We propose a reconciliation sublayer (RS)-based lane and traffic control protocol for energy-efficient 40-G/100-G Ethernet. The RS performs active/inactive lane control and data rate adaptation depending on active lane information received from the upper layer. This protocol does not result in a processing delay in the media access control layer, nor is an additional buffer required at the physical layer for dynamic lane control. It ensures minimal delay and no overhead for the exchange of control frames and provides a simple adaptive data rate.