200GbE

200GbE, or 200 Gigabit Ethernet, is a high-speed Ethernet standard designed to support data transmission rates of 200 gigabits per second (Gbps). It is part of the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet family and was standardized in 2019. The primary goal of 200GbE is to provide a scalable and efficient solution for data centers and high-performance computing environments, addressing the increasing demand for bandwidth.

200GbE operates over a single lane of 100GBASE-LR4, which uses four wavelengths of light to achieve the 200Gbps data rate. This is achieved through a technique called 400GBASE-DR4, which combines four 100GBASE-LR4 lanes into a single 400Gbps lane, and then splits it into two 200Gbps lanes. The standard also includes support for 200GBASE-FR4, which operates over fiber optic cables with a maximum distance of 2 kilometers.

The adoption of 200GbE is driven by the need for higher bandwidth in data centers to support emerging applications such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and high-definition video streaming. It is expected to play a crucial role in the evolution of data center networks, enabling the efficient transfer of large amounts of data with low latency.

200GbE is backward compatible with 100GbE, allowing for a smooth transition from older to newer technologies. It also supports advanced features such as link aggregation, which allows multiple physical links to be combined into a single logical link, further enhancing performance and reliability.