OIF to Host “Cu (see you) Beyond 112 Gbps” Workshop at OFC 2020

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Workshop will feature leading end-users, equipment developers, and component suppliers discussing the needs and challenges for electrical interfaces beyond 112 Gbps

Fremont, Calif.—February 4, 2020 – OIF, where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done, will hold a half-day workshop “Cu (see you) Beyond 112 Gbps” on Thursday, March 12 during OFC 2020 in San Diego, Ca. The workshop, featuring industry-leading experts from Arista, Broadcom, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Innovium, Intel, MACOM and TE Connectivity, is open to the public.

Leading experts from end-users, equipment developers and component suppliers will discuss the needs for next generation interoperable electrical IO rates as well the challenges and possible technical options to make these rates possible. The panel will address questions such as: Do electrical interfaces hit the wall beyond 112 Gbps? Is 224 Gbps possible? What is a useful reach? Does copper have a future? The workshop will also include a brief summary of OIF’s existing and in-process electrical IO work.

The first half of the workshop will focus on the industry view and need for the next generation electrical interconnects, including networking trends and cloud scale applications. The second half will include presentations and discussion on the technical challenges and directions that could be considered to realize interoperable next generation common electrical IOs that balance density, power, reach and risk.

“OIF has a long history of developing electrical interface specifications known as CEI Implementation Agreements that have been the foundation for almost every industry standards group,” said Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity and OIF president. “There is little doubt there will be electrical interfaces required beyond 112 Gbps and it is safe to say the OIF will be a part of that development. This workshop is a critical opportunity for OIF members and industry to participate in an open debate and discussion on this topic.”

Details on the workshop are as follows:

March 12, 2020 – 12:00pm-5:30pm

Hilton San Diego Gaslamp, 401 K St (across from the SD Convention Center), San Diego, Ca.

 

Agenda

12:00pm: Registration and distribution of box lunches

12:30pm: Introduction – Nathan Tracy, OIF president and TE Connectivity

 

Session 1 – User Demand 12:40pm-2:30pm

12:40pm-1:30pm – End Users’ Perspective – Srinivas Venkataraman, Facebook; Sara Zebian, Google

1:30pm-2:15pm – Equipment Developers’ Perspective – Andy Bechtolsheim, Arista; Rakesh Chopra, Cisco

2:15pm-2:30pm – Coffee break

 

Session 2 – Component Suppliers’ Analysis/Perspective 2:30pm-5:00pm

2:30pm-3:00pm – Optics and co-packaging – Richard Grzybowski, MACOM

3:00pm-3:30pm – Switch Developer – Kapil Shrikhande, Innovium

3:30pm-4:20pm – SERDES, Modulation and FEC – Adam Healey, Broadcom, Inc; Mike Li, Intel

4:20pm-4:50pm – Improved Copper Components and Channels – Dave Helster, TE Connectivity

5:00pm – Wrap-up

Informal Networking at local bar/grill (TBD) following wrap-up

 

Registration fee for OIF Members: $150.00. OIF Members click HERE to register.

Registration fee for Non-Members: $200.00. Non-Members click HERE to register.

Late Fee: Additional fee of $25.00 USD will be charged after March 6, 2020.

 

About OIF
OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on 20 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

 

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

 

 

OIF Thought Leaders Offer CEI-112G Project Update at DesignCon 2020

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Panel of electrical interface experts will showcase OIF’s latest work on multiple interfaces including CEI-112G MCM, XSR, VSR, MR and LR for 112 Gbps applications

Fremont, Calif. —January 14, 2020 – OIF industry leaders will present and discuss OIF’s ongoing CEI-112G electrical interface development projects, and the new architectures they will enable including chiplet packaging, co-packaged optics and internal cable-based solutions on Wednesday, January 29 at 3:45 pm (local) at DesignCon in Santa Clara, CA.

OIF’s panel “Enabling New Architectures: An Update on OIF’s CEI-112G Electrical Interfaces,” will provide an update on the five new interfaces, including CEI-112G MCM, XSR, VSR, MR and LR for 112 Gbps applications, that will shape the future of next generation designs, ranging from die-to-die implementations all the way up to backplane and copper cable architectures.

