Here are some of my collection of newest trends and predictions for year 2018. I have not invented those ideas what will happen next year completely myself. I have gone through many articles that have given predictions for year 2018. Then I have picked and mixed here the best part from those articles (sources listed on the end of posting) with some of my own additions to make this posting.This article contains very many quotations from those source articles.
Big Data, mobility and the Internet of Things (IoT) are generating an enormous amount of data, and data center operators must find ways to support higher and higher speeds. Recent data center trends predict bandwidth requirements will continue growing 25 percent to 35 percent per year. Many older data centers were designed to support 1-gigabit or 10-gigabit pathways between servers, routers and switches. Today’s Ethernet roadmap extends from 25- and 40-gigabit up through 100-gigabit, and 400-gigabit and even 1-terabit Ethernet loom within a few years. The biggest sales are forecasted for 25G and 100G ports for next few years. Ethernet switch market has now 100 Gbit/s products in the volumes at the moment, and both 200G and 400G Ethernet versions will be taken to use in 2018.
Broadcom dominates the Ethernet switch chip market today with a 73 to 94 percent share, depending on how market watchers slice the sector valued at nearly a billion dollars. Its closest rival, Cisco Systems, takes most of the rest with systems using its own ASICs. Juniper, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Huawei also make Ethernet switch ASICs for their systems. With seven merchant chips in the pipeline and four in-house ASICs in the works, we will see a record number of unique platforms ship in 2018. Wheeler of the Linley Group expects the competition will drive Ethernet switch costs from about $60/port today to about $36/port by 2020.
Data center giants “are driving their own code and programmable capabilities as close to the server as possible.” The dozen largest data center operators — including the likes of Facebook and Google — build their own switch systems or specify systems built by ODMs. They can drive sales of millions of chips a year but demand maximum bandwidth at minimum cost and power consumption. The Tomahawk-3 is geared for the next-generation of their top-of-rack and aggregation switches, delivering up to 128 100GE or 32 400GE ports, the first merchant chip to support 400GE rates.
China will start making more optical components: Several Western component and subsystems vendors have cited reduced demand from Chinese systems houses such as Huawei and ZTE for revenue declines in 2017. One reason for the slowdown is the fact that these systems houses have begun looking for more local optical technology sources. In addition to doing more development work in-house (particularly in the case of Huawei), the two Chinese systems vendors have begun to work more closely with Chinese companies such as Accelink, Hisense, and HiSilicon as well as Japanese vendors. This can mean that Western firms (particularly in the U.S.) may not see their Chinese orders return to previous levels.
Higher power power over Ethernet: 802.3bt – IEEE Draft Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Physical Layer and Management Parameters for DTE Power via MDI over 4-Pair amendment to IEEE Std 802.3-2015 increases the maximum PD power available by utilizing all four pairs in the specified structured wiring plant. This represents a substantial increase to the capabilities of Ethernet with standardized power – allow delivery of up to 90 watts of power via existing Ethernet cabling. The Ethernet Alliance has announced details of its next plugfest: Dedicated to pre-standard testing of Power over Ethernet (PoE) technologies against Draft 3.2 of the IEEE P802.3bt standard, the event will be held in February 2018. The specification’s ratification is expected in September of 2018.
802.11ax hasn’t been signed off yet, but promises to send WiFi towards 10 Gb/s thanks to its use of both multi-user multiple-input and multiple-output (MU-MIMO) and the new Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA). 802.11ax is good at combining lots of different links so that users get more connections, more often, and end up with more bandwidth. Marvell claims it’ll have the first chipsets for new 10G WiFi ready for products in H2 2018. Marvell said the chipsets will ship some time in early 2018 and will appear in products in the second half of the year. Widespread 802.11ax adoption in devices probably won’t happen until 2019.
