Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Verizon and Calix hit 34 Gbps over fiber using bonded NG-PON2

Verizon and Calix achieved 34 Gbps speeds over fiber using a bonded NG-PON2 (Next-Generation Passive Optical Network 2) ONT (Optical Network Terminal) prototype on Verizon’s simplified, increasingly automated fiber network. The demonstration was conducted at the Verizon Innovation Center in Waltham, Massachusetts.

To reach 34 Gbps, Verizon and Calix bonded all four available wavelength channels.

Verizon said it expects NG-PON2 technology will provide faster speeds, lower latency, simplification of operations and increased automation in the fiber network.  To achieve those benefits, NG-PON2 technology must be deployed throughout the entire fiber network.  Last year, Verizon and Calix successfully trialed NG-PON2 on the OLT (Optical Line Terminal).

“We know how important connectivity is to small and mid-size businesses,” said T.J. Fox, Senior Vice President and President of Verizon Business Markets. “These advances will deliver the promise of the cloud for our customers and bring them technology at parity to what previously was only in reach for large enterprises.”

“The AXOS Intelligent Access Edge simplifies the network, dramatically increases service velocity, and creates the foundation to unify both business and residential services into a single access transport,” said Michel Langlois, chief development officer for Calix. “The latest test results demonstrate how this approach enables CSPs to extend the benefits of AXOS all the way to the subscriber edge. With new services becoming increasingly bandwidth-intensive, our work with Verizon has demonstrated that AXOS systems leveraging NG-PON2 will provide the future-proof connectivity needed to meet these demands.”

Verizon goes all in with One Fiber program, NG-PON2


We are big believers in taking fiber all the way to the customer, said Lee Hicks, Verizon, speaking at ADTRAN's Broadband Business Solutions event in Huntsville, Alabama. Verizon's One Fiber program is its multiyear strategy to build a common fiber plant for all services, including consumer, business and mobile backhaul. The carrier starts with a deep base fiber, having invested in its FiOS FTTH network for years. In April 2017, Verizon awarded...


Verizon has selected Calix's AXOS E9-2 Intelligent Edge System to begin large-scale NG-PON2 deployments this quarter. These deployments will include the AXOS RPm (Routing Protocol module for Layer 3) and the AXOS SMm (Subscriber Management module for disaggregated Broadband Network Gateway). Financial terms were not disclosed. Calix said its NG-PON2 converged services platform enables Verizon to deploy a single access network for residential, business,...


ADVA leads PEARLS project to integrate quantum-dot lasers onto ePICs

ADVA is leading a three-year initiative funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) to create advanced optical transceiver chiplets for data center interconnect (DCI) applications.

The project entitled “Photonic Embedding of Active Region Laser chips in Silicon (PEARLS)” aims to integrate quantum-dot lasers onto silicon-based electro-photonic integrated circuits (ePICs). By combining silicon photonics, BiCMOS electronics and lasers on a single chip, the size and cost of optical transceivers can be dramatically reduced. The three-year project involves a consortium comprising ADVA, FormFactor, Fraunhofer IZM, IHP, IHP Solutions, Sicoya, Technion and the University of Kassel.

“With this project we’re taking integration and compact design to new levels. By squeezing more technology onto a single chip than ever before, we’re creating a platform for miniaturized optical transceivers able to deliver the space and bandwidth density needed for tomorrow’s DCI networks,” said Jörg-Peter Elbers, SVP, advanced technology, ADVA. “PEARLS not only paves the way for a new generation of intra-data center transceivers, but also facilitates more compact and cost-effective integrated coherent transmitter-receiver optical sub-assemblies (IC-TROSAs) for inter-data center applications.”

ADVA also noted that the PEARLS project is aiming to take a silicon-based electro-photonic chip platform – which offers monolithic integration of electronics and photonics as already proven in the ADVA-led SPEED project – and extend it to incorporate a third key element: Nanotechnology lasers will be added to the chip, saving space and reducing energy consumption compared to off-chip approaches. This will be achieved with quantum dots just a few nanometers in size. Able to withstand extreme temperatures, they facilitate wafer-scale integration without the need for a thermo-electric cooler or a hermetic package.