Panel speakers include: Nathan Tracy of TE Connectivity and OIF President; Cathy Liu of Broadcom Inc. and OIF Board Member; Steve Sekel of Keysight Technologies and OIF Physical and Link Layer Interoperability Working Group Chair; Ed Frlan of Semtech and OIF Technical Committee Chair; Gary Nicholl of Cisco and OIF Board Member and Mike Li of Intel Corporation and OIF Board Member.
“Electrical interfaces at 112 Gbps are critical for faster, more efficient and cost-effective networks and data centers,” said Tracy. “This panel discussion will provide the opportunity for an engaging industry debate on the issues surrounding OIF’s CEI-112G projects and the architectures they will enable.”

OIF has led the industry for the past 20 years in the development and publication of next generation electrical definitions for transmitters, receivers and channels to enable interoperable electrical links for chip to chip, chip to optical, line card to line card and equipment to equipment applications. OIF is currently in the process of developing electrical link definitions for the next generation 112 Gbps data rate to provide signalling over a multitude of link types including die to die, chip to chip, chip to module, medium reach chip to chip and long reach chip to chip also known as backplane. OIF’s complete work on the CEI-112G can be found here.

About OIF
OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on 20 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

Lightwave – An OIF Overview

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OIF creates benchmarks, performs worldwide interoperability testing, builds market awareness, and promotes education for technologies, services and, solutions.

Launched in 1998, OIF promotes the development and deployment of interoperable networking solutions and services through the creation of Implementation Agreements (IAs) for optical networking products, network processing elements, and component technologies. IAs are based on requirements developed cooperatively by end users, service providers, equipment vendors, and technology providers, and aligned with worldwide standards, augmented if necessary.

https://www.lightwaveonline.com/optical-tech/article/14072370/an-oif-overview

Lightwave – Driving Next Generation Network Solutions at OIF – A Network Operator’s Perspective

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For companies like Microsoft, the ability to directly share market needs and provide technical input into OIF’s development process are critical factors in achieving industry alignment and enabling our next generation of data centers.

https://www.lightwaveonline.com/optical-tech/article/14072367/driving-next-generation-network-solutions-at-oif-a-network-operators-perspective

OIF Announces Board of Directors Positions and Working Group Representatives; Launches Network Operator Coherent Optics Survey

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OIF Day, hosted by Microsoft, provided participants the opportunity to exchange ideas relating to current network challenges

Fremont, Calif.—November 19, 2019 – OIF, where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done, today announced election results for its Board of Directors and working group representatives (positions took effect Oct 1). OIF also announced the launch of a network operator survey designed to gather specific input on next generation coherent optics application requirements, features and timing.

OIF member activity in October also included the Q419 Technical and MA&E Committee meetings held October 22-24, 2019 in Singapore and a member only OIF Day at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA.

Election Results

  • Board of Directors:
    • Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity, continues to serve on the Board and was re-appointed as President
    • Tad Hofmeister, Google, was re-elected (two-year term) and re-appointed as Vice President
    • Martin Bouda, Fujitsu, continues to serve on the Board and was re-appointed as Secretary/Treasurer
    • Ian Betty, Ciena, was re-elected to the Board (two-year term)
    • Mike Li, Intel, was re-elected to the Board (one-year term)
    • Cathy Liu, Broadcom Inc., was re-elected to the Board (one-year term)
    • Gary Nicholl, Cisco, continues to serve on the Board
  • Officers:
    • Ed Frlan, Semtech, was elected as Technical Committee Chair
    • Klaus-Holger Otto, Nokia, was elected as Technical Committee Vice Chair
    • Lyndon Ong, Ciena, was re-elected as Market Awareness & Education Committee Co-Chair, Networking
    • Richard Ward, Intel, was appointed by the Board as Market Awareness & Education Committee Co-Chair, PLL (filling the vacant position)
    • Dave Brown, Nokia, continues to serve as Director of Communications
  • Technical Committee:
    • Junjie Li, China Telecom, was re-elected as Network Operator Working Group Chair

“As a member-driven organization, the strength and support of our leadership is critical,” said Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity and OIF president. “Congratulations to all the new and returning members serving on the Board of Directors and in other leadership positions. Your work to further OIF’s mission and drive interoperability solutions is vital to our industry’s ecosystem.”

