Flexible optical networks achieve up to 600G
Anticipating demand for flexible, multi-rate optical transmission devices and software as optical networks transition from 100 to 600G, Microchip and Acacia have demonstrated interoperability between the former’s optical transport network (OTN) processor and the latter’s AC1200 Coherent module.
Microchip’s DIGI-G5 OTN processor and Acacia’s AC1200 Coherent module enable what is believed to be the first flexible rate system architectures with an established ecosystem to support the market’s transition to 200, 400 and 600G and flexible rate OTNs built with Flexible Ethernet (FlexE) and OTUCn (B100G signals) protocols.
Transitioning to flexible transmission system architectures will allow service providers to deploy higher bandwidth Ethernet connectivity at a faster rate and at a lower cost using Optical Internetworking Forum’s (OIF) FlexE protocol. FlexE was designed to provide up to 30 per cent greater bandwidth efficiency compared to traditional Ethernet link aggregation (LAG) with fewer limitations. Combining it with OTUCn and tunable fractional dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) transmission brings the potential for service providers to improve OTN capacity by up to 70 per cent.
Microchip’s DIGI-G5 is believed to be the first OTN processor to support FlexE and OTUCn protocols. It delivers the silicon and software required for Tbit-scale line cards with flexible rate optical interfaces for packet optical transport platforms, says the company. Combining the DIGI-G5 and AC1200 will help next-generation architectures support growing demand for metro and data centre interconnect networks requiring 100G+ connectivity that can be rate adjusted to maximise bandwidth.
Tbit class OTN switching line cards can be achieved at 50 per cent less power per port while enabling flexible rate ports and protocols up to 600G, confirms Microchip.
The DIGI-G5 processes client traffic into OTN and the 1.2T AC1200, which is powered by Acacia’s Pico digital signal processor (DSP) application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) will enable the OTN connections over two 600G tunable DWDM wavelengths with flexible transmission 3D shaping features.
3D shaping features include fractional quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and adaptive baud rate optimise transmission reach and capacity, approaching theoretical limits on a range of network configurations.