Terabit Ethernet: Access and Core Switching Using Time-Space Carrier Sensing

We propose an Ethernet architecture for local access and switching of Internet traffic. To achieve Terabit or Petabit switching, both time (high transmission speed) and space (multistage interconnection network) technologies are required. The Ethernet is both time and space carrier sensed, extending CSMA/CD to a time-space protocol called CSMA/TS. We call the space-time transmission medium Terabit Ethernet (TbE). We focus on the 3-stage Clos network, treating the first stage as an access switch and the second stage as the core switch. Space time carrier sensing allows routing in the TbE by the Network Interface Card (NIC). The advantages are scalability, lower cost, and most importantly, reduced delay end-to-end. Simple analysis is given for evaluating throughput for the access switch, as well as for 2-stage and 3-stage TbE networks.