OIF Approves Multi-Link Gearbox 3.0

The Optical Internetworking Forum has approved Multi-Link Gearbox (MLG) 3.0, an agreement that supports 100G links and allows independent 10GBASE-R signals to transit physical 20G and 40G lanes for higher bandwidth capability.

The MLG 3.0 specifies a logic layer between the Ethernet MAC and PHY layer hardware that allows the data from multiple MACs to be aggregated onto higher speed data links.  This allows independent 10GBASE-R and 40GBASE-R signals to transit 4x25G and 8x25G gearboxes. The agreement defines three MLG configurations: A 4x25G lane configuration is comprised of 20 MLG lanes. An 8x25G lane configuration is comprised of 40 MLG lanes. A 2x20G/1x40G lane configuration is comprised of 4 MLG lanes (similar to 40GBASE-R) to carry up to four 10GBASE-R signals.

In addition, the OIF has commenced work on a new analog coherent optics project that supports higher baud rate and higher wavelength/ carrier-count applications at higher density than the existing CFP2-ACO. The new project, dubbed CFP8-ACO, utilizes the existing CFP8 definition from the CFP-MSA group and provides up to 4 wavelengths/carriers per module. In addition to a 20w power profile, the new specification includes a 9.5mm module height, allowing for a double-stack line card or belly-to-belly. A 40mm module width will enable a 2 x 8 configuration for a 16 module line card.  This allows for an increased number of modules as well as an increased number of wavelength/carriers.

“The OIF is looking ahead to what is needed in 2018 and we need to get started now to support the market needs for more wavelength/carriers in coherent optics modules,” said Karl Gass of Qorvo and the OIF Physical and Link Layer Working Group optical vice chair.  “Our goal with the CFP8-ACO module is a 4x increase in faceplate density and we expect to complete this next year.”

http://www.oiforum.com/

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3GPP Outlines Work Plan for 5G Specs

The 3GPP Technical Specifications Group outlined a detailed workplan for Release-15, the first release of 5G specifications.

The plan includes a set of intermediate tasks and check-points for putting 3GPP in a position to make the next major round of workplan decisions when transitioning from the ongoing studies to the normative phase of the work in December 2016:- the start of SA2 normative work on Next Generation (NexGen) architecture and in March 2017:- the beginning of the RAN Working Group’s specification of the 5G New Radio (NR).

“We now have a more concrete plan to guide the studies in the Working Groups and to put us in the position to address both short term and long term opportunities of 5G” Dino Flore, Chairman of 3GPP TSG RAN, said.

“3GPP continues to actively coordinate radio access NR and Next Generation system level work to standardize target services on schedule” added Erik Guttman, Chairman of 3GPP TSG SA.

http://www.3gpp.org/news-events/3gpp-news/1787-ontrack_5g

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Qualcomm Shows 5G Prototype in Sub-6GHz Band

Qualcomm unveiled a 5G New Radio (NR) prototype system and trial platform that operates in the sub-6 GHz spectrum bands and is being utilized to showcase the company’s innovative 5G designs to efficiently achieve multi-gigabit per second data rates and low latency.

The 5G NR prototype system consists of both a base station and user equipment (UE), serving as a testbed for verifying 5G NR capabilities. It supports wide RF bandwidths over 100 MHz, capable of delivering multi-gigabit per second data rates. It also supports a new integrated subframe design for significantly lower over-the-air latency than what is possible in today’s 4G LTE network.

The prototype system is being utilized to drive 3GPP standardization for a new, OFDM-based 5G NR air interface.

“The 5G NR prototype further demonstrates our leadership in developing a unified, more capable 5G air interface, building upon our long-standing expertise in delivering OFDM chips and technology with LTE and Wi-Fi,” said Matt Grob, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are excited to collaborate with leading network operators like China Mobile Communications Corporation on 5G technology development and testing to support the work required for 3GPP 5G standardization.”

“We are happy to be working with Qualcomm to showcase the sub-6 GHz 5G prototype system at Mobile World Congress Shanghai,” said Madam Huang Yuhong, the DGM of China Mobile Research Institute. “This is a great example of the 5G technology collaboration we set out to accomplish when we announced the 5G Joint Innovation Center earlier this year.”

http://www.qualcomm.com

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Red Hat JBoss Targets Cloud-Native Apps

Red Hat released its JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 (JBoss EAP), an open source Java EE 7 compliant application server, and introduced JBoss Core Services Collection, a set of technologies that provide customers with common and fundamental application components.

Red Hat said these releases will help enterprises to transition to emerging architectures and programming paradigms that will require a lightweight, highly modular, cloud-native platform.

Specifically, JBoss EAP 7 has been optimized for cloud environments. When deployed with Red Hat OpenShift, JBoss EAP 7 offers containers, load balancing, elastic scaling, health monitoring, and the ability to deploy to a container directly from the IDE which can improve developer productivity and experience. In addition, JBoss EAP with OpenShift contributes to a more architecturally efficient DevOps environment since overlapping features are no longer needed. This DevOps efficiency can be compounded when using additional middleware components on OpenShift.

“Organizations should be able to choose when and how they move to new architectures and programming paradigms. This freedom is a hallmark of open source, and something we embrace at Red Hat. With JBoss EAP 7, we are addressing the needs of both enterprise IT and developers with a balanced vision designed to bridge the reality of building and maintaining a business today with the aspiration of IT innovation tomorrow,” stated Mike Piech, vice president and general manager, Middleware, Red Hat.

http://www.redhat.com

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Quantum Random Number Generators for Better Encryption

Quantum random number generators could become the building blocks for effective encryption, according to the Cloud Security Alliance's Quantum-Safe Security (QSS) Working Group.

A newly published whitepaper titled Quantum Random Number Generators looks at leveraging quantum mechanics in the real of cyber security as an improvement over today's software or hardware-based random number generators.

https://downloads.cloudsecurityalliance.org/assets/research/quantum-safe-security/quantum-random-number-generators.pdf

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