QSFP-DD800 MSA gets underway

A new QSFP-DD800 Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) Group has been formed with the goal of advancing the development of high-speed, double-density quad small form factor pluggable (QSFP-DD800) modules to support 800 Gbps connectivity.

The MSA founder-promoters include Broadcom, Cisco, Finisar, Intel, Juniper Networks, Marvell, Molex and Samtec.

The new QSFP-DD800 interface expands on the QSFP-DD, a pluggable form factor with an eight-lane electrical interface widely adopted by the latest Ethernet switches. This MSA will enable QSFP-DD800’s eight electrical lanes to operate at 100 Gbps each, by providing technical solutions for 800 Gbps module and connector systems. It will also define a module, connector, stacked connector and a hybrid connector that is a BiPass/Flyover variant which can eliminate the signal losses on a traditional PCB. The primary objective of the MSA Group is to define the specifications and promote industry adoption of the QSFP-DD800. The new QSFP-DD800 specification is intended to be backward compatible with QSFP-DD, QSFP28 and QSFP+ modules and cables in order to address the upcoming industry demands of 25.6 Tb/s scale systems supporting dense 100 GbE or dense 400 GbE interfaces.

“Through continued strategic collaborations with our MSA Promoters, we are developing the physical specifications that will enable the interoperability of optical transceiver modules, connectors, cages and DAC cables from multiple vendors to assure a robust ecosystem,” said Scott Sommers, founding member and MSA co-chair. “We are thrilled to collaborate together as a group and further develop and provide next-generation designs that evolve with the changing technology landscape.’’

“Leveraging the technical innovations from QSFP-DD, the time is right to collaborate with our MSA partners to lay the foundations for the next generation systems and modules,” said Mark Nowell, founding member and MSA co-chair. “The QSFP-DD form factor continues to be the cornerstone for the next step in pluggable module performance and density, while extending the industry’s investment, experience, cost structure and backward compatibility from prior generations.”

http://www.qsfp-dd800.com

Read More

Vertical Systems: Mid-2019 Global Provider Ethernet LEADERBOARD

AT&T has topped Vertical Systems Group's Mid-Year 2019 Global Provider Ethernet LEADERBOARD. Results are as follows (in rank order based on retail port share): AT&T (U.S.), Colt (U.K.), CenturyLink (U.S.), BT Global Services (U.K.), Orange Business Services (France), Verizon (U.S.) and NTT (Japan).

"Network providers serving multinational enterprises continue to actively expand their Ethernet coverage globally," said Rick Malone, principal of Vertical Systems Group. "Customer demand for T1/E1 conversions and new Ethernet DIA connections are igniting growth in both existing and emerging markets. In response, providers are seeking more local partnerships to broaden their service delivery footprints."

Mid-Year 2019 Global Provider Highlights:

• AT&T retains the top position on the Global Provider LEADERBOARD for the second consecutive year.
• Share margins are tightening among the top four LEADERBOARD ranked companies - AT&T, Colt, CenturyLink and BT Global Services.
• Eight companies attained a Challenge Tier citation, up from seven at the end of 2018, as Global Cloud Xchange advances from the Market Player tier.
• Four of the seven LEADERBOARD providers and six of the eight Challenge Tier providers have MEF CE 2.0 certification. 

https://www.verticalsystems.com/

Read More

NeoPhotonics ships 30-40 mW CW laser sources for 400G transceivers

NeoPhotonics announced the general availability (GA) of its non-hermetic 30-40 mW DFB laser sources for use in Silicon Photonics 100G per wavelength CWDM4 FR4 and 1310 nm DR1 and DR4 transceivers.  These lasers are available with and without integral Spot Size Converters (SSC).

NeoPhotonics low-loss SSC technology enables direct attachment of the Indium Phosphide laser to a Silicon Photonics waveguide, increasing manufacturing scalability and reducing costs.  These efficient, high power DFB lasers can operate at up to 75 degrees C and are compliant with Telcordia GR-468-CORE, making them well suited for use in non-hermetic Silicon Photonics based small form factor pluggable modules, such as 400G QSFP-DD.

