OIF to Lead “Co-Packaged Optics – Why, What and How” Live Webinar Event; Industry Experts to Provide Perspectives on Co-Packaged Optics Challenges and Opportunities

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In partnership with Lightwave, the free online event will feature industry-leading experts from end-users, equipment developers and component vendors

Fremont, Calif.—September 21, 2020 – Recognizing the high-level of industry interest in co-packaging of optics with ASICs and the need for industry discussion and collaboration, OIF will hold a public webinar “Co-Packaged Optics – Why, What and How” on Wednesday, October 14th at 7am PDT/9am CDT/10am EDT/4pm CEST. The free 2.5 hour webinar, hosted by OIF and Lightwave, will feature talks and discussion from industry-leading experts from: Cisco, Facebook, Intel, Juniper Networks,  Microsoft, Ranovus, Senko Advanced Components and TE Connectivity. Register here for this free event.

“After holding an OIF members-only workshop on co-packaged optics back in July 2020, OIF quickly recognized the industry-wide interest this topic has generated and the need for wider engagement and discussion,” said Jeff Hutchins, Ranovus, OIF member and coordinator of this webinar. “This public OIF webinar presents a unique opportunity for industry and OIF members to explore and discuss key drivers as well as the important constraints (electrical, thermal, optical, etc.) so we can be aligned on the solutions needed to move co-packaged optics interoperability forward.”

Webinar presenters will review key drivers for co-packaged optics as well as the conventional alternatives and highlight applications where co-packaged optics can deliver unique benefits. Hear from end-users, equipment developers, and component vendors as they discuss:

  • Pluggable modules, board mounted optics, and co-packaged optics comparisons
  • Applications which drive the need for co-packaged optics
  • Considerations for realizing co-packaged optics
  • Steps to industry standardization

Details on this live webinar event are as follows:

October 14, 2020 – 7:00am-9:30am PDT

Agenda

7:00am – Welcome & Intro – Stephen Hardy, Editorial Director, Lightwave and Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity and OIF President

7:10am – Optical Transceivers, Pros & Cons – Mark Nowell, Cisco

7:25am – Co-Packaged Optics – Rob Stone, Facebook

7:40am – Co-Packaged Optics – Ram Huggahalli, Microsoft

7:55am – Dense Optical Form Factors – Jeffery Maki, Juniper Networks and OIF Physical Layer User Group Working Group Chair

8:10am – Optical Connectivity – Tiger Ninomiya, Senko Advanced Components

8:25am – Laser Sources – Richard Jones, Intel

8:40am – Standardization – Jeff Hutchins, Ranovus

8:55am – Q&A – Stephen Hardy and Nathan Tracy

 

To register for the free event, click here. The webinar is open to the public and a certificate of attendance will be offered.

 

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 CEI-224G Development Project, Reviews Co-packaging of Optics with ASICs Workshop, Announces Optical Module Management Interface Survey Results at Q3 Meeting

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Fremont, Calif.—August 26, 2020 – OIF members continued to drive industry interoperability efforts forward during the Q3 2020 Technical and MA&E Committees Meeting, held August 3-7. This quarter’s virtual meeting resulted in the approval of the CEI (Common Electrical I/O) -224G Development Project, a wrap-up of the “Co-packaging of Optics with ASICs” members-only workshop that was held July 20th and a readout of the results of the public Optical Module Management Interface Survey.

“OIF strives to challenge our member companies to achieve more in order to accelerate industry innovation and standards that maintain alignment with network operator trends and needs,” explained Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity and OIF President. “We are continually advocating for increased interoperability and the OIF quarterly meetings provide the ideal forum for members to debate and discuss the interoperability challenges that the industry is trying to overcome. For example, getting electrical signals to travel at 224 Gbps over workable distances is a challenge we are looking forward to exploring.”

NEW PROJECT – 224 Gbps CEI PROJECT APPROVED

During OIF’s Q2 meeting in May, members previewed a proposed project start to address next generation architectures and data rates around 224 Gbps for CEI interfaces. The project was formally approved during this month’s meeting. The expected result will be a technical white paper summarizing a consensus-based body of knowledge which will then enable several project starts for next generation CEI clauses addressing specific reaches and architectures.

