband interference in spread spectrum signals."

Recommended Textbooks June 26, 2012
DSL Advances Thomas Starr, Massimo Sorbara, John M. Cioffi, Peter Silverman

From back cover: "Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs) have transformed millions of ordinary phone lines into broadband arteries that link homes and businesses to the Internet at megabit speeds. DSL Advances brings together the state-of-the-art in DSL technology and architecture for every technical professional and manager. The authors of the classic Understanding Digital Subscriber Line Technology review the key challenges service providers and equipment manufacturers face now, preview tomorrow's most important standards and technical enhancements, and offer new insights into today's regulatory and business environment."

Recommended Textbooks June 26, 2012
DSL: Simulation Techniques and Standards Development for Digital Subscriber Line Systems Dr. Walter Y. Chen

From the back cover: "Digital Subscriber Line technology heralds the age of digital communication, providing a faster, more efficient method of transmitting data over regular telephone lines. The widespread adoption of DSL technology increases the demand for subject-specific, in-depth knowledge of this breakthrough in digital communication. DSL: Simulation Techniques and Standards Development for Digital Subscriber Line Systems arms the communications and networking engineer with the quintessential information for implementing DSL systems . . . "

Recommended Textbooks June 26, 2012
EFM OAM Tutorial Kevin Daines

Tutorial generated by the IEEE EFM task force.

Tutorials March 1, 2004
Ensuring Interoperability for Open Networking Systems Christina Dube, Daniel Gray and David Woolf

Open Networking has created new opportunities and new challenges for Data Center designers and implementers. Many customers are used to deploying monolithic solutions from a single integrator. When implementing Open Networking solutions from multiple providers, a few key questions arise: Will it all work? Are there common interfaces I can use to monitoring and control the hardware? How do Data Center designers and implementers ensure that the components they’ve chosen will be interoperable? Will the Open Networking Solution work as well as or better than a traditional monolithic solution?

White Papers May 31, 2016
Epoch Converter

Epoch & Unix Timestamp Conversion Tools

External Links October 7, 2013
Ethernet Alliance - Marketing Organization for IEEE

Resource to find information about current and future Ethernet technologies.

External Links June 29, 2012
Ethernet Evolution Hadriel Kaplan and Bob Noseworthy

This is an all encompassing overview of Ethernet technologies, from 10Meg to 10Gig and how it all works.

Originally presented at the 2001 Network+Interop even in Atlanta.

Tutorials June 29, 2012
Ethernet Technologies Cisco Systems

Overview of internetworking basics and technologies, provided by Cisco Systems.

External Links June 20, 2012
Fairness in a data center Mikkel Hagen

Existing data centers utilize several networking technologies in order to handle the performance requirements of different workloads. Maintaining diverse networking technologies increases complexity and is not cost effective. This results in the current trend to converge all traffic into a single networking fabric. Ethernet is both cost-effective and ubiquitous, and as such it has been chosen as the technology of choice for the converged fabric. However, traditional Ethernet does not satisfy the needs of all traffic workloads, for the most part, due to its lossy nature and, therefore, has to be enhanced to allow for full convergence. The resulting technology, Data Center Bridging (DCB), is a new set of standards defined by the IEEE to make Ethernet lossless even in the presence of congestion. As with any new networking technology, it is critical to analyze how the different protocols within DCB interact with each other as well as how each protocol interacts with existing technologies in other layers of the protocol stack.

This dissertation presents two novel schemes that address critical issues in DCB networks: fairness with respect to packet lengths and fairness with respect to flow control and bandwidth utilization. The Deficit Round Robin with Adaptive Weight Control (DRR-AWC) algorithm actively monitors the incoming streams and adjusts the scheduling weights of the outbound port. The algorithm was implemented on a real DCB switch and shown to increase fairness for traffic consisting of mixed-length packets. Targeted Priority-based Flow Control (TPFC) provides a hop-by-hop flow control mechanism that restricts the flow of aggressor streams while allowing victim streams to continue unimpeded. Two variants of the targeting mechanism within TPFC are presented and their performance evaluated through simulation.

Theses December 7, 2012
Fibre Channel over Ethernet Tutorial Mikkel Hagen

Fibre Channel over Ethernet is a data center protocol designed to transfer Fibre Channel frames over commodity Ethernet equipment.

Tutorials November 25, 2008
Fibre Channel Overview Zoltán Meggyesi

A technical overview of Fibre Channel

External Links March 26, 2019
Fibre Channel Physical Layer Tutorial Daniel Reynolds

FC-PI-2 specifies both Electrical and Optical interfaces for Fibre Channel. This document focuses on the Electrical Physical Layer up to 4G speeds. This document describes the unique characteristics specific for FC devices as well attempts to introduce the generic topics involved in serial based technologies.

Tutorials June 22, 2009
Fibre Channel Tutorial Tim Sheehan

Fibre Channel is a computer communications protocol designed to meet the many requirements related to the ever increasing demand for high performance information transfer.

Tutorials March 26, 2019
FQTSS Overview William Gravelle

FQTSS is defined in the IEEE standard 801.Q Clause 34; Forwarding and Queuing Enhancements for Time-Sensitive Streams. The term FQTSS is used to describe a set of tools which are used to forward and queue time-sensitive streams. Since AVB frames cannot be dropped, there must be a mechanism in place to forward AVB frames quickly and efficiently. This is where FQTSS (aka Qav) comes into play. This paper goes into the components that make up FQTSS.

White Papers July 16, 2013