The simple link protocol: a zero-overhead packet delineation scheme for high-speed Ethernet

Abstract

A new zero-overhead frame delineation and line coding protocol-the simple link protocol (SLP)-suitable for use in high-speed optical transmission systems such as 10 Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE 802.3 ae) is presented, and is shown to promise performance comparable to legacy protocols based on 8b/10b block coding. The protocol is robust in the presence of both random and burst errors, and is easily implemented in either VLSI or FPGA-based systems.