• Technical Conference:  15 – 19 March 2026
  • Exhibition: 17 – 19 March 2026
  • Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

Will the Complexity and Higher Link Speeds of Hyperscale Data Centers Hinder Interoperability?

Wednesday, 02 April, 10:15 – 11:15

Theater II


Session Description:

A hallmark of the Ethernet Alliance’s mission, and generally the overall Ethernet ecosystem, is the promise of device and vendor interoperability. Over the 50+ year history of Ethernet, the market has evolved away from the single source suppliers in favor of a more competitive, yet interoperable solution set.

The focus of today’s hyperscale compute environment is optimization for speed, i.e. qualifying preferred or optimized interconnect suppliers at the exclusion of others. Ethernet has come a long way from the days of Novell Networks or Banyan Vines where all in one solutions came ready to run from a single vendor. Specialization in various disciplines of the industry offered customers better components, but also included a “roll your own” integration.

Organized by:

 

Moderator

David Rodgers, Etherent Alliance President, Technical Business Development Manager, EXFO, United States

About David Rodgers:

David J. Rodgers is a 35+ years industry professional focused on the Test and Measurement market. Rodger's experience encompasses a comprehensive business and program management background and product development of serial protocol test and measurement solutions. He possesses wide-ranging serial communications protocol and interconnect validation experience, concentrating most recently on Ethernet network and Fibre Channel fabric transport solutions where he has been defining, designing, deploying, and marketing a broad range of high-speed serial analysis test and measurement products.

He currently represents EXFO for High-Speed electro-optical Test Technologies, including Ethernet and Fibre Channel, in various protocol industry groups, including the IEEE and T11 standards bodies, the Ethernet Alliance, and the Fibre Channel Industry Association. He is an original member of the USB Implementers Forum and one of the pioneer marketers of USB protocol analyzers.


Speakers

Samuel Kocsis, Director of Standards and Technology, Amphenol, United States

About Samuel Kocsis:

Sam Kocsis is the Director of Standards and Technology at Amphenol, focusing on the proliferation of innovative interconnect solutions. He is active in IEEE 802.3 and OCP projects, currently serves as the Technical Committee Vice Chair at the OIF, is Co-Chair of the OSFP MSA, and is Chairman of the PCI-SIG Cabling Workgroup. Sam holds BSEE and MSEE degrees from the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.


Kumuthini Ratnasingham, Director of Product Management, Juniper Networks , United States

Priyank Shukla, Director of Product Management, Synopsys, United States

About Priyank Shukla:

Priyank Shukla, Director of Product Management at Synopsys, is responsible for the deployment of Synopsys’ High-Speed Ethernet/PCIe/UAL IPs in High-Performance Compute SoCs. He has broad experience in analog, mixed-signal design with a strong focus on high-performance compute SoCs. He actively contributes as an IEEE802.3 voter, playing a pivotal role in shaping industry standards. A graduate of IIT Madras, Priyank has a US patent on low-power RTC design. He has been the recipient of the DesignCon Best Paper award.


Jean-Marie Vilain, Solution Manager, EXFO, Canada

About Jean-Marie Vilain:

Jean-Marie Vilain brings to EXFO more than thirty years of extensive experience in optical transport networks, signal integrity testing, and protocol network testing. His past experience also led him to work with major telecom accounts in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia and to develop deep expertise in technical marketing, competitive analysis, and sales strategy. Jean-Marie Vilain holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from École de technologie supérieure de Montréal.