PDF of this tutorialEPON vendors are actively engaged in a new study group that will investigate the subject of EFM. Established under the auspices of the IEEE, the new study group aims to develop a standard that will apply the proven and widely used Ethernet networking protocol to the access market.
The EFM study group was formed within the IEEE 802.3 carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) Working Group in November 2000. Sixty-nine companies, including 3Com, Alloptic, Aura Networks, CDT/Mohawk, Cisco Systems, DomiNet Systems, Intel, MCI WorldCom, and World Wide Packets, have indicated they will participate in the group.
In addition to the IEEE study group, EPON vendors are planning to participate in other standards efforts conducted within organizations, such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), ITU–Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU–T), and the Standards Committee T1. There is even the possibility of a liaison with FSAN on this effort. The FSAN document does not preclude non–ATM protocols, and the FSAN document is broad in scope (covering many last-mile issues). Much of G.983 remains valid, and it could be that the IEEE 802.3 EFM group will focus on developing the MAC protocols for EPON, referencing FSAN for everything else. This is the quickest path to an EPON standard, and several big names, including Cisco Systems and Nortel Networks, are backing EPON over APON.