Silicon Photonics (SiPho) has emerged as a promising technology for optical data transmission over intermediate reaches of approximately 500 meters (DR) to 2 kilometers (FR) inside datacenters.  A Silicon Photonics photonic integrated circuit can combine four different high speed modulators on a single chip, but it requires a light source to be modulated.  A separate laser, or laser array, generating sufficient optical power at the specified wavelength(s) to overcome losses in the Silicon modulator and waveguides, must be coupled to the SiPho chip.  NeoPhotonics family of high power DFB lasers are designed to efficiently couple to the SiPho modulator chip and do not require hermetic packaging making them an ideal choice for next generation transceiver modules.

A high-speed SiPho modulator chip, due to its high Vp, generally requires a driver amplifier with a large voltage swing, which is also supplied by NeoPhotonics.  NeoPhotonics Gallium Arsenide based Quad Driver chip combines four separate drivers in a single compact, low power chip designed to support compact pluggable modules such as OSFP and QSFP-DD.

"We are pleased to announce GA of our family of high power DFB lasers for next generation SiPho based 100G to 400G transceivers," said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. "Silicon Photonics is rapidly transforming the data center transceiver marketplace by bringing the scale and cost structure of semiconductor electronics to optics, and our laser sources and drivers are helping to unleash the potential of Silicon Photonics," concluded Mr. Jenks.

Read More

TE debuts PCIe Gen 4 card edge connectors supporting 16 Gbps

TE Connectivity (TE) introduced its new PCIe Gen 4 card edge connectors, which meet industry PCI-SIG Card Electromechanical (CEM) specification 4.0 and support Intel and AMD next-generation platforms with up to 16 Gbps of bandwidth.

The new connectors support next-generation CPUs for better system application scaling and higher bandwidth in servers, storage, workstations and desktop PCs.

TE’s new PCIe Gen 4 card edge connectors feature a 1.00mm pitch to enable all generations of PCI Express signaling designs and support speeds of 16 Gbps (PCIe Gen 4), 8.0 Gbps (PCIe Gen 3), 5.0 Gbps (PCIe Gen 2) and 2.5 Gbps (PCIe Gen 1). In addition, the connectors’ footprint and mating interface are backward-compatible with each PCIe generation.

“As manufacturers begin to implement PCIe Gen 4 connectivity inside their data center products, they may require high-performing card edge connectors that offer full backward compatibility,” said Taylor Luo, product manager at TE Connectivity. “TE’s new PCIe Gen 4 adapters fully support new designs for Intel, AMD and IBM platforms and are available in a wide range of configurations to address virtually any need.”

Read More

CyrusOne builds largest colo data center in Dublin

CyrusOne commenced construction pf its first data center campus in Dublin, Ireland.

Upon completion, the Dublin I campus will comprise three separate two-story buildings, offering 360,000 square feet of data center space. The facility will be among the first CyrusOne data centers in Europe to deploy closed-loop chilled-water cooling. This highly efficient system uses an air-cooled chiller technology with an integrated compressor and condenser that cools the closed-loop of water, dramatically reducing water consumption during the cooling process.

CyrusOne’s goal is to source 100% renewable power.

“Ireland is an incredibly attractive place to do business, and Dublin, in particular, has established itself as one of the world’s thriving tech hubs,” said Tesh Durvasula, President - Europe, CyrusOne. “The level of demand for spaces from enterprise customers has been great, even in these early stages of construction.”

Read More

MEF: SD-WAN + Intelligent Underlay Connectivity + LSO Orchestration = New Revenue

MEF Annual Meeting – July/August 2019, Pascal Menezes, CTO, MEF, shares a summary of the MEF 3.0 strategy to combine standardized SD-WAN services with high speed, intelligent underlay connectivity services to deliver a better customer experience and create new revenue opportunities for service providers. SD-WAN + intelligent underlay connectivity fabric + LSO APIs for service automation = new revenue-generating hybrid networking solutions.

“We believe the industry is ready now for a very high speed underlay fabric that’s highly orchestrated among all the network providers. This is really what we’ve been doing with all our work on our LSO APIs like Sonata – to orchestrate all these various providers so that they connect their underlays at very high speeds.”