Network Operator Survey

The OIF Network Operators Working Group is reaching out to global operators to identify technology challenges for future generation architectures beyond 2020 with the goal of stimulating work projects to meet operator needs. Building on significant participation in two recent invitation-only executive summits, the group has issued a formal coherent optics survey to operators. The group will discuss the survey results at a member only workshop planned for February 10 prior to the 1Q 2020 Technical Committee meeting (February 11-13) in New Orleans.

OIF Day

OIF Day held on October 9 and hosted by Microsoft, was a live educational workshop program designed to expand awareness of, and educate member company employees on, the work of the OIF. The full day program included an overview of OIF work, including 400ZR, CEI-112G and FlexE and updates from Microsoft on cloud hardware futures, rack-level interconnect architecture and row architectures.

“We received fantastic feedback from OIF membership and Microsoft employees from the OIF Day hosted by Microsoft. The event served to further clarify numerous use cases and problem sets with the OIF membership in an interactive manner, hopefully establishing requirements for next gen products that the interworking community can rally around. It also provided greater awareness and context for Microsoft employees on the great work and benefits of the OIF,” said Mark Filer, Principle Optical Engineer, Azure Networking, Microsoft.

 

About OIF
OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on 20 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

 

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

 

OIF Approves IC-TROSA Implementation Agreement, Specifications Speed Delivery of a Higher Level of Integration for Transmit and Receive Optical Components

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IC-TROSA IA enables miniaturization of optical transceiver modules and lowers the component cost for 400ZR, metro, data center interconnect (DCI) applications

Fremont, Calif.—September 23, 2019 – OIF, where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done, continues its efforts to reduce cost and speed market adoption of next-generation solutions through the approval of the Integrated Coherent Transmitter-Receiver Optical Subassembly (IC-TROSA) Implementation Agreement (IA). IC-TROSA integration will be demonstrated during this week’s OIF Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Interoperability Demo at ECOC 2019 in Dublin, Ireland (OIF booth 441).

“The IC-TROSA project took an aggressive approach to coherent optical component integration and has delivered two new package designs incorporating TX and RX integration, common digital controls and performance monitoring all in a small form factor package,” explained Scott Grindstaff, Director R&D, ADVA, and IC-TROSA IA Technical Editor. “Additionally, package specific features such as fiber-free interface and solder reflow compatibility have been incorporated.”

The optical sub-assembly supports high-bandwidth and high-order dual-polarization quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) operations and is suited for data center interconnect, metro and long-haul applications. As module sizes decrease, coherent optics components need similar size reductions to enable next generation multi-terabit switches, line cards and transport platforms.

“The IC-TROSA IA is a solution for density requirements for line cards, front-pluggable and future on-board coherent 400G+ optical modules,” said Karl Gass, OIF PLL Working Group, Optical Vice Chair. “It aims to standardize a photonic package for coherent applications that is easy to use while leaving the internal implementation to the vendor.”

The IC-TROSA Type-1 is optimized for silicon photonics technology and uses a surface-mount package with Ball Grid Array (BGA) electrical interface. Important advantages include an increased electrical bandwidth and solder reflow capability. The IC-TROSA Type-2 is optimized for Indium Phosphide technology and uses a gold-box package with flex-cable electrical interface. Important advantages include an integrated tunable laser and a duplex LC optical connector.

The IC-TROSA’s low power dissipation and miniature footprint enables small form factor digital coherent optics (DCO) transceivers in a QSFP-DD or OSFP form factor, as well as very high-density coherent line card or daughtercard designs. Devices can support multiple modulation formats, including QPSK, 8QAM, and 16QAM, at symbol rates up to 64Gbaud, enabling data transmission up to 600 Gb/s.

About OIF
OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on 20 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

Lightwave Friday 5 video – September 2019

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AT&T is under siege, data center 800G is on the horizon, 1.2 Tbps looks like it’s here, and 400GZR is right around the corner.

OIF Showcases 400ZR, CEI-112G and IC-TROSA Interoperability Demos at ECOC 2019

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OIF selected to lead Market Focus presentation on deployment of the 400ZR ecosystem

Fremont, Calif.—September 9, 2019 – OIF member companies will showcase their industry leadership with a multi-vendor interoperability demonstration of 400ZR, Common Electrical I/O (CEI)-112G and IC-TROSA during ECOC 2019, September 23-25 in Dublin, Ireland.

