News: Optoelectronics
21 September 2023
OIF’s multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations at ECOC feature 39 firms
The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) says that, in its booth #304 at the European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC 2023) in Glasgow, Scotland, UK (2–4 October), a record 39 companies are demonstrating innovation and collaboration across four sectors: 400ZR+ optics, co-packaging solutions, Common Electrical I/O (CEI) channels and Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) implementations.
“This year’s massive demo is a testament to the collective progress made by the industry,” says Alphawave Semi’s Mike Klempa, chair of the OIF Physical & Link Layer Interoperability Working Group. “With a focus on some of the most critical technologies driving industry progress, we will illustrate the exceptional strides OIF members have taken in fostering compatibility and facilitating innovation.”
The live and static interoperability demos include:
400ZR+ Optics Demo: Exhibiting optical networking technologies that enable high-speed data transmission over extended distances, opening new horizons for data centers and telecommunication networks.
OIF says that its 400ZR project has played a pivotal role in facilitating the reduction of power and complexity for high-bandwidth data-center interconnects and promoting interoperability among optical module manufacturers. This year’s public demonstration has been expanded to showcase progress including OpenZR+ and OpenROADM applications over a multi-span ROADM network.
The ECOC demo consists of a full implementation of 400GE across numerous DWDM networks using multiple vendors — module, router, open-line system and test equipment — all collaboratively demonstrating the realization of interoperability objectives for these projects.
Co-Packaging Solutions Demo: Showcasing innovative approaches to integrating multiple chips within a single package, revolutionizing performance and power efficiency in electronic devices.
Initiatives to facilitate co-packaging solutions using interoperable electrical and optical interfaces feature efficiency in terms of power consumption and high-bandwidth edge densities. This year’s interoperability showcase highlights the key multi-vendor elements essential for enabling co-packaging architectures.
Live demonstrations encompass the use of the External Laser Small-Form-Factor Pluggables (ELSFP) to power an optical link, all while being managed by the Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS). Additionally, various multi-vendor optical connectivity solutions are on display.
Common Electrical I/O (CEI) Channels: Highlighting advancements in high-speed electrical interfaces, enhancing data-transfer rates and efficiency across various applications.
In 224G hardware interconnection application spaces and definitions, OIF has achieved an industry-first milestone of multi-vendor interoperability at 224G. It is also addressing and defining a low-power, low-latency 112G CEI specification for linear direct-drive optics. This initiative has resulted in the first multi-vendor interoperability showcase of an ecosystem dedicated to advancing these efforts. Live, in the booth, system, linear pluggable optics and test & measurement equipment vendors are collaboratively demonstrating the advantages of this technology.
The CEI-224G and 112G demonstrations showcase multi-party silicon supplier interoperability across a diverse array of long-reach (LR), medium-reach (MR) and very-short-reach (VSR) links that address many widely used applications.
Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) Implementations: Demonstrating management interfaces across diverse networking equipment, promoting streamlined control and management.
CMIS has established itself as the management interface of choice for next-generation pluggable modules, capable of managing both simple and advanced modules. It provides a well-defined mechanism to initialize and manage optical and copper modules in a standard way, while still providing the capability to provide custom functionality. This commonality makes integrating different host platforms easier for both the host and module vendors.
The live CMIS demos show a variety of CMIS-managed modules in routers, switches and test gear from different vendors and showcase how CMIS is used to manage modules in real-world applications.
OIF member companies participating in the demo are Adtran; Alphawave Semi; Amphenol; Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.; Broadcom Inc.; Cadence Design Systems, Inc.; Casela Technologies; Ciena; Cisco Systems; Coherent; Credo Technology Group; Eoptolink; EXFO; Fujitsu Optical Components; Hisense Broadband; Infinera; Juniper Networks; Keysight Technologies; Linktel Technologies; Lumentum; MACOM Technology Solutions; Molex; MultiLane Inc.; NEC Corp; Nokia; O-Net Technologies; Precision Optical Technologies; Quantifi Photonics; Samtec; Semtech; Senko Advanced Components; Sicoya; Source Photonics; Sumitomo Electric Industries; Synopsys; Telefonica S.A.; VIAVI Solutions and Wilder Technologies. The interoperability demo is supported by participating companies Telefonica as the hosting consulting network operator and LightRiver as a host for technology-specific pre-demonstration integration testing.
“Attendees at ECOC can also look forward to celebrating OIF’s 25-year journey in fostering industry-wide collaboration and interoperability,” says Klempa. To commemorate its 25 years of interoperability work, OIF is hosting a celebration at its booth on 3 October (4–5pm).
