Patent ID: 7522641

Claim:
A 10 Giga-bit Ethernet conversion system operable to be inserted in 10 Gigabit optical fiber Ethernet systems, wherein each optical fiber Ethernet system includes an electrical-to-optical interface presenting electrical signals to an optical interface for converting the electrical signals to optical signals, the electrical signals from the electrical-to-optical interface being organized into a plurality of channels, and wherein each channel carries Ethernet idle characters between data frame transmissions, the system comprising: a transmission alignment circuit operable to detect a unique synchronization code (SC) in the idle character transmissions in the channels, the transmission alignment circuit operable to delay each channel by a variable delay period determined by the period between detection of the SC in the channel and the detection of the last SC in the remaining channels such that the channel having the last SC is not delayed with respect to the other channels, the transmission alignment circuit thereby forming a plurality of aligned channels; an encoder for modulating each aligned channel into an electrical multiple-bit-per-baud signal, the encoder thereby providing a plurality of multiple-bit-per-baud signals corresponding one a one-to-one basis with the aligned channels; and a cable having a plurality of twisted-wire pairs corresponding on a one-to-one basis with the plurality of aligned channels, wherein the encoder is configured to drive the multiple-bit-per-baud signals onto the corresponding twisted wire pairs.