“CO-PACKAGING OF OPTICS WITH ASICs” WORKSHOP RECAP

OIF held a “Co-packaging of Optics with ASICs” workshop on July 20th for OIF members. The workshop explored the various challenges of co-packaging of optics and identified opportunities for industry collaboration. Presenting companies included Applied Optoelectronics, Inc., Facebook, Inphi, Intel, Keysight Technologies, Microsoft, Ranovus, Senko Advanced Components, Inc. and TE Connectivity. Based on the success of the member workshop and increasing interest in the topic industry-wide, OIF is planning a public workshop on co-packaging of optics. Details and registration will be available soon.

OPTICAL MODULE MANAGEMENT INTERFACE SURVEY

OIF recently conducted a public industry survey designed to determine how the Coherent Common Management Interface Specification Implementation Agreement is viewed by the industry and the level of industry alignment and support for further standardization of optical module management. Results of the survey were presented on a public webinar on July 30 and recapped during the Q3 meeting. Click HERE to download the survey results.

About OIF

OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on more than 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 Optical Module Management Interface Survey, Solicits Industry Input

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Survey to gather industry opinion regarding evolution of optical module management

Fremont, Calif.—July 1, 2020 – There is ongoing evolution of form factors and a trend for modules to incorporate data processing and programmable module functions. However, there is increasing consensus that the intrinsic restrictions of throughput and data organization will not scale well into the future.

OIF, where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done, is launching a survey designed to determine how the Common Management Interface Specification is viewed by the industry and the level of industry alignment on and support for further standardization of optical module management. The subject of module management encompasses physical interfaces, communication protocols and management applications layers.

The survey is available now and open to all who can act as a stakeholder and represent their company’s viewpoint – module vendors, system vendors, and network operators. Multiple responses per company are also allowed. Responses will be collated anonymously and then evaluated by a dedicated survey evaluation team.

OIF will hold a public webinar on Thursday, July 30, 2020 at 7am PDT to announce the results of the survey. Visit the survey webpage to download the survey and for information on the survey deadline, where to submit answers and how to register for the webinar.

“The OIF 400ZR specification covers interoperability on the network fiber and also at the host by defining the electrical interface and software management interface,” said Jeffery J. Maki, distinguished engineer II, Juniper Networks and OIF Physical Layer User Group Working Group Chair. “All of this is done to drive a true multi-sourcing opportunity for the module. Beyond 400ZR, support of the software management interface is an area OIF would like to continue to address and seeks, through the use of a survey, to gauge industry interest and the potential solution approach.”

OIF announced the Coherent Common Management Interface Specification (C-CMIS) Implementation Agreement (IA) in March. This IA serves as an extension to the CMIS (QSFP-DD/OSFP/COBO) management specification, specifically targeting DCO modules and is an important part of the developing 400ZR ecosystem.

 

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 Announces Participants in 2020 Joint Network Operator, Multi-Vendor Transport SDN API Interoperability Demonstration

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Interoperability is vital to facilitating operator deployment of SDN and accelerating transport network transformation for the 5G era

Fremont, Calif. —June 16, 2020 – Leading the acceleration of the commercialization of transport SDN worldwide and transport network transformation for the 5G era, OIF today announced plans for its 2020 Transport SDN Application Programming Interface (API) interoperability demonstration.

The 2020 event will focus on SDN-based programmability, control and automation and showcase testing in Telefonica’s lab in Europe over a six-week period (September to October).

Building on OIF’s 2018 and 2016 interoperability demonstrations that helped establish ONF Transport-API (T-API) as the defacto northbound interface (NBI) standard, the 2020 demonstration will test Ethernet, Layer 1 OTN and Layer 0 OTN control using ONF T-API 2.1.3, with additional testing of OpenConfig device APIs for transport equipment in network-operator-defined use cases.

Manageability and flexibility of the network are critical to allow network operators to successfully deliver a range of cloud-based services, meet dynamic bandwidth demands, and to accelerate transport network transformation for the 5G era. Established open Transport SDN APIs can help network operators:

  • improve network agility to adapt to dynamic service demands and traffic patterns
  • improve service provisioning and time-to-revenue
  • reduce maintenance and management with simplified control and automation

The multi-vendor interoperability demonstration includes participating vendors ADVA, Ciena, Cisco Systems, Infinera and Nokia. China Telecom and Telia are participating as consulting network operators.

