OFC20: previewing 400ZR, CEI 112 Gbps and FlexE

https://youtu.be/xNN_U0r5hy0

Nathan Tracy, president of OIF, previews three important topics for OFC 2020, which is scheduled for March 8 - 12 in San Diego, California.

• 400ZR
• Common Electrical I/O (CEI) 112 Gbps
• FlexE

A fourth item on the OIF agenda at OFC is a half-day workshop “Cu (see you) Beyond 112 Gbps” on Thursday, March 12. The workshop, featuring industry-leading experts from Arista, Broadcom, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Innovium, Intel, MACOM and TE Connectivity, is open to the public.

Leading experts from end-users, equipment developers and component suppliers will discuss the needs for next-generation interoperable electrical IO rates as well as the challenges and possible technical options to make these rates possible. The panel will address questions such as: Do electrical interfaces hit the wall beyond 112 Gbps? Is 224 Gbps possible? What is a useful reach? Does copper have a future? The workshop will also include a brief summary of OIF’s existing and in-process electrical IO work.

“OIF has a long history of developing electrical interface specifications known as CEI Implementation Agreements that have been the foundation for almost every industry standards group,” said Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity and OIF president. “There is little doubt there will be electrical interfaces required beyond 112 Gbps and it is safe to say the OIF will be a part of that development. This workshop is a critical opportunity for OIF members and industry to participate in an open debate and discussion on this topic.”

Details on the workshop are as follows:

March 12, 2020 – 12:00pm-5:30pm
Hilton San Diego Gaslamp, 401 K St (across from the SD Convention Center), San Diego, Ca.

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OFC 2020's COVID-19 Action Plan

Organizers of the upcoming OFC 2020 conference and exhibition, which will be held 8 – 12 March in San Diego, California, issued the following statement.

“Due to the COVID-19 (also known as coronavirus) outbreak, OFC Management is closely monitoring the ongoing potential impact for our attendees, exhibitors, and vendors”, said Ryan Strowger, head of OFC Management. “We are following the guidance from worldwide health organizations and experts. We are fully committed to taking appropriate precautions to provide a safe and healthy environment for attendees.”

Some additional points:

• OFC Management understands that individuals who have been in China (originating or visiting) within 14 calendar days, will be unable to participate in-person at OFC 2020 due to travel restrictions barring access to the U.S. 
• Some Chinese exhibiting companies have determined that they will be unable to exhibit, while other Chinese exhibiting companies may utilize non-China based staff, or sales representatives/distributors with knowledge of their products and services to represent them. 
• OFC Management will continue to support OFC companies based in China on their final decisions, and we thank them for their continued engagement.
• OFC Management will follow recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the policies of the local government and city officials

The full statement is here:
https://www.ofcconference.org/en-us/home/about/update-on-coronavirus/

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Amdocs intros 5G Slice Manager

Amdocs introduced its 5G Slice Manager solution for helping service providers to monetize 5G network slices from design to creation, launch and on-going closed-loop operations.

Amdocs 5G Slice Manager, which is currently being tested by a leading operator in North America, can be used to instantiate 5G core components, dynamically select and allocate underlying cloud resources, and view the live status data and event-driven updates via the inventory capability. Amdocs 5G Slice Manager enables service providers to automate network slice life cycle management in whatever stage of the journey they are at in their 5G slicing deployment, whether network operations focused, IT/monetization systems-driven, or new business enablement.

“As we look to the monetization of 5G, managing the design, orchestration and delivery of services within a network slice is of paramount importance to our connected society. Being able to differentiate an offering by providing the appropriate network resources required for a service will become vital to meeting customer expectations for these premium experiences,” said Anthony Goonetilleke, group president of Media, Network and Technology at Amdocs. “Combined with Amdocs CES20’s offer creation, converged charging and real-time billing capabilities, we believe that the slice manager becomes a core component of delivering enhanced experiences for users and creates a monetization opportunity for CSPs.”

Amdocs 5G Slice Manager includes functionality for slice design, instantiation and performance management:

• Slice Design: Supports network slice modeling by chaining various network functions, links and connection points to create specific network slice services. This includes specifying slice parameters, policy and resources dependencies (e.g., throughput, latency, mobility, reliability, isolation, volume and number of users) across all the resources that support the slice and detailing other parameters for the end-to-end instantiation of network slices.
• Slice Automation & Orchestration: Instantiates network slice instances and the associated network functions by interacting with the different domain controllers to configure all the resources necessary to create network slices and ensure a link between instantiated slice resources and the end-to-end designed slice.
• Slice Operation: Monitors and assures the behavior and performance of the various slices through collecting network function and infrastructure data, analyzing the performance data and events, and triggering the appropriate actions for resource scaling, elasticity and automatic healing to meet slice requirements. The solution’s closed-loop service automation approach ensures the slice will scale on demand to accommodate changes in service and performance requirements.