“Within this very exciting project, IHP will develop the technology platform. Together we’re breaking new ground and laying the foundations for the next generation of low-energy, space-efficient optical transceivers,” commented Bernd Tillack, managing director, IHP GmbH. “The PEARLS project will pave the way for optical transceiver chiplets – modular transceiver chips with an unprecedented level of optical and electronic integration. Built on top of a standard BiCMOS process flow, the new technology will also be a major step forward for sustainable DCI networking.”

https://www.adva.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/20190924-adva-leads-project-to-create-markets-most-advanced-optical-transceiver-chiplets

Cisco's NCS 1004 platform tested over MAREA subsea cable

Cisco's NCS 1004 platform was successfully tested over MAREA, the 6,600 km subsea cable system connecting the United States to southern Europe (Virginia Beach, Virginia to Bilbao, Spain).

Several channel capacity combinations were tested to maximize the performance and spectral efficiency on the cable. For the Virginia to Bilbao trial, 400G error-free performance was demonstrated; channels with record spectral efficiency of 6.445 b/s/Hz were achieved, while 4.52b/s/Hz spectral efficiency was tested on the looped back scenario of over 13,200km.

Cisco also said the test simulated transpacific distances via loopback on one end of the cable.

“We demonstrated that 24.7Tbps could be used on MAREA with plenty of margin. We also tested in full loopback mode (Bilbao to Virginia and back to Bilbao) showing that 18.5Tbps could be deployed for double the distance, also with plenty of system margin,” said Bill Gartner, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Optical Systems and Optics, Cisco.

https://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=2020401

Innovium debuts smaller Ethernet switching chip

Innovium introduced a smaller Ethernet switch chip family for designs ranging from 1.2 to 6.4Tbps.

The new TERALYNX 5, which is expected to begin sampling in Q4 2019, is aimed at ToR, enterprise, edge, and 5G applications. Key capabilities include up to 128x NRZ/PAM4 SERDES, 10GbE to 400GbE ports, the largest on-chip buffers, powerful analytics, and leading performance per $ and performance per watt.

“The Innovium team has amassed a breakthrough, innovative IP portfolio, designed from the ground up, enabling us to deliver a programmable, low-latency 12.8T switch in production a full technology node earlier,” said Rajiv Khemani, CEO and Co-Founder of Innovium Inc. “We are delighted to further optimize these technologies for ToR and edge applications with TERALYNX 5, allowing a single consistent architecture to power data center switching applications from top to bottom with unmatched performance and value.”

TERALYNX 5 Family Highlights:

  • Wide range of pin-compatible SKU options: 1.2Tbps, 2.4Tbps, 3.2Tbps, 4.8Tbps, 6.4Tbps
  • Up to 128 SERDES PAM4 or NRZ SERDES enabling port speeds from 10Gbps to 400Gbps
  • Largest on-chip buffer for switch in this class (45MB+)
  • Leading L2, L3 table sizes and ACL’s
  • Robust RoCE and PFC support for lowest latency and rich QoS necessary for distributed storage and AI applications
  • IEEE 1588 v2 timing synchronization required in 5G and other data center infrastructure
  • FLASHLIGHT v2 line-rate HW analytics with unprecedented microburst detection features and application correlation
  • Up to 2x performance per $ and performance per watt vs. alternatives
  • SW programmability for support of new protocols, achieved without impact to throughput or latency suffered by alternatives
  • Fully SW and architecture compatibility with TERALYNX 7, scaling solutions to 12.8Tbps


Innovium enhances its Ethernet Switching Architecture

Innovium outlined a series of enhancements for its TERALYNX architecture for enabling top-to-bottom, 1T to 51.2T+ performance scalability along with programmability, telemetry, low latency and large on-chip buffers.

Innovium’s Enhanced TERALYNX architecture consists of:

  • Programmable feature-rich INNOFLEX™ Forwarding Pipeline: A programmable forwarding pipeline architecture that delivers comprehensive data center feature set, including rich tunneling support, with deterministic low latency, and ability to support new protocols through standards-based programming.
  • Highly Scalable TERASCALE Fabric: A scalable and low-latency switch & buffer fabric architecture that delivers comprehensive QoS, superior lossless traffic management, large smart packet buffers and scales from 1 to 51.2Tbps+ performance. TERASCALE deliver up to 2x performance and buffering in the same silicon area vs alternatives.
  • Advanced FLASHLIGHT Telemetry & Analytics: A ground-up comprehensive telemetry architecture that delivers unmatched real-time visibility and actionable granular network analytics to troubleshoot and resolve network congestion problems helping customers move towards higher-quality, autonomous networks.
  • An optimized R&D flow that delivers lower silicon area along with lower latency vs other architectures.