“Widespread adoption of transport SDN is a must for network operators to accelerate their transformation for the 5G era and reap the benefits of a more dynamic and open network,” said Dave Brown, Nokia and OIF Officer – Director of Communications. “OIF’s facilitation of this thorough test of specifications and interoperability of open transport SDN APIs will highlight the tools necessary to create an open manageable, flexible network.”

“Interoperability is the key success factor for SDN deployment in production networks,” said Arturo Mayoral, Telefónica Transport Global CTIO Unit – Technology Expert and Lead of Optical SDN strategy. “This OIF interop event arrives at the perfect moment to evaluate maturity of the commercial solutions, fostered by the recent efforts done by Telefónica through the iFUSION project, in the design of reference implementations based on ONF T-API and OpenConfig standards.”

Public read-out events highlighting the results of the testing will take place at select industry events in Q4 2020. In Q1 2021, OIF will hold a webinar and launch a whitepaper describing the results of the event. Additional information can be found at https://www.oiforum.com/technical-work/2020-oif-transport-sdn-api-interoperability-demo/

About the 2020 OIF Transport SDN Application Programming Interface (API) Interoperability Demonstration

Leading the acceleration of the commercialization of transport SDN worldwide and transport network transformation for the 5G era, Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), will bring new use cases and deployment scenarios into Telefonica’s lab to test multi-vendor interoperability of Ethernet, Layer 1 OTN, Layer 0 OTN control using ONF T-API 2.1.3 and OpenConfig device APIs. The 2020 Transport SDN Application Programming Interface (API) interoperability demonstration builds on OIF’s previous transport API requirements and interoperability demonstrations which substantiated T-API as the northbound interface (NBI) of choice, establishing a foundation for open, programmable networks that allow network operators to efficiently deliver dynamic multi-domain connectivity services to the market.

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 Announces 224 Gbps Project Preview, Election Results, Upcoming Webinars and Integrated Packet Optical SDN Implementation Agreement at Q2 Virtual Meeting

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Fremont, Calif.—June 4, 2020 – OIF’s Q2 2020 Technical and MA&E Committees Meeting, held virtually May 11-15, resulted in a preview of a proposed 224 Gbps project, election results, upcoming webinar announcements and the release of the Integrated Packet Optical SDN Implementation Agreement (IA).

NEW PROJECT PREVIEW – 224 Gbps PROJECT START PROPOSAL

The next electrical data rate beyond 112 Gbps will be technically challenging with many factors to be considered, but already industry discussions are beginning to take place. In its continued efforts to meet industry needs, OIF previewed a proposed project start to address data rates around 224 Gbps. The project is expected to start in Q3 and will consider the following challenges:

  • What reaches need to be supported
  • What modulations will be appropriate for each reach
  • Simulation tools
  • Test and measurement methodologies

“By providing an active forum for discussions on next generation architectures and data rate beyond 112 Gbps, OIF is performing an essential role in accelerating standards and requirements. We expect this project to result in output data and baseline materials that will drive next generation CEI clauses and enable 1.6 Tbps rate architectures,” said Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity and OIF President. “In addition, it is anticipated this next generation electrical rate will keep the industry on track to deliver lower cost and complexity 400 Gbps and 800 Gbps architectures as well.”

ELECTIONS

Dave Stauffer, Kandou Bus, S.A., was re-elected as Physical and Link Layer Working Group Chair through January 2022.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

OIF will hold two upcoming webinars:

– “Cu (See you) Beyond 112 Gbps” – Thursday, June 18th at 7am PDT/9am CDT/10am EDT/4pm CEST – This online event, in partnership with Lightwave and Electronic Design, will feature a dynamic discussion between end-users, equipment developers and component suppliers. The webinar event is free and open to the public. Register here.

– OIF will hold a members-only “Co-packaging of Optics with ASICs” webinar on Monday, July 20th at 7am PDT/9am CDT/10am EDT/4pm CEST. The webinar will explore challenges in realizing high density co-packaged optic solutions for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications. It will identify key drivers as well as important constraints (electrical, thermal, optical, etc.) as it continues OIF’s mission of identifying industry gaps in standards and explores opportunities to provide interoperable solutions.

INTEGRATED PACKET OPTICAL SDN IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT

Packet networks and optical networks have typically been managed separately in operator networks, resulting in low efficiency in both service provisioning and network maintenance. SDN brings in new options and opportunities based on its open and software-ized characteristics.

