100G Lambda MSA announces progress towards 100Gb/s optical technology product maturity

The 100G Lambda Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) Group, which has grown to include 39 member companies, has announced the release D2.0 of three specifications based on 100Gb/s per wavelength PAM4 (4-level pulse amplitude modulation) optical technology.

These specifications are targeting applications for data centers and service provider networks, enabling multi-vendor interoperability for optical transceivers produced by different manufacturers and in various form factors. These updated 100GbE interface specifications are designated as 100G-FR and 100G-LR for duplex single-mode links over 2km and 10km, respectively.

The MSA has also updated the 400G-FR4 specification for 400GbE duplex single-mode fiber links relying on multiplexing four wavelengths of 100Gb/s PAM4 modulated optical signals. In addition, the MSA is also working on a 400G-LR4 specification for a 10km reach at 400GbE.

Members of the 100G Lambda MSA Group have also announced the success of their optical interoperability private plugfest. In total, 12 member companies came together for two and a half days of testing to validate the compatibility, testability and optical interoperability between members’ module or test equipment designs for the newly released specifications. The activity was hosted by MSA member company MultiLane. The areas of focus included testing optical interoperability for 100GbE and 400GbE modules and modules that support 4x 100GbE breakout. The importance of the private plugfest is to ensure that member companies’ products meet the 100G Lambda MSA specification and interoperate before they are released for production.

“The rapid convergence of stakeholders and technical agreement highlights the strong industry effort and the demand to bring this technology to market as soon as possible,” says MSA co-chair Mark Nowell.

“The successful testing between so many members involved in the plugfest shows the rapid maturity of the various product and technology developments across the ecosystem,” comments co-chair Jeffery Maki.

The 100G Lambda MSA Group is hosting module interoperation demonstrations in booth #123 at the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC 2018) in Rome, Italy (24-26 September).

The 100G Lambda MSA Group member companies are: Alibaba, Applied OptoElectronics, Arista, Broadcom, Ciena, Cisco, Color Chip, Credo, Delta, Finisar, Foxconn Interconnect Technologies, Fujitsu Optical Components, HiSense, Huawei, IDT, Inphi, Intel, Juniper Networks, Kaiam, Keysight Technologies, Lumentum, Luxtera, Macom, Maxlinear, Mellanox, Microsoft, Mitsubishi Electric, MultiLane, Molex, Neophotonics, Nokia, Oclaro, Rockley Photonics, Semtech, Sicoya, Source Photonics, Sumitomo Electric, TE Connectivity and Tektronix. Companies are invited to join the consortium as Contributor members.

See related items:

100G Lambda MSA releases preliminary specs for 100GbE and 400GbE interfaces based on 100Gbps-per-wavelength technology

100G Lambda MSA to define specification for next-generation optical links

Tags: 100G optical modules

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