“Additionally...we now have the first official industry SW-WAN standard for the overlays. So that’s going to be orchestrated underlays at high speeds with a very agile overlay using SD-WAN.”

Going further, the goal is to add in virtualized functions like security and WAN optimization, and then have all of the services and virtualized functions highly orchestrated using our MEF LSO APIs.

Download the SD-WAN Standard

MEF’s SD-WAN Service Attributes and Services (MEF 70) standard describes requirements for an application-aware, over-the-top WAN connectivity service that uses policies to determine how application flows are directed over multiple underlay networks irrespective of the underlay technologies or service providers who deliver them. Download here: https://www.mef.net/resources/technic...

To explore the latest on SD-WAN and LSO API innovations and engage with industry-leading service and technology experts such as Pascal Menezes, attend MEF19 (http://www.MEF19.com), held 18-22 November 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Read More

Kuwait-based Qualitynet deploys ADVA's FSP 3000

Kuwait-based Qualitynet has deployed ADVA's FSP 3000 platform for nationwide data transport at speeds up to 400 Gbps.  This is achieved using ADVA’s QuadFlex line card to combine two 200 Gbps wavelengths operating at 8QAM within a single optical channel.

ADVA said its FSP 3000 also enables Qualitynet to make significant energy savings and, with its 1RU footprint, the solution consumes less rack space than competing technology. Managed by ADVA’s unique Ensemble Controller, the network brings programmatic SDN control, further improving efficiency by reducing troublesome and time-consuming manual processes while providing maintenance teams with full visibility.

“Qualitynet now has a highly flexible and efficient transport system that will provide access to world-class connectivity and the very latest optical services. It offers a major boost to Kuwait’s businesses and delivers an enormous increase in mobile backhaul bandwidth for Qualitynet’s parent company, VIVA,” commented Munther Jadallah, account manager, sales, Middle East, ADVA.

Read More

Datadog surges 39% in IPO

Shares in Datadog (Nasdaq: DDOG) surged 39% above the IPO price to close at $37.55 on the first day of trading.

DataDog is a monitoring service for cloud-scale applications, providing monitoring of servers, databases, tools, and services, through a SaaS-based data analytics platform.

In its S-1 filing, the company disclosed revenue of $153.4 million for the first half of 2019.

DataDog was founded in 2010 and is based in New York.

Read More

Ericsson to open 5G factory in Texas

Ericsson will open a US$100 million state-of-the-art factory in Lewisville, Texas, a suburb close to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Ericsson’s North America headquarters in Plano.
 
The 28,000sq m facility will produce 5G and Advanced Antenna System radios to boost network capacity and coverage to meet the demand for rapid 5G deployments in North America. Commercial operations are expected in early 2020 and will be powered by Ericsson 5G solutions tailored for the industrial environment. Fast and secure 5G connectivity will enable agile operations and flexible production. Ericsson’s 5G industrial solutions include automated warehouses, connected logistics, automated assembly, packing and product handling, and the use of autonomous carts.

Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, says: “From manufacturing to technology, the Texas economy is firing on all cylinders thanks to investments of world class companies like Ericsson. I am proud that Ericsson has chosen Texas to expand its operations, and can assure them that as Governor, I will continue to promote pro-growth policies that reduce the heavy hand of government regulation and encourage expansion in the private sector.”

Niklas Heuveldop, President and Head of Ericsson North America, says: “As the commercial 5G network rollout continues to accelerate across North America, Ericsson is excited to lead the global technology evolution in close partnership with our North American customers, with a clear focus on value creation for consumers, enterprises and society at large. We continue to increase our investments in the U.S., so that we can more rapidly respond to customer demands, accelerating our pace of innovation and time to market for critical new products.”

Read More

Western Digital to exit storage systems business

Western Digital agreed to sell its IntelliFlash business to DDN, a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and multi-cloud data management. Under the deal, DDN also will increase its purchase of Western Digital’s HDD and SSD storage devices.Financial terms were not disclosed.

