What does 10GE mean in IT?

10ge

10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GE, 10GbE, or 10 GigE) is a group of computer networking technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of 10 gigabits per second. It was first defined by the IEEE 802.3ae-2002 standard. Unlike previous Ethernet standards, 10 Gigabit Ethernet defines only full-duplex point-to-point links which are generally connected by network switches; shared-medium CSMA/CD operation has not been carried over from the previous generations Ethernet standards so half-duplex operation and repeater hubs do not exist in 10GbE.The 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard encompasses a number of different physical layer (PHY) standards. A networking device, such as a switch or a network interface controller may have different PHY types through pluggable PHY modules, such as those based on SFP+. Like previous versions of Ethernet, 10GbE can use either copper or fiber cabling. Maximum distance over copper cable is 100 meters but because of its bandwidth requirements, higher-grade cables are required.The adoption of 10 Gigabit Ethernet has been more gradual than previous revisions of Ethernet: in 2007, one million 10GbE ports were shipped, in 2009 two million ports were shipped, and in 2010 over three million ports were shipped, with an estimated nine million ports in 2011. As of 2012, although the price per gigabit of bandwidth for 10 Gigabit Ethernet was about one-third compared to Gigabit Ethernet, the price per port of 10 Gigabit Ethernet still hindered more widespread adoption.

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