Demonstrating how critical interoperability work gets done, 12 OIF member companies including ADVA, Amphenol, Cadence Design System, Credo, Finisar, Inphi, Keysight Technologies, Marvell, Molex, MultiLane, TE Connectivity and YAMAICHI ELECTRONICS will participate in the demonstration in OIF’s booth, # 441.

“Understanding and seeing first-hand how key technologies – 400ZR, CEI-112G and IC-TROSA – are each specified to enable interoperable deployment across the ecosystem is critically important to building market confidence and accelerating adoption,” said Steve Sekel, OIF Physical and Link Layer Interoperability Working Group Chair. “This showcase of 12 companies and key technologies is a clear representation of OIF’s leadership in driving electrical, optical and control interoperability.”

OIF Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Interoperability Demo @ ECOC 2019

OIF Drives Industry Collaboration and Growth Through Timely Interoperability Work.

Live interoperability demonstrations at ECOC 2019 will feature member company solutions that are critical to the global network, including 400ZR, Common Electrical I/O (CEI)-112G and IC-TROSA

400ZR & IC-TROSA Demo

OIF’s 400ZR project is not only facilitating cost and complexity reduction for 400GbE over 80 km DWDM networks, it’s also bringing forward a wave of necessary components and complementary applications. The IC-TROSA features all of the optical building blocks for a coherent module in a single package. The demonstrations will highlight important aspects of IC-TROSA integration as well as real-time EVM measurements with the updated script for 400ZR. In addition, a hardware-based 400ZR installation will show a typical application case.

CEI-112G Demo

OIF is taking a lead role in moving the industry to the next generation with its development of electrical interface specifications for 112 Gbps per differential pair. Multiple live demonstrations featuring interoperability clearly prove the key role OIF provides. The CEI-112G demonstrations in the OIF booth will feature multi-party silicon supplier interoperability over mated compliance board channels, a full host to module channel and direct attach copper cable channels, all demonstrating the technical viability of 112 Gbps operation, along with multiple industry form factors including OSFP and QSFP-DD.

OIF @ ECOC 2019 Market Focus

OIF will present “Deployment of the 400ZR Ecosystem” on Tuesday, September 24, 15:00 – 15:30, during the ECOC Market Focus Service and Content Provider Optical Transmission track. OIF expert and OIF Physical and Link Layer Working Group, Vice Chair Optical, Karl Gass will present.

Check the status of OIF’s current work here.

 

About OIF
OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on 20 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

 

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

OIF Launches Two New Projects — Higher Baud Rate Coherent Driver Modulator and Low-Rate Service Multiplexing Using FlexE and 400ZR White Paper — at Q3 Meeting

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Meeting also featured industry talk from Andrew Schmitt, Cignal AI, and initial discussions on next generation network operator requirements

Fremont, Calif.—August 14, 2019 – Member activity at this year’s OIF Q319 Technical and MA&E Committees Meeting in Montreal, Canada resulted in the launch of two new projects — a higher baud rate coherent driver modulator and a white paper detailing low-rate service multiplexing using FlexE and 400ZR.

Andrew Schmitt, founder and directing analyst, Cignal AI gave member attendees a brief overview of emerging pluggable coherent technologies and the opportunity this new market presents and had the opportunity to speak with members about current and upcoming OIF work.

“It’s clear that OIF is not resting after a successful effort to standardize 400ZR, proven by the launch of two new projects at the recent Q3 meeting,” said Schmitt. “Also, as interest in pluggable coherent solutions grows, it is good to see OIF soliciting feedback from additional network operators in order to shape requirements for next generation standards.”

NEW PROJECTS

The “Higher Baud Rate Coherent Driver Modulator” project will define a new version of the Coherent Driver Modulator supporting at least 96 Gbaud for the low modem implementation penalty segment of the coherent market for single optical carrier line rates beyond 400 Gbit/s. Designed for higher data rates and longer reach and optimized for performance, this project is the next generation of the High Bandwidth Coherent Driver Modulator (HB-CDM) Implementation Agreement (IA) published last year.

