11 March 2014

OpenOptics MSA to define 1550nm silicon photonics based QSFP transceiver for 100G data-center networks on SMF infrastructure

Mellanox Technologies Ltd of Sunnyvale, CA, USA and Yokneam, Israel (a supplier of end-to-end interconnect solutions for data-center servers and storage systems) and Ranovus Inc of Ottawa, Canada and San Jose, CA, USA (a provider of multi-terabit interconnect solutions for data-center and communications networks) have announced the founding of an industry consortium to standardize wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) for an interoperable 100G WDM standard for 2km reach, covering large cloud data-center interconnectivity requirements.

The OpenOptics multi-source agreement (MSA) combines a 1550nm WDM laser and silicon photonics for QSFP-based solutions enabling the lowest-cost, highest-density and highest-bandwidth single-mode fiber (SMF) connectivity, significantly improving terabit-scale data-center infrastructure return on investment (ROI).

“As the migration of data-center network connectivity towards Leaf and Spine architecture accelerates, operators require innovative interconnect solutions to enable a scalable infrastructure at much better economics,” says Ranovus’ chief marketing & sales officer Saeid Aramideh. “The application of a multi-channel laser source coupled with silicon photonics to enable connectivity in the 1550nm band in QSFP form/factor is a game changer in reducing the data-center fiber plant connectivity cost by 4-7 times compared to legacy multi-mode fiber implementations,” he believes. Founded in February 2012 and with experience in product development and commercialization of optoelectronics components and transceiver subsystems, Ranovus manufactures interconnects for the telecoms and IT industries. Its portfolio includes quantum dot multi-wavelength laser technology and digital and photonics integrated circuit (PIC) technologies.

The OpenOptics MSA aims to add additional members to this consortium to achieve a true multi-sourcing supply chain.

Key highlights of the OpenOptics MSA specification are:

• 100Gb/s, 1550nm C-band, 4x25Gb/s WDM;
• industry-standard media - a single pair of single-mode fiber (SMF);
• reach of 2km and beyond;
• standard WDM spacing (ITU-T grid);
• industry-standard QSFP28 form factor; and
• scalable data rates of 400G and beyond.

“Our cloud customers want to deploy data-center infrastructure that allows seamless upgrades to the interconnect just as they do in server, storage and network hardware,” says Mellanox’s chief operating officer Shai Cohen. “With 100G interconnects approaching commercialization in data centers, the OpenOptics MSA brings 100G WDM technology to data-center economics, density, power consumption, and 2km link scalability on single-mode fiber infrastructure,” he adds.

“Data center needs are accelerating,” comments Karen Liu, principal analyst with Ovum. “The growth of cloud data centers poses a triple challenge for technology: first, they need 100G sooner than others, but they also need it to be high-density, low-cost and easy to deploy from the start. The third challenge will be that they will move on quickly to the next speeds of 400G and 1Tb soon,” she adds. “Alignment of industry efforts like OpenOptics MSA will be critical to meet this challenge by bringing WDM and single-mode fiber solutions tailored for data centers.”

Tags: QSFP silicon photonics 100G

Visit: www.openopticsmsa.org

Visit: www.mellanox.com

Visit: www.ranovus.com