The OIF Integrated Packet Optical SDN IA defines a standardized universal open framework and principal use cases for integrated SDN control of packet and optical networks that at the solution level will normalize the architecture, interfaces and behaviors and help move the industry forward. The new IA can be downloaded here.

“OIF’s Integrated Packet Optical SDN IA brings meaningful use cases, architecture and technical requirements for cooperation between IP and Optical layers via SDN,” said Junjie Li, China Telecom and OIF Network Operator Working Group Chair. “Operators look to OIF as a place to address industry gaps and achieve maximum benefit for their optical networks. I believe this work will help us to construct a bridge between packet and optical and make our network smarter and simpler.”

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 to Present “Cu (see you) Beyond 112 Gbps” Webinar to Debate Requirements for Next Generation Electrical Interconnects, including Networking Trends and Cloud Scale Applications

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The online event, in partnership with Lightwave and Electronic Design, will feature a dynamic discussion between end-users, equipment developers and component suppliers

Fremont, Calif.—June 1, 2020 – OIF, where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done, will hold a webinar “Cu (see you) Beyond 112 Gbps” on Thursday, June 18th at 7am PDT/9am CDT/10am EDT/4pm CEST. The free webinar, hosted by Lightwave and Electronic Design, will feature talks and discussion from industry-leading experts: Arista, Broadcom Inc., Cisco, Facebook, Google, Innovium, Intel and TE Connectivity. Register now for this valuable event.

“OIF has a long history of developing electrical interface specifications (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 webinar is a critical opportunity for OIF members and industry to participate in an open debate and discussion on this topic.”

Participants will gain new insights from end-users, equipment developers and component suppliers on the needs for next generation interoperable electrical IO rates as well the challenges and possible technical options to make these rates attainable. The panel of experts 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 webinar will also include a brief summary of OIF’s existing and in-process electrical IO work.

The first half of the live event 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.

Details are as follows:

June 18, 2020 – 7:00am-9:30am PDT
Agenda

Introduction – Stephen Hardy, Editorial Director, Lightwave and Nathan Tracy, OIF president and TE Connectivity

User Demand
End Users’ Perspective – Srinivas Venkataraman, Facebook; Sara Zebian, Google

System Supplier Perspective
Equipment Developers’ Perspective – Andy Bechtolsheim, Arista; Rakesh Chopra, Cisco

Component Suppliers’ Analysis/Perspective
Switch Developer – Kapil Shrikhande, Innovium
Improved Copper Components and Channels – Dave Helster, TE Connectivity
SERDES, Modulation and FEC – Adam Healey, Broadcom Inc; Mike Li, Intel

Live Q&A

To register for the free event, click here. The webinar is open to the public and a certificate of attendance will be offered.

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 Publishes Implementation Agreement for 400ZR Coherent Optical Interface

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Spec addresses 400ZR multi-vendor interoperability required for cloud scale data center interconnect (DCI)

Fremont, Calif.—April 29, 2020 – OIF, where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done, today announced it has published the Implementation Agreement (IA) for a 400ZR coherent optical interface. The document is available now for all to download.

This IA, the first OIF project with a scope that focused on interoperability at a specific distance, reinforces OIF’s critical role in creating solutions to fulfill industry requirements and accelerating market adoption of optical networking technologies.

“As a member driven organization, OIF’s work toward the 400ZR IA was the combination of significant interest from network operator members and component supplier members responding to that demand,” said Karl Gass, OIF Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Working Group – Optical Vice Chair. “The 400ZR IA is the culmination of this significant effort by OIF member companies and is critical for managing cost and driving interoperability for the industry.”

Developed to create an interoperable, low-cost 400 Gigabit coherent interface, the 400ZR IA addresses two applications:

  • Amplified, point-to-point DWDM links with reaches of 120 km or less
  • Unamplified, single wavelength links with a loss budget of 11dB

The 400ZR project was initiated when large-scale data center operators and their suppliers approached OIF to develop an interoperable coherent interface that transports 400 Gigabit Ethernet over longer distances. Traditional network operators also became interested in 400ZR for their metro needs. Based on their different requirements, OIF developed specs and tweaked the channel requirements so the IA would benefit both data center and network operators. While developing the IA, OIF collaborated closely with other standards bodies.