The second project start is for a white paper on low-rate service multiplexing using FlexE and 400ZR aimed at eliminating ambiguity and providing clarification on how 400ZR should be leveraged in multiplexing applications. Various network operators are looking for a multiplexing scheme to support lower-rate Ethernet clients (e.g. 4x100GE) into a 400ZR coherent line. This technical white paper will educate the market on how FlexE can be used to aggregate low-rate Ethernet services (e.g. 4x100GE) into 400ZR interfaces.

About OIF
OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on 20 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

 

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

OIF Continues Commitment to Interoperability with Two New Implementation Agreements – Specifications for CFP2-DCO and HB-CDM now available

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Fremont, Calif.—May 21, 2019 – OIF, the global industry forum accelerating market adoption of advanced interoperable optical networking solutions, has completed two new Implementation Agreements (IAs) — the CFP2-Digital Coherent Optics Module (CFP2-DCO) and High Bandwidth- Coherent Driver Modulator (HB-CDM).

“As a member-driven organization, OIF’s work is based on our members’ needs. The CFP2-DCO IA is in direct response to feedback from a network operator that needed an IA to fill an interoperability gap in their network,” said Karl Gass, OIF, PLL Working Group – Optical Vice Chair. “The HB-CDM IA addresses a performance need by creating a component that can be used for much higher performance links.”

CFP2-DCO

The CFP2-DCO IA defines the additional information needed in order to implement the DCO function in the CFP2 module. The CFP2-DCO module contains all the required functions to perform dual polarization coherent optical signaling. The module can also provide different bitrates such as 100G/200G/300G/400G and support more modulation formats.

HB-CDM

The IA for HB-CDM targets modulation and data-rate agnostic coherent applications having nominal symbol rates up to 64 Gbaud. It defines a small form factor electro-optic component that integrates the HB-Polarization Multiplexed-Quadrature (HB-PMQ) modulator plus the RF drive functions for the high baud-rate and low modem implementation penalty segment of the coherent market. Additionally, the IA identifies and specifies the common features and properties of coherent transmitters to enable them to broadly meet the needs of current and future coherent systems.

Check the status of OIF’s current work here.

 

About OIF
Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Celebrating 20 years of effecting progressive change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors, all collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at https://www.oiforum.com/.

 

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

Fiber Systems – Summer 2019

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Small Wonder – A new implementation agreement for low-power consumption will see small modules push technological barriers

https://www.fibre-systems.com/feature/small-wonder

OIF’s Optical Masterclass Series at NGON to Include Updates on 400ZR, Common Electrical I/O, Flex Ethernet & SDN Projects

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Fremont, Calif.—May 8, 2019 – At NGON, May 21-23, 2019, OIF experts will kick off the Optical Masterclass Series with a comprehensive update on its 400ZR, Common Electrical I/O (CEI)-112, Flex Ethernet (FlexE) and Software Defined Networking (SDN) projects.

“OIF’s interoperability solutions are vital to the global network and with many of the key network operators in attendance, NGON is the ideal platform to provide updates on OIF’s work in 400ZR, CEI, FlexE and SDN,” said Dave Brown, Nokia and OIF Director of Communications.

The “Optical Masterclass Series – The Optical Internetworking Forum” session is being held Tuesday, May 21, 2019 from 09:00 – 11:00 (NEW TIME AS OF 5/16). Brown and Karl Gass, OIF Physical & Link Layer Working Group Vice Chair, Optical, will discuss how OIF is assuring interoperability in open, agile, next-generation optical networks and provide updates on crucial industry projects.

400ZR

OIF’s 400ZR project is critical in facilitating the reduction of cost and complexity for high bandwidth data center interconnects and promoting interoperability among optical module manufacturers. This Implementation Agreement (IA) will specify an interoperable digital coherent 400ZR interface targeted at short reach (80 km or more) DWDM amplified noise limited links and unamplified loss limited links.

CEI

The CEI project update will include discussion of the multiple 112 Gb/s interfaces being defined by OIF including CEI-112G MCM, XSR, VSR, MR and LR. Applications of these 112 Gb/s interfaces include die-to-die, die-to-OE (optical engine) on package, chip-to-module, chip-to-chip and chip-to-chip long reach over backplane and cables.

