OIF kicks off Interoperable 1600ZR+ project

OIF kicked off two new projects:

• Interoperable 1600ZR+ - the project complements the 1600ZR project unveiled last September (2023). Responding to market demand for higher-performance (ZR+) modes, OIF is working towards integrating these modes into its application scope for 1600 Gb/s interfaces.
• Retimed Tx Linear Rx Specs EEI Project - focused on developing specifications for Retimed Tx Linear Rx (RTxLRx). The initial applications target Ethernet and AI/ML, operating at 200G/lane over 500m single mode fiber (SMF) and 100G/lane over 30m multimode fiber (MMF), with potential for alternate applications. The project aims for full plug and play functionality in both electrical and optical domains, meeting the industry demand for power and latency savings. RTxLRx addresses constraints found in Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) and provides flexibility, making it a candidate when LPO is not suitable.

“OIF recognizes the importance of consolidated requirements in the ZR/ZR+ space to streamline development costs and enhance industry collaboration,” said Karl Gass, OIF PLL WG – Optical Vice Chair. “This project reinforces OIF’s role as the forum for coherent line interface discussions and demonstrates leadership by facilitating the evolution of next-generation technologies.”

At its recent Q1 2024 Technical and MA&E meeting in Jacksonville, Florida, OIF re-elected the Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Working Group (WG) Chair and released a white paper focused on advancing plug and play for Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) modules. The meeting also featured Andrew Schmitt, Cignal AI as a guest speaker.

“OIF is an excellent forum for establishing standards on rapidly emerging technologies, and it is well-positioned to tackle the tough problems network operators and their suppliers face,” said Schmitt. “This meeting’s kick off of the 1600ZR+ process - a third generation follow up to the hugely successful 400ZR project - marks a major milestone for the industry. Further increasing the ease of deployment for 400ZR technology via CMIS is also a very valuable endeavor. I’m excited about these OIF initiatives and very pleased to offer Cignal AI’s current perspective on the market to such a capable and effective audience.”

OIF kicks off new projects: 224G PAM4, 1600ZR

Sunday, September 10, 2023    

OIF has kicked off four new projects:

224G PAM4 protocol agnostic link training for electrical interfaces project

Electrical interface link training holds considerable significance throughout the industry. This project will define communication method, messaging format and contents, training patterns, states and sequences, diagnostics and fault handling, etc. for link training of a 224G PAM4 class electrical link. The objective is to enhance overall link performance, a critical factor, particularly under challenging conditions, to establish a functional connection.

As part of this initiative, the CEI (Common Electrical IO) framework will be expanded with an additional tool to encompass a comprehensive solution, reinforcing OIF's leadership in the electrical/SERDES domain.

“This project is critical for OIF, yielding a standardized solution that seamlessly fosters SERDES interoperability and implementation, transcending the boundaries of specific applications,” said David Stauffer, OIF Physical & Link Layer Working Group Chair and Kandou Bus, S.A. “Through collaborative efforts with other industry groups, we aim to forge a consistent industry-wide solution that simplifies implementation.”

1600ZR Project

The 1600ZR project will define a power optimized solution for a multi-vendor interoperable 1600 Gbps coherent optical interface, with a focus on Data Center Interconnect (DCI) scenarios. This Implementation Agreement (IA) will create a comprehensive electrical/protocol/optical framework that facilitates realization into pluggable modules. It will also establish a reference point for additional applications that contribute to the growth of the coherent ecosystem.

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Microsoft reports a 30% growth in Azure and other cloud services

Microsoft reported revenue of $62.0 billion for the December quarter, up 18% (up 16% in constant currency), and net income of $21.9 billion, up 33% compared to same period a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share was $2.93 and increased 33%, and increased 26% non-GAAP (up 23% in constant currency).

"We’ve moved from talking about AI to applying AI at scale," said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. "By infusing AI across every layer of our tech stack, we’re winning new customers and helping drive new benefits and productivity gains across every sector.”

“Strong execution by our sales teams and partners drove Microsoft Cloud revenue to $33.7 billion, up 24% (up 22% in constant currency) year-over-year,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft.

Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $19.2 billion and increased 13% (up 12% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

• Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 15% (up 13% in constant currency) driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 17% (up 16% in constant currency)
• Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 5% (up 4% in constant currency) and Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers grew to 78.4 million
• LinkedIn revenue increased 9% (up 8% in constant currency)
• Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 21% (up 19% in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 27% (up 24% in constant currency)

Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $25.9 billion and increased 20% (up 19% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

• Server products and cloud services revenue increased 22% (up 20% in constant currency) driven by Azure and other cloud services revenue growth of 30% (up 28% in constant currency)

Revenue in More Personal Computing was $16.9 billion and increased 19% (up 18% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

• Windows revenue increased 9% with Windows OEM revenue growth of 11% and Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue growth of 9% (up 7% in constant currency)
• Devices revenue decreased 9% (down 10% in constant currency)
• Xbox content and services revenue increased 61% (up 60% in constant currency) driven by 55 points of net impact from the Activision acquisition
• Search and news advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 8% (up 7% in constant currency)

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Google Cloud generated sales of $9.2 in Q4, loss of $863M

In its quarterly financial report, Alphabet said Google Cloud generated quarterly sales of $9.192 billion compared with $7.315 billion a year earlier, an increase of 26%. The quarterly operating loss for Google Cloud narrowed to ($863 million), compared with a loss of ($1.237 billion) a year earlier.

In January 2023, Google completed an evaluation of how long their servers and network equipment last. As a result, they extended the expected lifespan of their servers from four to six years, and for some network equipment from five to six years. This new accounting estimate, effective from fiscal year 2023, led to a decrease in depreciation expenses by $983 million and $3.9 billion. Consequently, net income increased by $765 million and $3.0 billion, which translates to earnings of $0.06 and $0.24 per basic share, and the same per diluted share, for the three and twelve months ending December 31, 2023, respectively.

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AMD posts strong Q4 sales, weaker outlook

AMD reported Q4 2023 2023 revenue of $6.2 billion, gross margin of 47%, operating income of $342 million, net income of $667 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.41. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin was 51%, operating income was $1.4 billion, net income was $1.2 billion and diluted earnings per share was $0.77.

For the full year 2023, the company reported revenue of $22.7 billion, gross margin of 46%, operating income of $401 million, net income of $854 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.53. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin was 50%, operating income was $4.9 billion, net income was $4.3 billion and diluted earnings per share was $2.65.

“We finished 2023 strong, with sequential and year-over-year revenue and earnings growth driven by record quarterly AMD Instinct GPU and EPYC CPU sales and higher AMD Ryzen processor sales,” said AMD Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su. “Demand for our high-performance data center product portfolio continues to accelerate, positioning us well to deliver strong annual growth in what is an incredibly exciting time as AI re-shapes virtually every part of the computing market.”

 “AMD executed well in 2023 despite a mixed demand environment,” said AMD EVP, CFO and Treasurer Jean Hu. “We drove year-over-year revenue growth in our Data Center and Embedded segments and successfully launched our AMD Instinct MI300 GPUs positioning us for a strong product ramp in 2024.”

Segment Summary

• Data Center segment revenue in the quarter was $2.3 billion, up 38% year-over-year and 43% sequentially driven by strong growth in AMD Instinct™ GPUs and 4th Gen AMD EPYC™ CPUs.
• For 2023, Data Center segment revenue was $6.5 billion, an increase of 7% compared to the prior year, driven by strong growth in AMD Instinct GPUs and 4th Gen AMD EPYC CPUs.
• Client segment revenue was $1.5 billion, up 62% year-over-year driven primarily by an increase in AMD Ryzen™ 7000 Series CPU sales.
• For 2023, Client segment revenue was $4.7 billion, down 25% compared to the prior year, due to a decline in the PC market.
• Gaming segment revenue was $1.4 billion, down 17% year-over-year and 9% sequentially, due to a decrease in semi-custom revenue, partially offset by an increase in AMD Radeon™ GPU sales.
• For 2023, Gaming segment revenue was $6.2 billion, down 9% compared to the prior year primarily due to lower semi-custom sales.
• Embedded segment revenue was $1.1 billion, down 24% year-over-year and 15% sequentially primarily due to customers reducing their inventory levels.  
• For 2023, Embedded segment revenue was $5.3 billion, up 17% compared to the prior year, primarily due to the inclusion of a full year of revenue related to the acquisition of Xilinx completed in February 2022.

For the first quarter of 2024, AMD expects revenue to be approximately $5.4 billion, plus or minus $300 million. Sequentially, AMD expects Data Center segment revenue to be flat, with a seasonal decline in server sales offset by a strong Data Center GPU ramp. Client, Embedded and Gaming segment sales are expected to decline sequentially, with semi-custom revenue expected to decline by a significant double-digit percentage. Non-GAAP gross margin is expected to be approximately 52%.

https://ir.amd.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1180/amd-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2023-financial

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Juniper posts Q4 revenue of $1.365B

Juniper Networks reported Q4 2023 revenue of $1,364.8 million, a decrease of 6% year-over-year, and a decrease of 2% sequentially. Non-GAAP net income was $196.9 million, a decrease of 8% year-over-year, and an increase of 2% sequentially, resulting in non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.61.

