Oclaro showcases its pluggable CFP2-DCO at ECOC

Multi-sourcing CFP2-DCO modules, coherent digital signal processor (DSP) partnerships, new laser opportunities and the latest on Lumentum’s acquisition of Oclaro. A conversation with Oclaro’s chief strategy officer, Yves LeMaitre.

Oclaro demonstrated its CFP2 Digital Coherent Optics (CFP2-DCO) pluggable module working with Acacia Communications’ own CFP2-DCO at the recent European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC), held in Rome.

Yves LeMaitreOclaro announced earlier this year that it would use Acacia’s Meru coherent DSP for a CFP2-DCO product.

The company also announced at ECOC the availability of a portfolio of single-mode lasers that operate over an extended temperature range.

“We see two new laser opportunities for us,” says LeMaitre. “The upgrade of the access networks and, concurrently, the deployment of 5G.”

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NeoPhotonics ups the baud rate for line and client optics

• Neophotonics’ 64 gigabaud optical components are now being designed into optical transmission systems. The components enable up to 600 gigabits per wavelength and 1.2 terabits using a dual-wavelength transponder.    

• The company’s high-end transponder that uses Ciena’s WaveLogic Ai coherent digital signal processor (DSP) is now shipping.  

• NeoPhotonic is also showcasing its 53 gigabaud components for client-side pluggable optics capable of 100-gigabit wavelengths at the current European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC) show being held in Rome.  

NeoPhotonics says its family of 64 gigabaud (Gbaud) optical components are being incorporated within next-generation optical transmission platforms. 

Ferris LipscombThe 64Gbaud components include a micro intradyne coherent receiver (micro-ICR), a micro integrable tunable laser assembly (micro-ITLA) and a coherent driver modulator (CDM).

The micro-ICR and micro-ITLA are the Optical Internetworking Forum’s (OIF) specification, while the CDM is currently being specified.   

“Three major customers have selected to use all three [64Gbaud components] and several others are using a subset of those,” says Ferris Lipscomb, vice president of marketing at NeoPhotonics.

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Ciena goes stackable with 8180 'white box' and 6500 RLS

Ciena has unveiled two products - the 8180 coherent networking platform and the 6500 reconfigurable line system - that target cable and cellular operators that are deploying fibre deep in their networks, closer to subscribers.

The 6500 line system is also aimed at the data centre interconnect market given how the webscale players are experiencing a near-doubling of traffic each year.

Source: Ciena

The cable industry is moving to a distributed access architecture (DAA) that brings fibre closer to the network’s edge and splits part of the functionality of the cable modem termination system (CMTS) - the remote PHY - closer to end users. The cable operators are deploying fibre to boost the data rates they can offer homes and businesses.

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Oclaro makes available its EMLs and backs 400G-FR4

Lumentum’s plan to acquire Oclaro for $1.8 billion may have dominated the news at last month’s OFC show held in San Diego, but it was business as usual for Oclaro with its product and strategy announcements.

Adam Carter, chief commercial officer (pictured), positions Oclaro’s announcements in terms of general industry trends. 

“On the line side, everywhere there are 100-gigabit and 200-gigabit wavelengths, you will see that transition to 400 gigabit and 600 gigabit,” he says. “And on the client side, you have 100 gigabit going to 400 gigabit.” 

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Verizon, Ciena and Juniper trial 400 Gigabit Ethernet

Verizon has sent a 400 Gigabit Ethernet signal over its network, carried using a 400-gigabit optical wavelength.

The trial’s goal was to demonstrate multi-vendor interoperability and in particular the interoperability of standardised 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) client signals.

Glenn Wellbrock“[400GbE] Interoperability with the client side has been the long pole in the tent - and continues to be,” says Glenn Wellbrock, director, optical transport network - architecture, design and planning at Verizon. “This was trial equipment, not generally-available equipment.” 

It is only the emergence of standardised modules - in this case, an IEEE 400GbE client-side interface specification - that allows multi-vendor interoperability, he says. 

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Oclaro’s 400-gigabit plans

Adam Carter, Oclaro’s chief commercial officer, discusses the company’s 400-gigabit and higher-speed coherent optical transmission plans and the 400-gigabit client-side pluggable opportunity.    

Oclaro showcased its first coherent module that uses Ciena’s WaveLogic Ai digital signal processor at the ECOC show held recently in Gothenburg.

Adam CarterOclaro is one of three optical module makers, the others being Lumentum and NeoPhotonics, that signed an agreement with Ciena earlier this year to use the system vendor’s DSP technology and know-how to bring coherent modules to market. The first product resulting from the collaboration is a 5x7-inch board-mounted module that supports 400-gigabits on a single-wavelength.   

The first WaveLogic Ai-based modules are already being tested at several of Oclaro’s customers’ labs. “They [the module samples] are very preliminary,” says Adam Carter, the chief commercial officer at Oclaro. “The really important timeframe is when we get towards the new year because then we will have beta samples.”

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Real-time visibility makes optical networking smarter

Part 1: Ciena's Liquid Spectrum

Systems vendors are making optical networks smarter. Their latest equipment, combining intelligent silicon and software hooks, can measure the status of the network and enable dynamic network management.

Ciena recently announced its Liquid Spectrum networking product while Infinera has launched its Instant Network. Both vendors exploit the capabilities of their latest generation coherent DSPs to allow greater network automation and efficiency. The vendors even talk about their products being an important step towards autonomous or cognitive networks.

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