FlexE

OIF continues to lead in FlexE aggregation architectures through its newest FlexE 2.1 project for FlexE over 50GbE PHY applications, an extension to its FlexE 2.0 Implementation Agreement (IA). FlexE 2.1 will specify a 50G FlexE frame and multiplexing format and will address FlexE applications with lower bandwidth needs and provide an implementation foundation for applications including the access layer of the future 5G mobile network.

SDN

In November 2018, OIF announced the launch of “Requirements for Integrated Packet Optical SDN.” The project outlines requirements for a multi-layer SDN reference architecture as a use case for packet optical transport networks. It will generate functional requirements, a reference architecture and use cases for packet/optical networks guided by the vision to enable agile, open network solutions that simplify operations and optimize resource utilization.

IC-TROSA

The session will also include an update on the Integrated Coherent Transmit-Receive Optical Sub Assembly (IC-TROSA) project that defines a standard optical component containing a complete coherent modem. The availability of highly integrated components accelerates the adoption of coherent transmission into additional markets.

Additionally, Gass will participate in Wednesday’s Plenary session, 09:30 – 10:10, “Present View: To the terabit & beyond – practicalities for coherent transmission.” Also on Wednesday, from 14:35 – 15:30, Brown will speak on the “Open Source Approach: Looking at disaggregation as a pathway for multi-vendor cooperation, interoperability and driving enhanced network interfaces” panel.

Check the status of OIF’s current work here.

About OIF
Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Celebrating 20 years of effecting progressive change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors, all collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at https://www.oiforum.com/.

 

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

 

FierceTelecom – What is 400ZR?

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Aimed predominantly at short-reach, single-span fiber optic links for Data Center Interconnect (DCI), 400ZR is an interoperable networking Implementation Agreement (IA) in progress by the OIF. It defines a footprint-optimized solution for transporting 400Gb Ethernet over DCI links targeting a minimum of 80 km. Enabled by advanced coherent optical technology design targeting small, pluggable form factor modules such as QSFP-DD and OSFP, 400ZR proposes a technology-driven solution for high capacity data transport, matched to 400GE switch port market introduction.

https://www.fiercetelecom.com/sponsored/what-400zr

(Sponsored by Ciena)

Lightwave – OIF, Ethernet Alliance pair on FlexE demonstration at OFC 2019

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The OIF and the Ethernet Alliance hosted interop and technology demonstrations on the show floor this week at OFC 2019 in San Diego. The activities at the two booths overlapped with a fiber connection across the show floor, via which a 400 Gigabit Ethernet (400GbE) transmission generated via Flex Ethernet based on OIF’s FlexE 2.0 Implementation Agreement became part of the Ethernet Alliance’s 400GbE interop.

https://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2019/03/oif-ethernet-alliance-pair-on-flexe-demonstration-at-ofc-2019.html?eid=383971651&bid=2392146

SDxCentral – Microsoft Rises From Irrelevance With Big Bet on Cloud

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Microsoft, which not too long ago was facing irrelevance, is successfully riding the cloud to reestablish itself and brighten it prospects.

The company’s research and development efforts, the Playbook says, focus on AI, quantum computing, productivity tools, streaming cloud-based gaming, and networking. “Scaling the cloud requires not only more data centers, but also faster intra- and inter-data center connectivity links,” Menon wrote. “For instance, Microsoft is very active with the OIF in pushing 400ZR, a 400 Gbps link specification for data center interconnect.”

https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/microsoft-rises-from-irrelevance-with-big-bet-on-cloud/2019/03/

Light Reading – 5G Transport, 400ZR Star at OFC19

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Heavy Reading’s optical expert Sterling Perrin discusses some of the major trends in transport network technology at this year’s OFC event in San Diego, including 5G Transport, 800G and 400ZR.

https://www.lightreading.com/optical-ip/400g-terabit/5g-transport-400zr-star-at-ofc19/v/d-id/750020

OIF and Ethernet Alliance Collaborate to Run Live FlexE Traffic over 400G Network at OFC 2019

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SAN DIEGO – March 5, 2019 – Industry leading organizations, OIF and the Ethernet Alliance, today announced an interoperating 400 Gbps Ethernet (400 GbE) network demonstration at OFC in San Diego, CA, March 5-7, 2019. The joint demonstration will feature Flex Ethernet (FlexE) traffic sent over three bonded and subrated 100 GbE interfaces streaming over the Ethernet Alliance 400 GbE network with interconnection between the OIF and Ethernet Alliance booths on the show floor.