5G something in it for everyone. 5G is big. 5G New Radio (NR) wireless technology will ultimately impact everyone in the electronics and telecommunications industries. Most estimates say 2020 is when we will ultimately see some real 5G deployments on a scale. In the meantime, companies are firming up their plans for whatever 5G products and services they will offer. Though test and measurement solutions will be key in the commercialization cycle. 5G is set to disrupt test processes. If 5G takes off, the technology will propel the development of new chips in both the infrastructure and the handset. Data centers require specialty semiconductors from power management to high-speed optical fiber front-ends. 5G systems will drive more complexity in RF front-ends .
Networks will become more and more virtual, especially on 5G. 5G networks will build on LTE network architecture with the introduction of cloud RANs (C-RANs) and virtualized RANs. Network function virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) tools and architectures could enable operators to reduce network costs and simplify deployment. For more details read System architecture milestone of 5G Phase 1 is achieved article.
Automotive Ethernet: Automotive Ethernet will replace the Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) bus found on many vehicles today and also compete with systems like Maxim’s Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link (GMSL). The standards include IEEE 802.3bw 100BASE-T1 and IEEE P802.3bp 1000BASE-T1 that adopt the 100-Mb/s and 1-Gb/s Ethernet protocols to run over over a single twisted pair up to 15 meters. Chips, PHYs and switches are now readily available for automotive Ethernet. Automotive switches will support time-sensitive networking (TSN) features like audio video bridging (AVB) ingress policy, rate limiting andalso features 802.1Qav/Qbv queue-shaping support. We will need a Security Blanket for Automotive Ethernet.
Car-to-car communication: The industry and government have defined several versions of vehicular communications. These are vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X). V2V is the direct communications between vehicles within range of one another. V2V link-up is automatic and cars exchange status information messages Basic Safety Message (BSM) 10 times per second (contains data such as GPS location, speed, direction, brake status, and related conditions). There are competing technologies to make this all work. IEEE802.11p ahead of LTE-V2V for safety critical applications. 5G will offer increased capacity and decreased latency for some critical applications such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and self-driving vehicles. The big question is whether 5G will disrupt the landscape or fall short of its promises.
TSN (time sensitive networking) will be talked on many application. Success in the IIoT requires that information- and operational-technology networks work in tandem—time-sensitive networking can make it happen. A converged industrial network will address several challenges that currently exist in today’s disparate network architecture, and it is believed that needed convergence is provided by time-sensitive networking (TSN). TSN is a set of IEEE 802 sub-standards that, when implemented, enable deterministic communication over Ethernet networks while keeping the benefits of communication in best effort manner, on that same network. TSN introduces different traffic classes that share the same link. Proper implementation of TSN requires a solution that can provide a low latency and deterministic response at TSN end points and TSN bridges – it is usually implemented with combining a processor and a FPGA or using advanced Ethernet switch chip.
Gartner analyst says on-premises data centers will soon be ‘useless’: Govekar said that as soon as 2019, at least a third of the largest software vendors will have transitioned their products from cloud-first to cloud-only. For this reason Gartner analyst predicts doom for on-premises data centers. If this happens , there will be a lot of work for network operators and cloud service companies to be able to build the infrastructure that can handle all this without problems. I expect that not all on-premises data centers are doomed. There are applications where moving everything to central could does not make sense – for example many IoT applications are moving some of the processing from cloud to edge devices for various reasons (lower latency, reduce needed bandwidth, work also when communications does not work etc..). There is also place for some on-premises data centers on some application (may them be depending on need anything from embedded server to room full of equipment racks). When designing for the IoT, security needs to be addressed from the Cloud down to each and every edge device. Protecting data is both a hardware and a software requirement, as more data is being stored and analyzed in edge devices and gateways.
Network neutrality talks will continue in 2018. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on December 14, 2017 overturned the Title II-based Open Internet Order the previous Democratic-controlled FCC regime put in place in 2015. So what happens next? In the immediate term, nothing. The Restoring Internet Freedom Order won’t go into effect until sometime in the first half of 2018.
