The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC) brings together a wide range of professionals, including engineers, scientists, researchers, and industry experts. It serves as a platform for organizations and vendors to showcase the latest technology trends in optical fiber communication technology. Attendees can collaborate and demonstrate innovative solutions that can establish new industry benchmarks.
Shaping the Future of 1.6 Terabit Ethernet Test Capabilities
Keysight Technologies, Inc. and Credo Semiconductor have achieved a new milestone by collaborating on a joint testbed that demonstrated the first IEEE P802.3dj draft specification compliant 1.6 terabit (T) Ethernet measurement system. It can run full line rate layer 2 Ethernet traffic on a real-world hardware development platform. This groundbreaking demonstration proves that achieving 1.6T Ethernet speed is not only possible but also measurable. Alan Weckel, Co-Founder and Analyst with the 650 Group, has discussed how 1.6 Terabit Ethernet will drive the AI/ML wave in his blog, emphasizing the transformative impact this technology will have.
Keysight OSFP-XD test platform has successfully demonstrated an operational 1.6T layer 2 engine’s reliability, in conjunction with Forward Error Correction (FEC) technologies.
Keysight and Ethernet Alliance Unlocking Interoperability for 800GE at OFC 2024
The Ethernet Alliance is a global consortium that comprises system and component vendors, as well as industry experts who are dedicated to ensuring the continued success and expansion of Ethernet technology. The alliance plays a vital role in bringing Ethernet standards to market by supporting various activities, including the incubation of new Ethernet technologies, conducting interoperability demonstrations, and providing education and resources to the industry.
Ethernet Alliance Booth at OFC 2024 in San Diego
Keysight played a crucial role in the interoperability testing at the Ethernet Alliance (EA) booth, collaborating with over 20 participating member companies, which included leading suppliers of optics, Linear Drive Pluggable Optics (LPOs), and coherent optics such as 400ZR showcasing the first public 800ZR system interoperability demonstrations. Vendors also showcased their Direct Attach Cables (DACs), Active Optical Cables (AOCs), and Active Electrical Cables (AECs) that are compatible with leading switch and router interfaces, enabling 800GE throughput across their custom and/or merchant silicon. These solutions are designed to seamlessly handle diverse workloads ranging from enterprise and home wired connectivity to hyperscale, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications.
Keysight and OIF at OFC 2024
Keysight, along with over 15 member companies, participated in demonstrating the capabilities of 400ZR, OpenZR+, 800ZR, and OpenROADM modules in the event. The 400ZR and 800ZR modules utilize single-carrier coherent DP-16QAM modulation for low power DSP for 400GE and 800GE. It is crucial to evaluate the performance of each module for compliance with the standardized ecosystem. OpenZR+ and OpenROADM address extended reaches and supports Ethernet traffic.
The testbed demonstrations included single-span channel and multi-span interoperability with a maximum span of 1000 kilometers (about half the distance from Florida to New York City). These modules are expected to create the next core network architecture based on coherent pluggable technology commonly used in next-generation Cloud DCI and telecom edge network interconnects. OIF is leading the coherent specifications and Keysight as a key member is validating these specifications to help build the future network.
OIF Booth at OFC 2024 in San Diego
One of the highlights of the show was the display of 800GE coherent optics. The 400 ZR has significantly impacted the data center interconnect (DCI) with all the hyperscalers, enabling longer reach and consequently lowering the cost per bit per kilometer. The 800 ZR/ZR+ optics meet the demand for efficient bandwidth upgrades in datacenter interconnects and optical transport networks, driven by AI/Ml applications. Keysight’s AresONE -M Dual Interface model highlighted the 800GE ZR demonstration with HG Genuine, exhibiting the airflow-based cooling ability of the AresONE -M box for high-powered optics.
2024 Lightwave Innovation Reviews: “An excellent test system for 800GE connectivity.”
Keysight’s AresONE 800GE Dual Interface Model-M is a Layer 1 through 3 Ethernet traffic generation, reception, and analysis test and measurement system. It can test 14 Ethernet modes on a single platform, including PAM4 106G, 53G and NRZ 26G, 10G. Manufacturers of silicon communications devices, optical transceivers, and copper cable, as well as network equipment manufacturers, hyperscale data center operators, traditional carriers, and service providers, use the platform to qualify their networking devices and equipment before deploying them in production networks. The AresONE 800GE Dual Interface Model-M determines compliance with industry specifications such as the IEEE, OIF, and optical transceiver MSAs. Additionally, these systems test network routing and switching performance using Layer 2-3 networking and internetworking protocols, including BGP, OSPF, and over 100 others.
Lightwave Innovation Review of 4.0 out of 5.0 for AresONE 800GE Dual Interface Model-M
Keysight and Luxshare collaborated on a partner booth demo at OFC 2024
The AresONE-M 800GE Dual Interface Model was used to demonstrate interoperability with Luxshare optics. The setup included 800G OSFP 2xDR4 and 2xFR4 optical modules as well as 800G QSFP-DD800 connected via 4m active optical cables showing BER, pre-FEC BER and FEC margin.
Keysight – Source Photonics Partner Booth Demo at OFC 2024
The G800GE-02 two-port OSFP model was used in interoperability testing with 2x400G FR4 and 4x100G LR4 optics for Source Photonics. This demonstration highlighted parameters such a Bit Error Rate (BER), pre-Forward Error Correction (FEC) BER, and FEC margin.
Keysight – HyperPhotonix Partner Booth Demo at OFC 2024
The G800GE-02 two port QSFP model was utilized in an interoperability demonstration with the Celestica 800G OSFP switch connected to the Cisco 800G switch in the Ethernet Alliance (EA) booth via the OFCnet fiber. The demonstration included statistics such as Bit Error Rate (BER), pre-Forward Error Correction (FEC) BER, and FEC margin.
The need to optimize power consumption is driving a significant amount of innovation in the optics space. While the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) serves as the brain of pluggable optics, it also accounts for a massive portion of the power consumed by optical modules. Linear pluggable Optics (LPO) and Linear Retimed Optics (LRO) are becoming increasingly popular due to their promise of reducing power consumption. However, thorough validation is required before deploying them in data centers.
Keysight – Ruijie Networks Partner Booth Demo at OFC 2024
ByteDance and Ruijie Networks collaborated on the co-design of a Linear Pluggable (LPO) module, which was subsequently utilized in a switch reference design by ByteDance. The AresONE-M 800GE 4-port OSFP800 was employed to generate traffic which was then distributed across all remaining ports to produce 51.2Tbps of traffic using 64x800GE ports. The demonstration included showcasing statistics such as throughput, latency, frame loss, and Bit Error Loss (BER) performance.
Together, We Build the Future
Keysight is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what is achievable in optical networking. Through collaborations with industry leaders like Ethernet Alliance and OIF, we are contributing to the advancement of a faster and more efficient future for data communication.
The future of high-speed networking has arrived! Are you ready to unlock the potential of 1.6T Ethernet and seamless 800GE interoperability?