The demonstration is designed to showcase the Ethernet Alliance’s IEEE 802.3bs 400 Gbps network and OIF’s FlexE 2.0 Implementation Agreement (IA).

“The Ethernet Alliance’s 400 GbE network over the OFC exhibit floor is the perfect setting to illustrate the real-world features and capabilities of the OIF FlexE 2.0 IA that allows network operators to tailor their traffic while still leveraging Ethernet,” according to Nathan Tracy, OIF’s President and Technologist at TE Connectivity. “The Ethernet Alliance’s deployment of the 400 GbE network at OFC combined with OIF’s FlexE demonstration illustrates the coincident availability of these new technologies.”

The member companies participating in the OIF demo, booth #6215, include Amphenol, Cisco, Credo Semiconductor (HK) LTD, Finisar, Inphi, Juniper Networks, Keysight Technologies, Molex, Spirent Communications, TE Connectivity, VIAVI Solutions, Xilinx and YAMAICHI ELECTRONICS. For more info on OIF’s activities at OFC, please visit https://www.oiforum.com/meetings-events/oif-ofc-2019/

Happening in booth #4749, the Ethernet Alliance’s OFC 2019 demo incorporates equipment and solutions from 21 different companies: Amphenol Corporation; Anritsu Corporation; Arista Networks, Inc.; Cisco; Credo Semiconductor, Inc.; EXFO, Inc.; Finisar; Intel Corporation; Ixia / Keysight Technologies, Inc.; Juniper Networks, Inc.; Lumentum Holdings Inc.; Nexans S.A.; Panduit Corp.; Source Photonics Inc.; Spectra7 Microsystems Ltd.; Spirent Communications; TE Connectivity Ltd.; Tektronix, Inc.; Teledyne LeCroy, Inc.; VIAVI Solutions, Inc. and Xilinx, Inc.

About OIF
Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Celebrating 20 years of effecting progressive change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors, all collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at https://www.oiforum.com/.

About the Ethernet Alliance

The Ethernet Alliance is a global consortium that includes system and component vendors, industry experts, and university and government professionals who are committed to the continued success and expansion of Ethernet technology. The Ethernet Alliance takes Ethernet standards to market by supporting activities that span from incubation of new Ethernet technologies to interoperability demonstrations and education.

 

 

PR Contact:

Leah Wilkinson

Wilkinson + Associates for OIF

leah@wilkinson.associates

703-907-0010

 

 

EE Web – 112G Digs in at DesignCon 2019

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112G serial links have moved out of the lab and onto the exhibit floor. 56G ramps up while 28G goes mainstream.

By Martin Rowe, EE Web, Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Last year at DesignCon 2018, we witnessed high-speed digital designs that moved past 56 Gbits/s (56G) and onto 112 Gbits/s (112G). This year, DesignCon 2019 brought numerous demonstrations of 112G as the connectors and cables caught up with the silicon. While still appearing in technical papers and panels, 112G has certainly moved into the exhibit hall. Meanwhile, 56G has matured and is now a complete ecosystem.

When it comes to signal integrity and high-speed signals, transmission lengths certainly matter, especially with electrical signals over copper connections. Yes, optical transmission is an option, but nobody wants to pay for it. At a panel session on Jan. 31, OIF board president Nathan Tracy presented the table shown in Figure 1 that describes five OIF standards for different electrical transmission lengths.

mar0008-01-oif-standards
Figure 1: The Optical Internetworking Forum has created standards for 112-Gbit/s copper connections. (Source: Optical Internetworking Forum and DesignCon)
Given a rule of thumb of 0.1 dB/in./GHz of insertion loss (Figure 2), PCB traces of, say, 10 inches are simply too long. That’s where cables that jump over PCBs have become popular.

mar0008-02-112gbps
Figure 2: Cable assemblies jump over PCBs to reduce insertion loss. (Source: Optical Internetworking Forum, Broadcom, and DesignCon)
Connectors for 112G took several forms at DesignCon, depending on the length of the transmission. For chip-to-chip or chip-to-module distances, sending 112G four-level pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM4) signals (28 GHz) over PCB traces results in excessive insertion loss. To get past that restriction, several connector companies have developed cable assemblies that jump over sections of boards.