Full-Year 2023 net revenues were $5,564.5 million, an increase of 5% year-over-year. Non-GAAP net income was $736.4 million, an increase of 15% year-over-year, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $2.26, an increase of 16% year-over-year.

“We delivered record revenue results in 2023 and grew our business on a year-over-year basis for a third consecutive year,” said Juniper’s CEO, Rami Rahim. “These results reflect the strength of our enterprise business, which not only delivered a second consecutive year of solid double-digit revenue growth, but also achieved positive product order growth in the fourth quarter and on a full-year basis.”

Product orders at Juniper:

• Increased by double digits sequentially.
• Declined by single digits year-over-year.

Enterprise orders:

• Showed strong growth, increasing in the mid-teens year-over-year.

Backlog situation:

• Ended the year with a backlog of approximately $570 million.
• Slightly elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Revenue by vertical in Q4:

• Enterprise: Largest vertical, up 8% year-over-year but down 9% sequentially.
• Cloud: Declined 17% year-over-year, increased 18% sequentially.
• Service Provider: Declined 15% year-over-year, 4% sequentially.

Customer solution revenue:

• AI-Driven Enterprise: Grew 1% year-over-year, declined 16% sequentially.
• Mist and other Mist Cloud products: Grew approximately 40% year-over-year.
• Cloud-Ready Data Center: Declined 30% year-over-year, grew 6% sequentially.
• Automated WAN Solutions: Down 5% year-over-year, up 4% sequentially.

Total Software and Related Services revenue:

• $360 million, an 18% increase year-over-year.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR):

• Grew 30% year-over-year.
• Ended the year at $384 million.

Total Security revenue:

• $161 million, down 5% year-over-year but up 1% sequentially.

Customer composition in Q4:

• Top 10 customers: Four from Cloud, three from Enterprise, three from Service Provider.
• Accounted for 36% of total revenue, compared to 34% in Q4'22.

https://investor.juniper.net/investor-relations/financial-reports/default.aspx

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Extreme launches cloud-managed switches + Wi-Fi 7 AP

 Extreme Networks launched two solutions aimed at enhancing network connectivity, security, and application performance for highly distributed enterprises. 

The first is the AP5020, a Wi-Fi 7 Universal Access Point (AP) operating on the 6 GHz spectrum. This AP is specifically designed to cater to high-bandwidth, latency-sensitive applications, and IoT devices, enabling enterprises to modernize and manage their operations more effectively. 

The second introduction is the 4000 Series cloud-managed switches, a new addition to Extreme's Universal portfolio. These switches are notable for their rapid setup capabilities, as they largely eliminate the need for manual configurations. When used in conjunction with ExtremeCloud Universal ZTNA, these switches support automated onboarding, configuration, and policy enforcement, which bolsters security as organizations transition to a Zero Trust architecture across their networks.

Highlights:

• The AP5020: A versatile, cloud-managed Wi-Fi 7 Access Point capable of supporting bandwidth-intensive and latency-sensitive applications and IoT devices, enhancing user experience and operational efficiency in high-density settings.
• IoT Capabilities: The AP5020 includes dual IoT radios that support multiple IoT devices and protocols, reducing total ownership cost and operational complexity.
• Power Over Ethernet (PoE) Failover: Ensures uninterrupted connectivity in critical environments like healthcare and education.
• Enhanced Security: Features a dedicated security sensor for wireless intrusion prevention, pairing with Extreme AirDefense to enhance network security and performance.
• The 4000 Series Switches: Comprising the 4120 and 4220 families, these switches are part of Extreme's Universal Switching portfolio, designed for easy deployment and management.
• Instant Stacking: Simplifies setup across multiple switches.
• Instant Port and Secure Port: Eliminates manual port configuration and integrates authentication and policy enforcement.
• 4120 Model Features: Offers multi-gigabit and 90W PoE support on all access ports, plus 200Gb+ uplink capacity, ideal for high-density environments.
• 4220 Model Flexibility: Available in various port models with gigabit and multi-gigabit access ports, up to 90W PoE and 4 x SFP+ uplink ports.

 https://www.extremenetworks.com/ 

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