IPv6 usage seems to be finally accelerating in 2018. IPv6 has been a “future” since 1998, and an important future since 2007. IPv6 deployments have been increasing and chances are you have already used IPv6 – but haven’t realized it yet. IPv6 deployment is increasing around the world, with over 9 million domain names and 23% of all networks advertising IPv6 connectivity. Network admins will have many concerns about migrating to IPv6 in 2018. China plans to put the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)-based network into large-scale use, to boost the development of the Internet industry. China aims to have 200 million active users of IPv6 by the end of 2018. IPv6 use is increasing, but that does not mean that IPv4 is no way dying. It seems that both of those technologies will co-exist in Internet for a long time.
Sources:
Chinese systems houses engaging with alternative component, subsystem sources: LightCounting
System architecture milestone of 5G Phase 1 is achieved
Five technology trends for 2018
NI Trend Watch 2018 explores trends driving the future faster
ADAS Needs V2X to Meet ITS Goals
Taking Automotive Ethernet for a Test Drive
A Security Blanket for Automotive Ethernet
TSN: Converging Networks for a Better Industrial IoT
Gartner analyst says on-premises data centers will soon be ‘useless’
Gartner analyst predicts doom for on-premises data centers
M2M within the IoT – Pushing Security from the Cloud Down to Every Last Endpoint
Net Neutrality Overturned: Now What?
B’com Shifts Switch to 12.8 Tbits/s
Planning starts now for high-speed data center migration
China to speed up IPv6-based Internet development
Top 5 Concerns of Network Admins About Migrating to IPv6 in 2018
1,081 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oclaro releases tunable DWDM for DOCSIS 3.1
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2018/03/oclaro-releases-tunable-dwdm-for-docsis-3-1.html?cmpid=enl_btr_docsis_31_2018-04-06&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24
Oclaro (NASDAQ:OCLR) is making production shipments of its tunable SFP+ industrial temperature range (TSFP+ I-temp) DWDM transceiver. The transceiver is intended for cable companies deploying DOCSIS 3.1 to push fiber deeper into the hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network to reach remote PHY nodes.
With tunable lasers capable of operating from -40 to 85 degrees C, we believe the days of analog optics or fixed WDM lasers are counted. Once you start using tunable products, the operational benefits such as automatic configuration and reduced sparing are just too great to go back to legacy optics.”
The TSFP+ is Oclaro’s latest product offering to include I-temp and follows the company’s 10G TSFP+ C-temp and E-temp.
Tomi Engdahl says:
WOW! spools up the DOCSIS 3.1 drive
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2018/03/wow-spools-up-the-docsis-3-1-drive.html?cmpid=enl_btr_docsis_31_2018-04-06&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24
WOW! (NYSE:WOW) 1 Gbps Internet service is now available to 95% of the company’s customers.
The fiber-to-the-neighborhood service offers data-cap-free gigabit speeds, which would allow a user to download a full-length HD movie in 36 seconds or 25 songs in 1 second. Though some WOW! systems use fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), most of its gigabit deployments are based on DOCSIS 3.1.
“Wow! continues to make strategic investments in pushing fiber deeper into our network. However, for this launch, WOW! made the determination that delivering 1 Gig via DOCSIS 3.1 meets the vast majority of our customers’ needs and was the most capital efficient solution for the company,” said Brian Hoekelman, VP of product at WOW!.
The challenges and heavy lifting fell to the field engineering team, which had to go node-by-node, assessing current equipment and network capacity before implementing any necessary upgrades to prepare the network for a 1 Gig launch
Tomi Engdahl says:
Full duplex coming soon to a fiber near you
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2018/03/full-duplex-coming-soon-to-a-fiber-near-you.html?cmpid=enl_btr_docsis_31_2018-04-06&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24
CableLabs is working on a new fiber technology, Full Duplex Coherent Optics, an approach that is being incorporated into CableLabs’ point-to-point coherent optics specification, which is slated to be issued later this year. Changing network topology configurations will not be required.
Full Duplex Coherent Optics enables a coherent signal to be transmitted over the same fiber using the same wavelength, simultaneously in the downstream and upstream directions. This differs from traditional coherent optic links, which use the same wavelength but a separate fiber for the downstream and the upstream. Non-coherent systems, on the other hand, use a single fiber, but two wavelengths.
