100GbE

100 Gigabit Ethernet, commonly referred to as 100GbE, is a network interface standard that delivers data transfer rates of 100 gigabits per second. The standard was first defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2010 through the 802.3ba amendment, as part of an effort to meet growing demands for high‑throughput links in data centers, cloud services, and high‑performance computing environments.

100GbE can be implemented over a variety of physical media. Initially the most widely deployed form utilized 10 parallel lanes of 10 Gb/s each over twisted‑pair copper cabling or multi‑mode optical fiber. Subsequent versions standardized the use of single, 50 Gb/s or 100 Gb/s lanes on either single‑mode fiber (SMF) or advanced multimode fiber. The optical interfaces are specified by Extended Reach (ER) and Short Reach (SR) categories, supporting distances ranging from a few hundred meters to several kilometers.

The 802.3ba specification also introduced the 100GBASE‑L, 100GBASE‑W, and 100GBASE‑SR, each tailored to different distance and media requirements. In addition, a range of industry‑driven standards such as 100GBASE‑LR4, 100GBASE‑SR4, and 100GBASE‑ER4 were later developed to increase reach and reduce cost per link.

Deployment of 100GbE commenced in the mid‑2010s, largely driven by data‑center operators seeking to scale network capacity while reducing power consumption and latency. Over time, the average cost per port has fallen, and the technology has become a cornerstone of next‑generation Ethernet infrastructures, enabling workloads such as large‑scale virtualization, artificial intelligence training, and high‑frequency trading. The next evolution, 400GbE, continues to build on the foundation established by 100GbE, highlighting the sustained industry focus on exponential bandwidth growth.