Foxconn Interconnect Technology demos 400G BiDi

Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) will demonstrate its 400 Gbps Bi-directional (BiDi) QSFP-DD multi-mode fiber (MMF) transceiver module for 400 Gigabit Ethernet Applications.

The module is designed to facilitate an easy upgrade path from 100 Gbps to 400 Gbps by reusing existing MPO fiber cable infrastructure used in 40G SR4 QSFP+ and 100G SR4 QSFP28 deployment with 8-fibers ribbon cable. The 400G BiDi modules support link distances up to 70m OM3 and 100m OM4.

FIT cited the following advantages for the 400G BiDi transceiver compared to alternative solutions, including:

• Extended use of installed MPO MMF cabling to support the transition to 400 GbE:   An upgrade path for millions of 100G QSFP28 SR4 MMF transceivers deployed in the field to FIT's new 400G BiDi QSFP28 transceiver. 400G BiDi enables customers to reduce their Capex and Opex costs when they transition to 400G by utilizing existing MMF cable infrastructure.
• Endorsed by Major OEM's: 40G BiDi QSFP+ and 100G BiDi QSPF28 transceivers have already been widely adopted in the industry. 
• Lower Cost Solution: 40G BiDi, 100G BiDi and 400G BiDi efficiently use 2 VCSEL wavelengths (850nm and 910nm) per link, instead of more complex and costly solutions using 4 VCSEL wavelengths (850 – 950nm range).  This enables customers to use existing MMF cable infrastructure.
• Fully Compliant to IEC 60793-2 Effective Modal Bandwidth (EMB) specifications: Alternate solutions with 4 VCSEL wavelengths will require fiber infrastructure with a higher EMB
• 4x100 Gbps breakout capability: 400G BiDi can be operated in either an aggregate point to point mode or a breakout mode. In the 4x100 Gbps breakout mode, the 400G BiDi will interoperate with 100G BiDi solutions allowing backward compatibility to 100 Gbps network applications
• The 400G BiDi transceiver solution is based on Broadcom's industry leading optical ICs and components including 400G 8:8 PAM-4 PHY and an array of 4x50G VCSEL and PIN photodetector components plus complementary 4x50G transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and laser driver ICs. The solution delivers unprecedented performance and power efficiency enabling high volume deployment of 400 GbE MMF links for datacenter and cloud networks.

"The 2 million 40G and 100G BiDi transceivers we have shipped to date demonstrate the success and market acceptance of these optical solutions enabling customers to realize further cost savings by reusing their existing OM3 and OM4 MMF cable infrastructures. The new 400G BiDi transceiver module leverages proven FIT BiDi technology and builds upon that success story by offering a higher speed product for link distances below 100 meters for hyperscale data centers, enterprise, and fabric interconnects of 5G wireless infrastructures," said Adam Carter, Chief Commercial Officer in FIT's Fiber Optics Communications Business.

https://www.foit-foxconn.com

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Foxconn Interconnect Technology advances 400G, 100G BiDi, CXP2

Foxconn Interconnect Technology showcased its latest 400 Gbps Interconnect solutions at the recent Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Conference & Exhibition in San Diego.

QSFP-DD product and technology demonstrations:

• Live traffic up to 400 Gbps will be run over interconnects utilizing FIT QSFP-DD cables, cages and connectors.
• 400G QSFP-DD SMF DR4 technology demonstration.
• QSFP-DD products: FIT will be showcasing its growing line of QSFP-DD cage, connector and interconnect products.

"FIT is committed to the development of 50G, 100G and 400G PAM4 based products and technologies that will add to one of the broadest portfolios of transceivers, cages/connectors, direct attach copper (DAC), and active optical cables (AOC) on the market," said Steve Shultis, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Foxconn Interconnect Technology.

FIT also announced the general availability of its 100 Gbps Bidirectional (100G BiDi) QSFP28 multimode fiber (MMF) transceiver module for 100 Gigabit Ethernet.

A key advantage is that the 100G BiDi module facilitates an easy upgrade path from 10 Gbps or 40 Gbps line rates to 100 Gbps by reusing existing duplex LC MMF fiber cable infrastructure. The 100G BiDi modules support link distances up to 70m OM3, 100m OM4, and 150m OM5 MMF. The company notes that because 40G BiDi QSFP+ transceivers have already been widely adopted in the industry, 100G BiDi QSFP28 optics are a smooth generational upgrade. Both 40G BiDi and 100G BiDi efficiently use 2 laser colors per link, instead of more complex and costly solutions using 4 laser colors. In addition, 40G BiDi and 100G BiDi limit the range of those colors in order to get improved cable performance with existing Enterprise OM3 and OM4 MMF cabling infrastructure. FIT's solution is designed using 50 Gbps PAM4 integrated circuits and optical signaling with mature 2-color (850 and 900nm) VCSEL technology highly leveraged from 40 Gbps to 100 Gbps.

In addition, FIT announced general availability and volume production of its CXP2 optical transceiver module and CXP2 active optical cable (AOC). These 300G (12x25Gbps) pluggable fiber optic solutions can be used to build a high-density, multi-lane interconnect fabric using mature VCSEL technology, which is strongly desirable for applications such as chassis interconnect in high-end switches, routers, server clustering, and high-performance computing.

Key features of FIT's CXP2 optical solutions include:

• Proven 850 nm technology with high reliability and consistent high quality: Fully-equipped with 12-channel arrays of VCSEL transmitter and PIN receiver technologies. Guaranteed performance over corner conditions at distances up to 100m OM4 multimode fiber.
• Multi-rate support: Each lane can operate up to 25.78 Gbps NRZ and is compatible with legacy data rates in CDR bypass mode. Suitable for 25GE, InfiniBand EDR, PCI Express, and proprietary data rates.
• Feature-rich programmability: Individual channel control of Tx&Rx CDR capability, Tx equalization, Rx amplitude and emphasis. Support for in-system firmware upgrade.
• Digital diagnostics support: Both transceiver module and AOC support temperature and supply voltage monitoring as well as per-channel laser bias current, laser power, and receiver input power monitoring.
• World 1st in high volume optical CXP2 production shipment: FIT is the first vendor offering CXP2 optical products with demonstrated high volume manufacturing capability.

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HP Teams with Foxconn for Cloudline Servers

HP and Foxconn introduced a portfolio of basic, cost-focused and customizable compute platforms optimized for the Open Compute Project specifications as well as HP Helion OpenStack.  The companies formed a non-equity joint venture a year ago and this is their first product.

HP Cloudline servers, which are built on open-design principles, support open management tools and leverage common industry interfaces in hardware and firmware. The design goal is deployment and management at an extreme scale and integration into multi-vendor environments. Cloudline will feature multi-node, density-optimized servers with 2P, 1P and system on a chip (SoC) designs to deliver efficiency and low cost per node.

Qihoo 360, which provides Internet and mobile security products and services to 500 million monthly active PC Internet users and more than 640 million mobile users in China, has selected HP Cloudline.

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/servers/proliant-servers.html?compURI=1551682#tab=TAB4

• HP recently unveiled a new "Altoline" open network switches that are produced by a joint venture between HP and Accton Technolog. The HP Altoline switches are loaded with Open Network Install Environment (ONIE) boot loader giving customers the option of using Cumulus Networks' Linux network OS.

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