Read more here: https://www.eeweb.com/profile/martin-rowe-2/articles/112g-digs-in-at-designcon-2019

 

OIF Members to Demonstrate Interoperability of Industry’s Hottest Technologies at OFC 2019

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Multi-vendor live demos to feature 400ZR, CEI-112G and FlexE technology; OIF experts to lead panel discussions on hot topics, interoperability

Fremont, Calif.—February 20, 2019 – Demonstrating how interoperability works get done, 13 OIF member companies will participate in live interoperability demos of the industry’s hottest technologies – 400ZR, Common Electrical I/O (CEI)-112G  and Flex Ethernet (FlexE) – at OFC 2019 in San Diego, March 5-7, 2019.

Amphenol, Cisco Systems, Credo Semiconductor (HK) LTD, Finisar, Inphi, Juniper Networks, Keysight Technologies, Molex, Spirent Communications, TE Connectivity, VIAVI Solutions, Xilinx and YAMAICHI ELECTRONICS will demonstrate the interoperability of their products and technologies in OIF’s booth, #6215.

“400ZR, CEI-112G and FlexE are critical technologies in our industry so it’s no surprise these are the interoperability specifications our members are most focused on for OFC,” said Steve Sekel of Keysight and OIF’s Physical and Link Layer Interoperability Working Group Chair. “The live demos will demonstrate critical insight into how key technologies interoperate within the industry’s ecosystem.”

400ZR Demo

OIF’s 400ZR project is critical in facilitating the reduction of cost and complexity for high bandwidth data center interconnects and promoting interoperability among optical module manufacturers. Currently in progress, the project will result in an implementation agreement for 400G ZR and short-reach DWDM multi-vendor interoperability. The 400ZR demo consists of real-time Error Vector Magnitude measurements demonstrating the maturity of the methodology used for transmitter specifications. In addition, a hardware-based 400ZR installation will show how participants communicate a typical application case.

CEI-112G Demo

OIF is taking a lead role in moving the industry to the next generation with its development of electrical interface specifications for 112 Gbps per differential pair. Multiple live demonstrations featuring interoperability clearly prove the key role OIF provides. The CEI-112G demonstrations in the OIF booth will feature multi-party silicon supplier interoperability over mated compliance board channels and direct attach copper cable channels, all demonstrating the technical viability of 112 Gbps operation, along with multiple industry form factors including OSFP and QSFP-DD.

FlexE Demo

OIF continues to lead in FlexE aggregation architectures through its newest FlexE 2.1 project for FlexE over 50GbE PHY applications, an extension to its FlexE 2.0 Implementation Agreement (IA). The FlexE 2.0 demo will show off the bonding, subrating, and channelization features that allows FlexE-enabled hardware to support non-standard Ethernet rates over standard Ethernet optics. Realistic multi-vendor deployment scenarios, client rate reconfiguration, and in-band messaging features will be demonstrated on a network built from a variety of Ethernet optics and interconnecting the OIF and Ethernet Alliance booths.

OIF @ OFC 2019 Speaking Sessions

On Thursday, March 7, industry experts from OIF will lead panels focused on the latest update on 400ZR specifications and the drivers, needs, and challenges in the evolution to widescale adoption of open, interoperable optical networks.

OIF – 400ZR Specification Update

Thursday, 7 March, 10:15-11:15 – Theater II, Hall E

Moderator: Karl Gass, OIF PLL WG Vice Chair Optical

Speakers include: Josef Berger, Inphi; Mark Filer, Microsoft Azure; Marc Stiller, NeoPhotonics and Markus Weber, Acacia Communications

 

The Path to Open, Interoperable Optical Networking

Thursday, 7 March, 11:15-12:15 – Theater II, Hall E

Moderator: Dave Brown, OIF Director of Communications, Nokia

Speakers include: Victor Lopez, Telefónica gCTIO; Lyndon Ong, OIF MA&E Co-Chair – Networking, Ciena and Jonathan Sadler, OIF Networking Interoperability WG Chair, Infinera

 

Check the status of OIF’s current work here.

 

About OIF
Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Celebrating 20 years of effecting progressive change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors, all collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at https://www.oiforum.com/.

 

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010