The efforts behind Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) technology reached another milestone after a draft version 2.0 of the standard–the first to include a "complete" version of the draft–was released for working group ballot.

From there, the draft standard will weave its way through the consensus building process. An approval rate of 75 percent is required before it moves to the next stage, which is the sponsor group. A final draft can be published after achieving 75 percent approval at that stage.

A final, published standard could be achieved by late summer/early fall of 2003, said John Hawkins, chairman of the RPR Alliance.

Version 2.0 "reflects the work that's been done over the last year," Hawkins said, noting that it includes resolution to "thousands of comments" that have been lodged.

The scope of the 2.0 draft defines a new MAC layer and includes specifications for the MAC data path and other elements such as bandwidth management, topology and protection. The draft also defines a MAC that operates at speeds of 155 megabits per second or higher. The latest draft also includes a bridging conformance annex, which calls for the RPR MAC to deliver packets both to and from remote stations not on the local ring.

RPR is designed to support carrier-class voice services as well as packet-based services and applications. A Layer 2 technology, RPR is designed to co-exist with legacy Sonet and Ethernet physical layers.

The ballot period on the 2.0 RPR draft was to remain open until Jan. 9, 2003. The draft editors then were to take those comments and assemble them into a database for an interim meeting that was slated for Jan. 13 in Atlanta.

RPR also hopes to take another step forward at the 2003 Supercomm confab, slated to kickoff June 1 in Atlanta. There, the RPR Alliance plans to set-up an interoperability event and test RPR-based gear from multiple vendors.

"It will be a pre-RPR set-up, but it will demonstrate that [the technology] can interoperate at some level," Hawkins said.

In other RPR news, the alliance appointed Jack Basi to the post of vice president of marketing. Basi is also vice president of marketing for Infineon Technologies.