Marvell has begun sampling an 800 Gbps coherent digital signal processor (DSP) for pluggable modules, promising 2x the maximum bandwidth over existing solutions while staying within the stringent thermal and electrical limits of pluggable modules.
Marvell expects is new Orion-based pluggable modules to deliver up to 75% in capex and opex savings over traditional transport equipment for popular carrier use cases such as metro networks.
Key uses cases:
- Metro network connections (~500km) delivering 800 Gbps per wavelength, 2x the bandwidth of current state-of-the art pluggable modules.
- 600 Gbps regional network connections (~1,200km) for core networks built around standards-based modules and routers based on IP over DWDM (IPoDWDM) to reduce cost and complexity of infrastructure.
- 400 Gbps long-haul connections (up to ~2,000km) in traditional or IPoDWDM networks.
- 800 Gbps (~500km) and 600 Gbps (~1,200km) ZR/ZR+ data center interconnects to scale network capacity quickly and economically to accommodate the surging traffic from AI and other distributed, data-intensive workloads.
- Orion-based modules will also pave the way for greater adoption of IPoDWDM.
Highlights
- Produced on 5nm technology, Orion is the fifth generation coherent DSP from Marvell and offers twice the bandwidth in the same small module form factors as Deneb and Canopus.
- Orion is the industry's first coherent DSP supporting standards-based pluggable form factors at symbol rates in excess of 130+ GBaud, which allows Orion-based modules to transfer data at a faster rate and across longer distances than current modules.
- Orion incorporates Marvell's 112 Gbps SerDes developed as part of Marvell's technology platform for 5nm devices.
- Orion complies with OIF, OpenZR+, OpenROADM, and IEEE standards and can be used in the QSFP-DD, OSFP, and CFP2 form factors
"Orion represents a tipping point for optical transport technology. With Orion, pluggable modules will be able to be deployed across these complex, high-performance networks while delivering substantial reductions in cost and power. Orion-based modules will also deliver the bandwidth needed for data center interconnects to meet the exploding demand for AI," said Achyut Shah, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Connectivity Business Group at Marvell. "Fueled by the innovation of our partners, pluggable modules based on Orion will become the leading choice for carriers and clouds."