https://www.amdocs.com/media-room/amdocs-launches-5g-slice-manager-automation-5g-network-slicing

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Apple warns manufacturing constrained by coronavirus crisis

Apple warned that it will not be able able to meet the financial guidance it issued on January 28, 2020, for two reasons associated with the COVID-19 crisis in China:

• Worldwide iPhone supply will be temporarily constrained. Apple confirmed that its iPhone manufacturing partner sites are located outside the Hubei province and that all of these facilities have reopened. However, manufacturing is ramping up more slowly than anticipated.  The company said iPhone supply shortages will temporarily affect its revenues worldwide.
• The demand for Apple products within China has been affected. All Apple stores in China and many partner stores have been closed. The company said it will gradually reopen retail stores as safety permits. 

Apple also noted that customer demand for its products outside of China remains strong and in line with expectations.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/02/investor-update-on-quarterly-guidance/

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SpaceX deploys 60 more Starlink satellites, booster misses landing

SpaceX successfully launched another 60 Starlink satellites, bringing in orbit to 240.


The launch used a Falcon 9 first stage that had previously flown the CRS-17 mission in May 2019, the CRS-18 mission in July 2019, and the JCSAT-18/Kacific1 mission in December 2019.

However, this time the Falcon 9 booster missed the drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

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IIiad Group picks Nokia for 5G in France and Italy

IIiad Group has selected Nokia to roll out 5G networks across France and Italy. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Iliad has 17 million subscribers across both countries. Nokia has worked closely with IIiad Group in France since 2012 and in Italy since 2018 on the rollout of both 3G and 4G, now adding 5G networks to its portfolio.

Specifically, Iliad Group will install Nokia’s newest radio access technology, AirScale, to capitalize on early 5G networks whilst supporting 4G/LTE and 5G in the same radio access system.

Thomas Reynaud, IIiad Group’s CEO, said: “We want to offer our customers the best possible 5G experience and that is why we have chosen to strengthen and accelerate our relationship with Nokia as we enter the 5G era. Nokia’s innovative 5G technologies and solutions will enable us to launch quickly and efficiently, delivering a superior network performance whilst also securing us against future challenges.”

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, commented: “We are delighted to continue our long-standing relationship with IIiad to roll out 5G networks across France and Italy and build out a world-class network for businesses and consumers alike. The radio technologies will give Iliad the flexibility to quickly and smoothly launch a future-proof 5G network."

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Ciena upgrades Europe India Gateway subsea cable

Ciena supplied its GeoMesh solution to upgrade the Europe India Gateway (EIG) submarine cable system, which spans 15,000km linking the United Kingdom with Gibraltar, Portugal, Monaco, France, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Oman, United Arab Emirates and India.

The upgrade allows EIG to utilize flexible, express wavelengths, also known as optical bypass, to reduce operational costs as well as space and power requirements while improving reliability.

Ciena’s GeoMesh solution is powered by its WaveLogic Ai coherent optics. The upgrade adds 24.3 Tbps of capacity to the EIG cable, with a spectral efficiency increase of 52 percent, in comparison to previous technology. The WaveLogic Ai coherent optics also enable EIG to transport up to 400 Gbps per wavelength.

“The nature of global business today demands instant and reliable access to partners, customers and employees anywhere and at any time. Across Europe, India and the Middle East, this connectivity is reliant on technology like the WaveLogic-powered GeoMesh submarine network solution that is scalable, flexible, and able to adapt to the intense requirements of a bandwidth-hungry environment,” stated Ian Clarke, Vice President of Global Submarine Sales, Ciena.

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3M goes all-in with AWS

3M is moving its enterprise IT infrastructure to AWS.

As part of a company-wide enterprise IT transformation initiative, 3M is migrating its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, including accounting, supply chain management, manufacturing, product lifecycle management, and e-commerce, along with business-critical enterprise IT applications, to AWS.

Currently, 3M, which has 96,000 employees globally, operates 51 technology platforms. With this initiative 3M plans to leverage AWS’s portfolio of services, including machine learning, analytics, storage, security, and databases to optimize and automate operational, manufacturing, and business processes, as well as product solutions.

“AWS is integral to our enterprise IT transformation as we look for better ways to serve our customers, streamline the way we work, and compete globally,” said John Turner, Vice President, IT Systems and Chief Information Officer at 3M. “AWS, with its proven experience and highly performant global infrastructure, will deliver the agility, speed, and scalability 3M needs to launch new business processes and service models. We look forward to expanding our use of AWS’s portfolio of services, including analytics and machine learning, to gain greater insights and become an even more agile company in the cloud.”

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