News

5 January 2010

 

Finisar and Ixia demo 100Gb/s Ethernet interoperability

Fiber-optic communications component and subsystem maker Finisar Corp of Sunnyvale, CA, USA and Ixia of Calabasas, CA, USA, which provides converged IP performance test systems and service verification platforms, have demonstrated interoperability between Ixia's K2 100Gb/s and 40Gb/s IP test interfaces with Finisar's 100G Ethernet (100GE) CFP optical transceiver modules.

The test setup included a Finisar 100GE LR4 CFP optical transceiver module operating in the Ixia K2 100Gb/s Ethernet/IP test module. Error-free operation was demonstrated by transmitting IP packets to a second Finisar 100GE LR4 CFP optical module over 25km of single-mode fiber, greatly exceeding the 10km distance being standardized for this application by the IEEE.

“Initial performance testing of the Finisar 100GE LR4 CFP transceiver in their facility was very promising,” comments Glenn Wellbrock, director of Optical Transport, Network Architecture and Design for Verizon, who witnessed the event. “I look forward to testing the module in our laboratories together with system vendors soon.”

Finisar’s 100GE LR4 CFP optical transceivers are compliant with the CFP multi-source agreement (MSA) and support the 100GBASE-LR4 (4x25G) optical interface standardized in the IEEE P802.3ba Draft document. They are part of a family of CFP transceiver modules that also includes 40G Ethernet and multimode fiber versions. Finisar’s entire portfolio of transceiver modules uses internally developed integrated circuits and internally packaged optics.

“Demonstrating interoperability of 100GE CFP modules with leading 100GE test systems is a very positive milestone for the entire industry,” claims Christian Urricariet, Finisar’s director of product marketing for high-speed optics. “The LR4 versions of the pluggable CFP transceivers will enable successful 100G Ethernet deployments by our key customers,” he reckons.

Ixia claims that its K2 higher-speed Ethernet (HSE) load module is the industry’s only 100GE IP test solution capable of transmitting, receiving and analyzing full line-rate 100Gb/s Ethernet traffic. It is the latest load module in Ixia’s test platform, which includes test chassis and load modules designed for different interface types and speeds. All load modules, including both the 40GE and 100GE models, test the full range of IP networking devices — from layer 2 through 7.

“Ixia’s use of the Finisar CFP demonstrates the feasibility of pluggable optics for both 40/100GE,” says Ixia’s chief innovation officer Errol Ginsberg. “This extremely successful demonstration conducted by Ixia and Finisar for carriers such as Verizon shows that 100GE technology is quickly moving forward and will soon approach the deployment phase,” he reckons.

Search: Finisar CFP optical transceiver modules

Visit: www.finisar.com

Visit: www.ixiacom.com