100 Gb/s Ethernet Inverse Multiplexing Based on Aggregation at the Physical Layer

We propose a packet-based inverse multiplexing method to allow scalable network access with a bigger-pipe physical interface. The method is based on aggregation at the physical layer (APL) that fragments an original packet-flow and distributes the fragments among an adequate numbers of physical links or networks. It allows us to share wavelengths and/or bandwidth resources in optical networks. Its technical feasibility at the speed of newly standardized 100Gb/s Ethernet (100GbE) is successfully evaluated by implementing the inverse multiplexing logic functions on a prototype board. We demonstrate super-high-definition video streaming and huge file transfer by transmitting 100GbE MAC frames over multiple 10GbE physical links via inverse multiplexing.