Innovium said these breakthrough innovations span a variety of areas including data-structures, algorithms, ground-up architecture and R&D flow and deliver up to 2x capabilities and performance in the same silicon area vs alternatives. This technology has been silicon proven as part of the production-ready TERALYNX 7, which delivered the best feature-set 12.8T switch silicon, with lowest-latency in 16nm and smallest silicon area. The enhanced architecture further optimizes silicon area and data-center features to expand the performance range and address Edge, Enterprise and 5G data-centers. This allows Innovium to deliver capabilities one process node earlier than alternatives along with unique top-to-bottom scalability, which translates to faster time to market and lower R&D investment for customers.

Semtech announces 56GB EML driver

Semtech announced its new FiberEdge linear electro-absorption modulated lasers (EML) driver suited for new PAM4-based Ethernet optical modules, including 100G-FR, 400G-DR4 and 400G-FR4.

Semtech's FiberEdge linear EML driver (GN1862) is a bare die single-ended driver specifically designed to provide the performance to power ratio required by hyperscale data center operators. The driver delivers two volts of single-ended swing while minimizing total harmonic distortion (THD) and group delay (GD) to increase module manufacturing yield, thereby driving down costs. As a bare die device, the new FiberEdge solution is ideal for both single channel (100G) and quad channel (400G) PAM4 applications.

“Over the past months, data center architects have discovered that the key to successful 100G per lambda deployments is performance,” said Dr. Timothy Vang, Vice President of Marketing and Applications for Semtech’s Signal Integrity Products Group. “The GN1862 EML driver delivers enough margin to specifications to enable modules with up to 40km reach.”

GN1862 is in pre-production with full production expected in December 2019.

http://www.semtech.com/optical

Itential launches API services for network automation

Itential launched new API Services that enable organizations to implement NetDevOps concepts and move toward Network Infrastructure as Code.

Itential said its solution was designed for DevOps and NetOps teams to accelerate the move toward software-driven networks through automation and agile network operations.  NetDevOps allows organizations to adopt CI/CD pipelines with the ability to build, test, validate and deploy changes before they are made to the network.

Itential’s NetOps pipeline capabilities include:

  • Build – Create the building blocks of your infrastructure
  • Dynamically render configurations from a library of expert built templates that combine reusable chunks of configuration to create composite configurations. Transform data from one format into another and run optimizers to eliminate redundant or poorly designed config.
  • Test – Ensure your infrastructure change does what you intend it to do
  • Simulate the change before you make it and compare simulation outputs to known desired outcomes. Check to see if your change affects any pre-existing functionality.
  • Validate – Ensure that your changes are safe
  • Check that a configuration is error free, before you deploy it to a device. Run a security scan to see if you’re running compromised software and run a security scan to see if you’re exposed to network threats.
  • Deploy – Deploy your infrastructure changes to your network
  • Leverage tools like Ansible, Terraform, SDN Controllers, and Orchestrators to push changes to your network. Update operational support systems to stay in sync with your network changes and keep track of your changes by tagging and versioning them when you deploy.


“The complexity of today’s networks, combined with the lack of investment in modern application concepts, has created a situation where network management applications are constraining the ability to support business and consumer demands,” said Chris Wade, CTO, Itential. “By incorporating a Network Infrastructure as Code approach to automation, enterprises can use Itential’s modern agile software development principles to build, test, validate, and deploy network changes and adopt existing investments in the infrastructure as code ecosystem.”

https://www.itential.com/news/itential-launches-new-api-services-to-enable-organizations-to-move-toward-network-infrastructure-as-code/

Vietnam's Viettel deploys 5G with Nokia

Viettel and Nokia have broadcasted the first end-to-end 5G network in Ho Chi Minh City.

Specifically, Viettel and Nokia have set up 10 5G base stations in the area of Ward 12, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's biggest city with more than 2,000 km2 area and a population of 13 million. The project sets the basis for a comprehensive evaluation of the band, coverage and application of 5G before commercialization in 2020.

