News and BusinessJuniper Networks has unveiled its open optical line system architecture. The system vendor has created software external to its switch, IP router and optical transport platforms that can centrally control the optical layer. Juniper has also announced the TCX1000 ROADM product based on Lumentum’s white box ROADM design which it will offer as part of […]
News and BusinessFinisar has developed a bi-directional 10-gigabit SFP+ module for the metro-access market. The tuneable DWDM module is designed to expand capacity at locations where fibre is scarce. Finisar demonstrated the module working at ECOC 2017. According to Finisar, interest is growing in using DWDM optics for wireless, metro-access and cable networks that are undergoing upgrades. […]
News and BusinessOclaro has showcased its first module that uses Ciena’s WaveLogic Ai coherent digital signal processor. The 5×7-inch board-mounted module supports 400 gigabits on a single-wavelength and was showcased at ECOC. Early samples of the WaveLogic Ai-based module are already being tested at several of Oclaro’s customers’ labs. “The really important timeframe is when we get […]
Technologies and ProductsSckipio’s newest G.fast broadband chipset family delivers 1.2 gigabits of aggregate bandwidth over 100m of telephone wire. The start-up’s SCK-23000 chipset family implements the ITU’s G.fast Amendment 3 212a profile. The new profile doubles the spectrum used from 106MHz to 212MHz, boosting the broadband rates. “What the telcos want is gigabit services,” said Michael Weissman, […]
Technologies and ProductsA chip for 100-gigabit single-wavelength client-side optical modules has been unveiled by MultiPhy at ECOC 2017. Dubbed the MPF3101, the 100-gigabit physical layer chip is aimed at the data centre to connect equipment and for 5G cloud radio access networks. “The chip has already been sent out to customers and we are heading towards market […]
News and BusinessA new multi-source agreement (MSA) group was announced at the ECOC show to speed up the market introduction of 400-gigabit client-side optical interfaces. The CWDM8 MSA is described by its members as a pragmatic approach to provide 400-gigabit modules to coincide with the emergence of next-generation switches in 2018. The CWDM8 MSA uses eight wavelengths […]
Applications and ResearchThe module specification work of the Consortium for On-board Optics (COBO) is nearly complete. A draft specification defining the mechanical aspects of the embedded optics design – the dimensions, connector and electrical interface – is already being reviewed by the consortium’s members. “The draft specification encompasses what we will do inside the data centre and […]
News and BusinessA 100-gigabit single-wavelength multi-source agreement (MSA) has been created to provide the industry with 2km and 10km 100-gigabit and 400-gigabit four-wavelength interfaces. The MSA, backed by 22 founding companies including Microsoft, Alibaba and Cisco Systems, aims to complete a draft specification before the year end. “Twenty-two companies is a very large MSA at this stage, […]
Technologies and ProductsInphi has announced the Vega family of 4-level, pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM-4) chips for 400-gigabit interfaces. The 16nm CMOS Vega IC family is designed for enterprise line cards and is Inphi’s second family of 400-gigabit chips that support eight lanes of 50-gigabit PAM-4. Its first 8×50-gigabit family, dubbed Polaris, was announced in March. “Polaris is a […]
News and BusinessThe industry knows what the next-generation 400-gigabit client-side interfaces will look like but uncertainty remains regarding what form factors to use. So says Simon Stanley, analyst-at-large at Heavy Reading and principal consultant at Earlswood Marketing, and author of the report: From 25/100G to 400/600G: A Competitive analysis of Optical Modules and Components. Implementing the desired […]
News and BusinessAn industry initiative has kicked off to quadruple the data rate the SFP, the smallest pluggable optical module transceiver, can support. The Small Form Factor Pluggable – Double Density (SFP-DD) multi-source agreement (MSA) will support 100 gigabits by doubling the SFP’s electrical lanes from one to two and doubling their speed. The form factor specification, to […]
UncategorisedCavium has unveiled two new families of switch chips that address enterprise and carrier-access networks as well as mainstream cloud data centres. The chip families, known as the XP60 and the XP70, are targeted at applications that include 25Gbit/s interface switches, enclosure designs such as blade servers, 5G cloud radio access network and GPON aggregation. […]
News and BusinessElenion Technologies is progressing its optical engine design for the data centre that will soon be a product. Elenion has been working with Ethernet switch chip maker, Cavium, and data centre player, Microsoft, as part of its datacom work. The silicon photonics private company had been active for two and a half years and shipping […]
News and BusinessNokia has unveiled its latest IP routers powered by its FP4 network processor chipset that has taken six years to develop. The IP edge and core routers that will use the FP4 network processor include the 7750 Service Router (SR-s) edge router family and the 7950 Extensible Routing System (XRS-XC) IP core router. The highest […]
Technologies and ProductsInfinera has unveiled its first metro product upgrades since it acquired Transmode in 2015. The latest XTM II products are eight times denser in terms of transmission capacity while setting a new power-consumption low of 20W-27W per 100 gigabits, depending on the operating temperature. Infinera claims its nearest metro equipment competitor achieves 47W per 100 […]
News and BusinessTeramount has developed a technique to simplify the packaging of silicon photonics chips. Instead of using active alignment whereby an external laser is required to accurately connect a fibre to the chip, the Israeli start-up has developed a passive alignment technique. “If we want silicon photonics to ramp up to volume, it has to meet […]
News and BusinessThe European Telecommunications Standards Institute, ETSI, has set up an industry specification group to investigate how artificial intelligence (AI) could help tackle the growing complexity of networks. “With the advent of network functions virtualisation and software-defined networking, we can see the eventuality that network management is going to get very much more complicated,” says Ray […]
Technologies and ProductsThe Full Service Access Network (FSAN) has outlined its vision for fibre access networks for the coming decade. FSAN is an industry forum that includes over 20 operators and has 70 members. The group identifies service requirements and develops optical access technologies that it passes to the ITU for standardisation. The latest FSAN technologies to […]
Technologies and ProductsTelefonica is the latest operator to test XGS-PON, the 10-gigabit passive optical networking standard. “Operators want to show they are taking the maximum from their fibre investment,” said Ana Pesovic, marketing manager for fibre at Nokia, a supplier of the XGS-PON equipment used for the operator’s lab tests. “Telefonica has been really aggressive in their […]
News and BusinessElenion Technologies, a company that is already shipping silicon photonics-based optical engines, has announced itself. Elenion is owned by Marlin Equity Partners, the investment firm that also owns systems vendor, Coriant, and has been active for over two years. “We are now introducing ourselves as we are getting enough requests that it seemed the appropriate […]