Finisar's Flextune simplifies Remote PHY deployments for MSOs

Finisar introduced a new hardware-configurable feature for wavelength-tunable optical transceivers that is designed to simplify the deployment of Remote PHY access networks constructed by Multiple System Operators (MSOs). The Finisar Flextune feature allows up to 96 wavelength-tunable optical transceivers in a Remote PHY network to self-configure their wavelengths to operate over the DWDM infrastructure without input from the host equipment nor intervention from technicians. The feature will be supported on Finisar's 10 Gb/s wavelength-tunable duplex and dual-band bidirectional (BiDi) transceivers.

Finisar described a simplified configuration process for MSOs: technicians insert the universal transceivers into any host port in the headend equipment and remote PHY nodes, and connect them to any of the optical multiplexer ports with fiber optic patch cables. Firmware contained in the transceivers determines the proper wavelengths to link the headend equipment to each Remote
PHY node.

"Wavelength-tunable optical transceivers with the Flextune enhancement significantly reduce operational expenditure for MSOs when deploying Remote PHY networks," stated Shawn M. Esser, Director of Product Management at Finisar. "Cable operators only need to stock one universal wavelength-tunable transceiver compared to stocking many different fixedwavelength
modules. Flextune capability reduces configuration time of the transceivers for a link from hours to minutes. In addition, it simplifies installations because technicians do not have to trace fibers from the optical multiplexer to the Remote PHY nodes, which could be a distance of 2km or longer."

Finisar's recently-launched, tunable dual-band BiDi SFP+ transceiver, which supports this new Flextune feature, fits a pair of wavelengths into each port of standard 100GHz DWDM multiplexers and de-multiplexers, enabling 80 wavelengths to be deployed over existing 40-wavelength DWDM networks, increasing the data capacity from 200 Gb/s to 400 Gb/s in each direction over a single fiber without replacing the entire infrastructure. Because it only has one optical connection for the pair of wavelengths, the BiDi transceiver also reduces the number of fiber optic patch cables by a factor of two, simplifying installation and saving space.