Nokia said it deployed the 5G network in a very short time frame, building on its existing LTE footprint with the operator, upgrading the entire infrastructure from radio access, Cloud Packet Core and transmission to 5G technology. Viettel’s first cloud-based Packet Core network is currently serving its live subscribers. The network will offer a range of real-time 5G end-user experiences, such as VR gaming and 8K resolution streaming, as well as enabling Nokia’s Fixed Wireless Access.

Microsoft's Project xCloud gaming service to stream over T-Mobile US

Microsoft is working with T-Mobile to deliver Project xCloud, beginning next month in the US.

Specifically, the companies are working together to optimize the game streaming experience in the U.S. and learn more about the way gamers play games on mobile devices by streaming popular Xbox console titles over LTE.

The deal combines Microsoft’s expertise in cloud and gaming with the strength and reach of T-Mobile’s LTE network today and vision for broad and deep 5G in the future. The public preview of Project xCloud will enable consumers to experience Xbox games streaming over LTE to a smartphone or tablet.

“Mobile game streaming is the future and has the potential to unlock console-quality game play anywhere. I for one want to be at the forefront of that revolution driving it forward,” said Neville Ray, Chief Technology Officer at T-Mobile. “That’s why Microsoft chose T-Mobile and we answered … so T-Mobile customers can be some of the first to give this revolutionary service a try and to make sure our network is primed for the mobile game streaming future!”

Cignal AI: Compact modular market slows as customers evaluate 600G

Sales of Compact Modular optical transport platforms slowed during the second quarter of the year despite significant growth from market leader Ciena, as reported in the latest Optical Applications Report from market research firm Cignal AI.

Production shipments of new 600Gbps platforms are taking longer to ramp as operators require more time to evaluate these next-generation solutions. As a result, Cignal AI has decreased the overall 2019 Compact Modular sales forecast for the year.

The outlook for Compact Modular equipment remains positive, especially in NA and EMEA where growth is strong as incumbent and cloud & colo operators expand the use of disaggregated networks. Compact modular will claim a greater percentage of the market as operators migrate to IP-over-DWDM in 2022/2023.

“The move to disaggregated networks continues, and Compact Modular optical platforms are a central part of those network designs,” said Scott Wilkinson, Lead Analyst for Optical Hardware and Cignal AI. “The rollout of 600Gbps platforms is taking longer than anticipated, but NEL and Acacia-based systems from Cisco, Infinera, and others should recognize greater revenue in the third quarter and will lead a return to growth.”

Cignal AI’s 2Q19 Optical Applications Report details market share and provides forecasts through 2023 in three key markets: compact modular equipment, advanced packet-OTN switching hardware, and 100G+ coherent WDM port shipments across multiple speeds.



Additional 2Q19 Applications Report Findings:

  • Ciena maintained leadership in the Compact Modular market and was the only vendor to grow sales in Q2. Other vendors are in the middle of a customer transition to higher 400G+ coherent technology.
  • Cisco recognized token revenue from Acacia-based Compact Modular systems this quarter. Both Cisco and Infinera are expected to recognize significant 400Gbps+ revenue in the third quarter.
  • Packet-OTN sales slowed in APAC but this is not an enduring trend; sales growth slowed in Q2 due to some delayed demand among Indian incumbents. This region remains the largest market for Packet-OTN.
  • Almost 500,000 coherent ports shipped during the past twelve months, with the vast majority coming from the top 5 vendors. Volume continues to aggressively ramp during 2019, including healthy shipments from Chinese vendors.
  • The long haul WDM market is growing in 2019 due to deployments of the latest coherent technology. Metro growth continues through the year with a delay in competitive price pressure from high baud rate optics.


https://cignal.ai/2019/09/compact-modular-market-slows-as-customers-evaluate-600g/

Equinix names Justin Dustzadeh as CTO

Equinix announced the appointment of Justin Dustzadeh as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Dustzadeh joins Equinix from Uber, where he was the Head of Global Network & Software Platform. Prior to Uber, Dustzadeh worked at Visa, where he spearheaded the transformation of Visa's global infrastructure (one of the world's most mission-critical environments) toward open, software-defined networking and cloud technologies—including SDN, NFV, network virtualization, containers and open/commodity hardware. Before joining Visa, Dustzadeh was Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Technology Strategy at Huawei, held various positions at Ericsson and AT&T, was a founder of a Silicon-Valley technology startup, and worked at two leading service providers in France.

Dustzadeh received a B.S. in Theoretical Physics from École Normale Supérieure (Ulm) in Paris, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Télécom Paris.