The release of Draft Specification for Next Generation 100Gbps Optical Interconnect Systems

Recently, 100G Lambda Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) Group announces the release of draft specifications based on PAM4 optical technology at 100 Gbps per wavelength. Member companies at MSA address the technical challenges of implementing optical interfaces with 100 Gbps per wavelength PAM4 technology and multi-vendor interoperability for optical fiber manufacturers of varying manufacturer and form factor variations . The goal of this new optical specification is for next-generation network devices that, on demand, will need to meet the industry’s growing demand for higher bandwidth and bandwidth density.

 

100G Lambda MSA team members include: Alibaba, Applied OptoElectronics, Arista Networks, Broadcom, Infocomm, Cisco, Phoenix, Hong Teng Precision Technology Co., Ltd., Inphi, Intel, Juniper Networks, Lumentum, Luxtera, Magnesium Microwave Technology, MaxLinear, Microsoft, Molex, Synaptic, Nokia, Orlano, Semtech, Saul Optoelectronics, and Sumitomo Electric.

 

The 100G Lambda MSA-defined new interface increases the distance between 100 GbE and 400 GbE applications over the 500m transmission distance interface currently defined by 100 Gbps (100GBASE-DR) and 400 Gbps (400GBASE-DR4) as defined by the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard . Optical specifications developed for 100 GbE at 100G Lambda MSA can achieve transmission distances of 2 to 10 kilometers and optical specifications developed at 400 GbE can achieve transmission distances of up to 2 kilometers on duplex single-mode fiber. The 100G Lambda MSA focuses primarily on 100 Gbps per wavelength and enables a complete ecosystem of technologies for the next generation of network equipment.

 

 The 100G Lambda MSA specification is available at their website 100GLambda. It is expected that MSA Group will complete the full set of specification development by early 2018. Companies will be invited to join the league as contributing members.