“400ZR is a key enabler of Microsoft’s regional architecture for the 400G generation,” said Mark Filer, Principal Optical Engineer in Microsoft Azure. “The creation of a multi-vendor, interoperable coherent interface to meet these needs would not have been possible without the extensive work and cooperation of OIF members and leadership.”

“The 400ZR IA is an example of OIF’s ability to quickly and effectively mobilize opinion and to bring interoperability to a rapidly evolving world,” said Andrew Schmitt, Directing Analyst at Cignal AI. “The 400ZR specification is the organization’s first step to establish broader interoperability among coherent transport interfaces.”

The IA aims to enable interoperable, cost-effective, 400Gb/s implementations based on single-carrier coherent DP-16QAM modulation, low-power DSPs supporting absolute (Non-Differential) phase encoding/decoding, and a Concatenated FEC (C-FEC) with a post-FEC error floor <1.0E-15. 400ZR operates as a 400GBASE-R PHY.

No restriction on the physical form factor is implied by the IA (QSFP-DD, OSFP, COBO, CFP2, CFP8), but the specifications target a pluggable DCO architecture with port densities equivalent to grey client optics.

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 Completes Coherent Common Management Interface Specification (C-CMIS) Implementation Agreement for Management of Digital Coherent Optics (DCO) Modules

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Initial release is focused on supporting 400ZR

Fremont, Calif.—March 3, 2020 – OIF, where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done, today announced the completion of the Coherent Common Management Interface Specification (C-CMIS) Implementation Agreement (IA). This IA serves as an extension to the CMIS (QSFP-DD/OSFP/COBO) management specification, specifically targeting DCO modules.

“The C-CMIS IA is an important part of the developing 400ZR ecosystem,” said Ian Betty, Ciena and OIF Board Member. “It defines additional management registers, and monitors, together with new functionality, mechanisms, or behaviors, as needed.”

Augmenting the existing CMIS specification which focused on addressing direct detect client optics, the C-CMIS IA provides register definition for coherent modules in pages and parameters that were previously reserved. Users that have previously implemented software to manage optical modules using CMIS will be able to quickly add support for these coherent pages and parameters. This release of the C-CMIS IA is targeted at the 400ZR application.

The technology and complexity of coherent modules requires additional monitoring parameters for use in field applications. This additional monitoring is primarily focused on Forward Error Correction (FEC) monitoring and optical/analog monitoring including items like Chromatic Dispersion, Differential Group Delay and Electrical Signal to Noise Ratio (eSNR). The C-CMIS IA provides specifications to monitor the standard parameters in a normative manner while taking advantage of the flexibility of the CMIS specification to monitor any additional proprietary parameters.

“The current IA is focused on supporting the OIF 400ZR IA, which supports a single data path with eight-lane host electrical interface for a 400GBASE-R PCS signal and a single-lane 400G coherent media interface (with a new signal format called 400ZR),” explained Betty. “However, we expect future versions to include more complex Metro modules and may even extend these management features to other form factors.”

 

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 Members to Showcase Innovation and Interoperability Solutions for the Industry’s Most Critical Challenges at OFC 2020

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Interoperability demos on 400ZR, CEI-112G, FlexE and IC-TROSA; OIF experts to lead panel discussions and OIF to Host “Cu (see you) Beyond 112 Gbps” Workshop

Fremont, Calif.—February 18, 2020 – OIF will host one of the largest interoperability demos in its history reflecting the ongoing significance of OIF’s work in addressing global network challenges. Twenty industry-leading system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors will demonstrate critical insight into how key technologies – 400ZR, Common Electrical I/O (CEI)-112G, Flex Ethernet (FlexE) and Integrated Coherent Transmit-Receive Optical Sub Assembly (IC-TROSA) – interoperate within the industry’s ecosystem at OFC 2020 in San Diego, March 10-12, 2020 (booth #6221).

Participating companies include Acacia Communications, Amphenol, Arista Networks, Cadence Design Systems, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., Credo Semiconductor (HK) LTD, Fujitsu Optical Components, II-VI, Inphi Corporation, Juniper Networks, Keysight Technologies, Marvell, Microchip, Molex, NeoPhotonics, Samtec, Inc., Spirent Communications, TE Connectivity, VIAVI Solutions and Yamaichi Electronics.