“The coherent technical approach CableLabs has proposed uses one wavelength and one fiber, meaning it uses only one-half of fiber wavelength resources [compared to] traditional technologies,” said Steve Jia, CableLabs distinguished technologist, wired technologies.
Coherent optics could potentially increase the fiber capacity of any existing access network fiber by 200 times. The way this would play out in a traditional system is that if an operator has 10 wavelengths in the downstream direction and 10 in the upstream direction, carrying coherent signals, the total system requires 20 wavelengths. With the full duplex coherent optics mechanism, the same system can carry these signals using only 10 wavelengths.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart home devices boost tech support needs
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2018/04/smart-home-devices-boost-tech-support-needs.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2018-04-05&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24
According to Parks Associates, problems with computing and entertainment devices are declining steadily year-over-year, dropping by more than 50% since 2014. However, smart home devices are creating more problems in households. Thirty-four percent of smart home device owners experienced problems with their devices in 2017, up from 28% in 2016. Purchase intentions for most smart home devices in the next 12 months are 20-25% among U.S. broadband households, so tech support companies and service providers are starting to invest more support resources focusing on solutions for those products, such as in-home consultation services.
“Problems with computing and entertainment devices have declined due to mature technologies that improve device reliability and performance, including self-healing technologies, product updates, and intuitive user interfaces,” said Patrice Samuels, Parks’ senior analyst. “For smart home products, this market is moving toward the early majority, who are typically less tech savvy than the early adopters, resulting in a higher demand for support.”
The research house says 44% of technical problems with computing and entertainment devices are ultimately resolved by a professional technician, while 35% of smart home problems are resolved by professional support.
Other findings indicate:
The average number of connected computing and entertainment devices in broadband households increased from 4.1 in 2010 to 8.3 in 2017.
39% of consumers who intend to purchase a smart home device found a service that helps them set up and configure new devices highly appealing in 2017, compared to 28% in 2016.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Soaring ‘SuperTowers’ Aim to Bring Mobile Broadband to Rural Areas
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/soaring-supertowers-to-bring-mobile-broadband-to-rural-areas
It’s 2018 and more than 16 million people living in the rural United States still lack adequate access to mobile broadband. But building out that infrastructure is an expensive endeavor. One analysis from 2017 estimates it would take 37,500 new cell phone towers and run upwards of $12.5 billion to bring 4G to rural areas in the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
The team at Altaeros, a Massachusetts-based company, thinks they have a better plan. Their SuperTower platform employs a tethered, autonomous aerostat that can lift antennas and receivers to an altitude of 250 meters (820 feet) to deliver mobile broadband to underserved communities. One aerostat can provide coverage for up to 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles), an area that would normally require between 20 and 30 cell phone towers. As a result, the cost of deployment is about 70 percent cheaper than the conventional infrastructure, says Ben Glass, CEO of Altaeros.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How and why CIOs should support an open internet
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2018/3/how-and-why-cios-should-support-open-internet?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
Vint Cerf, Mei Lin Fung, and David Bray discuss the key initiatives of People-Centered Internet – and how tech leaders can get involved
Tomi Engdahl says:
Understanding Wireless Range Calculations
http://www.electronicdesign.com/communications/understanding-wireless-range-calculations?PK=UM_Classics04118&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=16451&utm_medium=email&elq2=b0fd2da526384276b55694271bceae85
One of the key calculations in any wireless design is range, the maximum distance between transmitter and receiver for normal operation. This article identifies the factors involved in calculating range and shows how to estimate range to ensure a reliable communications link.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cinch Connectivity Solutions – Expanded Beam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GRFIO9wfqU
A quick illustration to show the ease of maintenance and cleaning required for one of our connectors.
Expanded Beam Connector – CTOS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Gta5isA9w
CTOS is an expanded beam fiber optic connector available in singlemode and multimode.
