Xilinx to Demo FPGAs in 400G Ethernet, FlexE

At this week's Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Conference and Exhibition in Los Angeles Xilinx will debut a number of solutions for high speed data center interconnect (DCI) solutions.

Xilinx will participate in a 400GE multi-vendor network demo featuring the world's first standards-based 400GE MAC and PCS IP in a Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+™ VU9P FPGA. Showcasing the emerging 400GE standard interoperability between multiple vendors, the demo illustrates the Xilinx 400G solution connecting to a Finisar 400GE CFP8 module which in turn connects to a Spirent 400G test module in the Ethernet Alliance booth.

Xilinx will also showcase a complete FlexE 1.0 solution with bonding, sub-rating and channelization on its UltraScale+ FPGAs. This solution demonstrates how multiple clients can be transported using FlexE and highlights the ability of FlexE to carry larger data pipes and match them to transport links for optimal utilization of the link budget. This solution allows network operators to maximize optical performance and lower operating costs over existing infrastructure.

A third demo shows how LLDP packets can be snooped on transport line cards to allow a SDN controller to build a network topology for automation integral to data center networks. It also shows the use of IEEE compliant MACsec to encrypt and authenticate the link for security. As more and more critical applications and data migrate to the cloud, MACsec provides data encryption and authentication to preserve privacy. Such a solution is mandatory in front of a traditional DSP to provide a complete DCI solution.

Another demonstration showcases Xilinx's new 56G PAM-4 transceiver test chip in 16nm FinFET delivering optimized performance for backplane and LR applications.

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