The Optical Internetworking Forum’s (OIF) latest Technical and MA&E Committees Meeting in Montreal, Canada resulted in the launch of two new projects.
These are a higher baud rate coherent driver modulator, and a white paper detailing low-rate service multiplexing using FlexE and 400ZR.
The Higher Baud Rate Coherent Driver Modulator project is designed to define a new version of the Coherent Driver Modulator, supporting at least 96GBd for the low modem implementation penalty segment of the coherent market for single optical carrier line rates beyond 400Gb/s. Designed for higher data rates and longer reach and optimised for performance, this project is the next generation of the High Bandwidth Coherent Driver Modulator (HB-CDM) Implementation Agreement that was published last year.
The white paper will cover low-rate service multiplexing using FlexE and 400ZR, aimed at eliminating ambiguity and providing clarification on how 400ZR should be leveraged in multiplexing applications. Various network operators are looking for a multiplexing scheme to support lower-rate Ethernet clients (e.g. 4x100GE) into a 400ZR coherent line. This technical white paper will educate the market on how FlexE can be used to aggregate low-rate Ethernet services (e.g. 4x100GE) into 400ZR interfaces.
Andrew Schmitt, founder and directing analyst, Cignal AI gave member attendees a brief overview of emerging pluggable coherent technologies and the opportunity this new market presents. He said: ‘It’s clear that OIF is not resting after a successful effort to standardise 400ZR, proven by the launch of two new projects at the recent Q3 meeting. Also, as interest in pluggable coherent solutions grows, it is good to see OIF soliciting feedback from additional network operators in order to shape requirements for next generation standards.’