Tomi Engdahl says:
T-Mobile Stores Part of Customers’ Passwords In Plaintext, Says It Has ‘Amazingly Good’ Security
A T-Mobile Austria customer representative made a shocking admission in a Twitter thread.
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/7xdeby/t-mobile-stores-part-of-customers-passwords-in-plaintext-says-it-has-amazingly-good-security
Security is hard. Computer systems get more complex by the day and software is eating up the world, making the task of keeping hackers out harder and harder.
Sometimes, however, companies just make it too easy for the bad guy by disregarding the most basic and universally accepted security best practices. Today’s culprit: T-Mobile Austria.
The company admitted on Twitter that it stores at least part of their customer’s passwords in plaintext. This is a big no-no in this day and age because if anyone breaches T-Mobile (and companies are breached all the time), they could likely guess or brute-force every user’s password. If the passwords were fully encrypted or hashed, it wouldn’t be that easy. But having a portion of the credential in plaintext reduces the difficulty of decoding the hashed part and obtaining the whole password.
“Based on what we know about how people choose their passwords,” Per Thorsheim, the founder of the first-ever conference dedicated to passwords, told me via Twitter direct message, “knowing the first 4 characters of your password can make it DEAD EASY for an attacker to figure out the rest.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Revenue from optical DCI hardware reached $2.6 billion in 2017: IHS Markit
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/revenue-from-optical-dci-hardware-reached-2-6-billion-in-2017-ihs-markit.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_friday_5_2018-04-06&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2060109
According to a biannual IHS Markit report, optical data center interconnect (DCI) hardware revenue increased by 26% worldwide year-over-year, reaching $2.6 billion in 2017. IHS Markit predicts that this market will surpass $5 billion in annual sales by 2022, representing nearly 30% of all wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) equipment spending.
Tomi Engdahl says:
More than half of U.S. buildings connected to fiber: Vertical Systems Group
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/more-than-half-of-u-s-buildings-connected-to-fiber-vertical-systems-group.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_friday_5_2018-04-06&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2060109
The availability of fiber-optic connectivity to large and medium size commercial buildings in the U.S. reached 54.8% in 2017, according to Vertical Systems Group. The U.S. fiber gap fell to 45.2% for the first time as a result, states the market research firm.
The figure quantifies the scope of fiber lit buildings in the U.S. with 20 or more employees. The commercial building base covers over 2 million individual business establishments, and maps directly to the addressable market for high-speed carrier Ethernet, cloud, data center, hybrid VPN, and emerging SDN-enabled services. Last year at this time, the percentage of fiber-fed commercial buildings in the U.S. stood at 49.6% (see “Fiber reaches nearly half of U.S. commercial buildings: Vertical Systems Group”).
“More commercial U.S. buildings were newly lit with fiber during 2017 than in any other year since we initiated this research in 2004. The number of net new fiber lit buildings increased across every building size segment, and most substantially for medium size sites,” said Rosemary Cochran, principal at Vertical Systems Group. “Deployments will continue to accelerate because fiber is both a strategic asset for delivery of wireline business services, as well as a necessity for enabling 5G.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Price decline in 100GbE device shipments impacts vendors’ profitability in 2017: LightCounting
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/price-decline-in-100gbe-device-shipments-impacts-vendors-profitability-in-2017-lightcounting.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_friday_5_2018-04-06&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2060109
100GbE device shipments reached close to 2.9 million units in 2017 and is expected to surpass 5 million in 2018. In 2017, prices declined faster than anticipated, resulting in profitability concerns among vendors. Since buyers had placed duplicate orders, this eliminated some of the 100GbE demand, reports LightCounting. Much investment is needed to develop 400GbE products, and the market research firm does not anticipate that customers will purchase these products until ideal pricing is available.