Western Digital said the sale reflects its strategic intention to exit Storage Systems, which consists of its IntelliFlash and ActiveScale businesses. The company is exploring strategic options for ActiveScale. These actions will allow Western Digital to optimize its Data Center Systems portfolio around its core Storage Platforms business, which includes the OpenFlex™ platform and fabric-attached storage technologies.

“As we look to the future, scaling and accelerating growth opportunities for IntelliFlash and ActiveScale will require additional management focus and investment to ensure long-term success,” said Mike Cordano, president and chief operating officer. “By refocusing our Data Center Systems resources on our Storage Platforms business, we are confident that the Western Digital portfolio will be better positioned to capture significant opportunities ahead and drive long-term value creation.”

“DDN has deep technical expertise and capabilities in high performance and at scale data environments, and is well positioned to build on and accelerate the success of the business,” said Phil Bullinger, senior vice president & general manager of the Data Center Systems business. “Importantly, both Western Digital and DDN are aligned in our commitment to executing a smooth transition for all stakeholders. Western Digital will remain one of the largest consumers of IntelliFlash products, and customers will continue to receive best-in-class service and support.”

Read More

Ericsson upgrades factory in Nanjing

Ericssson completed an 18-month upgrade of its existing factory in Nanjing, China. The SEK 500 million project has transformed the facility into one of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the industry.

Ericsson produces 5G and 4G radio technology products at the factory, most of which support communication service providers in the Chinese market to increase network capacity, roll-out 5G, and make Industry 4.0 a reality.

The 18-month upgrade has seen Ericsson modernize every step of the production process in Nanjing, in preparation for the introduction and rapid deployments of 5G in China. This includes the first modular-designed automatic assembly line for 5G radios, which will enable Ericsson to produce the latest 5G radios in the capacity needed for the Chinese market.

An upgraded automatic packing line, which supports both 4G and 5G products, has been up running from the second quarter of 2019.

Read More

Delta Electronics picks MaxLinear’s 2nd Gen PAM4 DSPs

Delta Electronics, Inc., a global leader in power and thermal management solutions, has selected MaxLinear’s second-generation Telluride PAM4 DSPs to develop sub-3.5 watt 100G single lambda DR, FR, and LR optical modules.

The second-generation Telluride family (MxL93515 and MxL93516) extends MaxLinear’s PAM4 DSP offering, by enabling sub-3.5W QSFP28 and SFP-DD 100G optical modules. With support for extended operating temperature, the new Telluride DSPs are also ideally suited for the wireless fronthaul market transition to single lambda 100G optics with reaches up to 10km.

“Building upon the success of our first-generation Telluride PAM4 DSPs, our newest devices enable revolutionary 100 Gbps QSFP28 and SFP-DD modules with sub-3.5W power consumption,” said Will Torgerson, Vice President and General Manager of MaxLinear’s High-Speed Interconnect Group. "We are excited to see the adoption of our latest generation Telluride product family by Delta Electronics, Inc. for its industry leading low power optical modules.”

Read More

128 Technology raises $30M for smart session routing

128 Technology, a start-up based in Burlington, Massachusetts, closed $30 million in Series D financing for its "Session Smart" Routing technology.

“The latest round of funding comes at a pivotal time for 128 Technology, when we’re seeing higher than ever demand for our session-based, service-centric networking approach,” said Andy Ory, CEO of 128 Technology. “As virtualization and cloud are shaping our connected future, 128 Technology’s approach offers users a simple, agile solution and helps enterprises manage their networks efficiently and securely.”

“Andy Ory and his rapidly growing 128 Technology team have disrupted the multi-billion-dollar market for traditional networking by delivering proven, next generation network services that give customers freedom from increased risks, unnecessary costs and vendor lock-in,” said Sonja Hoel Perkins, Managing Director, The Perkins Fund. “As companies around the globe continue to invest in solutions that meet the demands for a new model of virtual networking, 128 Technology has created a large, untapped market opportunity.”

Existing investors all participated in the oversubscribed round, including executive management and current employees of 128 Technology, G20 Ventures, The Perkins Fund and individual investors. The company has raised $97.4 million to date.

Read More