“The participation level by 20 companies in this year’s interoperability demos for 400ZR, CEI-112G, FlexE and IC-TROSA, is a true reflection of our enduring leadership and evidence that these technologies continue to be the preeminent focus areas for our member companies,” explained Steve Sekel of Keysight and OIF’s Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Interoperability Working Group (WG) Chair. “We are eager to showcase the advancements that these technologies and our work have made over the past year.”

400ZR Demo
OIF has defined the 400ZR interface that provides interoperability of coherent optical interfaces for data center interconnect applications. The demo will show ‘first time ever’ operation of 400ZR equipment from multiple system and module vendors and in multiple pluggable form factors.

CEI-112G Demo
The CEI-112G demo will feature interoperating channels, components and silicon that demonstrate the CEI-112G-XSR, CEI-112G-VSR, CEI-112G-MR and CEI-112G-LR draft implementation agreements. Demonstrating interoperability for extra short reach channels is important to support the co-packaging developments that are expected to be discussed throughout the week at OFC. Interoperable very short reach, medium reach and long reach channels and silicon are also critical to support the developing 112 Gbps equipment that is expected to come to market soon. These updated demos surpass what OIF has demonstrated in the past with additional member contributions and continue to build on the developing ecosystem of products coming to market to support CEI-112G.

FlexE Demo
The FlexE demo that will be on display incorporates FlexE silicon operating with multiple test equipment and interoperating over a 400 Gbps fiber network that will be deployed on the show floor between the Ethernet Alliance booth and the OIF booth. This reflects further developments that are taking place in the FlexE market since the previous OIF FlexE demos.

IC-TROSA Demo
The IC-TROSA features all the optical building blocks for a coherent module in a single package. This demo will highlight important aspects of IC-TROSA integration as well as real-time EVM measurements with the updated script for 400ZR.

An additional point of interest will be a static display of coherent optical components which will emphasize the role of OIF in the coherent optical marketplace over the past 10 years.

OIF @ OFC 2020 Activities
OIF experts will participate in two panels at OFC 2020 that feature the latest updates on critical technologies that work to enable a more efficient and reliable network.

“400ZR Specification Update”
Tuesday, 10 March, 13:30 – 14:30, Theater III
Moderator: Karl Gass, OIF PLL WG Vice Chair Optical

Speakers include: Josef Berger, Inphi Corporation; Masahiro Mogi, Fujitsu Optical Components; Gert Sarlet, II-VI; Marc Stiller, NeoPhotonics and Markus Weber, Acacia Communications

Industry experts from OIF will lead a panel discussion of representatives from the DSP, optics, equipment and end user communities on the conflicting demands for a near-term, high-volume, interoperable, moderate reach, coherent 400G optical link. The session will also include an update on OIF’s project to define a 400ZR link specification.

“112 Gbps Electrical Interfaces – An OIF update on CEI-112G”
Wednesday, 11 March, 16:15 – 17:00, Theater II
Moderator: Nathan Tracy, OIF President, TE Connectivity
Speakers include: Ed Frlan, OIF Technical Committee Chair, Semtech, Corp.; Mike Li, OIF Board, Intel; Cathy Liu, OIF Board, Broadcom, Inc.; Gary Nicholl, OIF Board, Cisco; Steve Sekel, OIF PLL Interoperability WG Chair, Keysight Technologies

OIF experts will lead a panel discussion on the 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. The panel will provide an update on the multiple interfaces being defined by OIF including CEI-112G MCM, XSR, VSR, MR and LR for 112 Gbps applications of die-to-die, chip-to-module, chip-to-chip and long reach over backplane and cables.

“Cu (see you) Beyond 112 Gbps” Workshop
Thursday, 12 March, 12:00-17:30, Hilton San Diego Gaslamp, 401 K St (across from the SD Convention Center), San Diego, Ca.

OIF will hold a half-day workshop “Cu (see you) Beyond 112 Gbps” featuring experts from Arista, Broadcom, Inc., Cisco, Facebook, Google, Innovium, Intel, MACOM and TE Connectivity discussing the needs and challenges for electrical interfaces beyond 112 Gbps. Registration required:

• Registration fee for OIF Members: $150.00. OIF Members click HERE to register.
• Registration fee for Non-Members/General Public: $200.00. Non-Members click HERE to register.

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 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

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

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

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

 

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

 

 

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