Tomi Engdahl says:
APOLAN says passive optical LAN convergence a key to smart building digital transformations
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2018/04/apolan-convergence-sb.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-09&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2060775
The Association for Passive Optical LAN (APOLAN), the non-profit organization driving both education and adoption for passive optical local area networks (POL), is providing a roadmap for how POL can streamline an organization’s smart building digital transformation to keep pace with the massive growth in Internet of Things (IoT) and mobility applications. In addition to space, cost, energy and other savings, converging all services on one network to provide unparalleled speed, reliability and future-proof scalability, will be an essential piece for future business success, contends the group.
“With the total number of connected devices expected to top 20 billion by 2020, enterprises across the spectrum, including retail stores, offices, hospitals, university campuses, airports, medical research facilities and hotels, are scrambling to develop smart buildings to meet increasingly complex mobility, IoT and big data requirements,” says Alan Bertsch, Qypsys President and APOLAN chairman. “To keep up with these growing connectivity needs, modern network backbone technologies must deliver scalability to accommodate greater bandwidth as well as availability that keeps businesses going even at their busiest times.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fiber-optic cables market to grow at a 7.2% CAGR between 2018-2026 – Researcher
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/04/fiber-optic-cables-market-to-grow-at-a-7-2-cagr-between-2018-2026-researcher.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-09&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2060775
“The most prominent factor driving the fiber optic cables market growth is rapidly growing internet traffic worldwide. With increasing proliferation of mobile devices, number of internet users is on rapid rise since the past few years. As of March 2017, there were nearly 3.74 Bn internet users across the globe, resulting into higher requirement of internet bandwidth. The demand for unceasing bandwidth is yielding significant growth in the global fiber optic cables market. Fiber optic cable provides a constant, stable and fast internet connection that allows high speed data transfer with minimal interference. In recent past, it has become noticeable that fiber optic cables are rapidly replacing copper cables and other metal wires due to their wide range of advantages over electrical transmission.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Self-cleaning fiber-optic connectors from Rosenberger OSI employ Lotus effect
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/04/rosi-self-fo.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-09&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2060775
In March, Rosenberger OSI let it be known that the company is near completion of a technology research initiative “with the goal to develop a self-cleaning fiber-optic connector.” The company announced that it has “successfully developed fiber-optic cables with fiber end surfaces preventing contamination characterized by hydrophobic and oleophobic features and made possible by applying a coating under low-pressure plasma conditions. This generates an antistatic effect that generally prevents the adhesion of particles on the surface, also known as the Lotus effect.
“A big part of transmission interference in fiber-optic cables is due to the contamination of the connectors,” explains Paul Maier, product manager at Rosenberger OSI. “The Lotus effect results in hydrophobic, oleophobic and antistatic features.
“The surface of the new fiber-optic connector is characterized by dirt-, humidity- and fat repellant features.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia chosen by China Mobile to supply equipment for regional optical transport network
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/nokia-chosen-by-china-mobile-to-supply-equipment-for-regional-optical-transport-network.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_datacom_2018-04-10&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2063552
Nokia said it has been chosen by China Mobile Communications Corp. (CMCC) to supply equipment for its regional optical transport network, and deployment of the new network has already commenced. China Mobile will provide enhanced support for its customers with high-speed and ultra-low latency services through a new optical backbone, which will play a crucial part in the next-generation of mobile services that 5G will bring, Nokia attests.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CableLabs eyes latency-tolerant mobile fronthaul
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2018/04/cablelabs-eyes-latency-tolerant-mobile-fronthaul.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2018-04-10&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24
CableLabs’ Telecom Infra Project (TIP) released a white paper recently detailing the milestones that have been reached regarding a vRAN (virtual radio access network) mobile fronthaul interface.
A prototype solution has been running since August, and the TIP Community Lab officially opened in November. The project has been approved to move from Phase 0 to Phase 1, which means the move from prototype to commercial-ready, field trial-ready solutions, said Joey Padden, principal architect, wireless, CableLabs. By the fall, deployable remote radios should be ready along with deployment grade virtualized baseband units (the section that runs in the cloud).
“We are gearing up for field trials for roughly the end of the year, but (if not, then) early next year,” Padden said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
U.S. biz fiber availability reaches 54.8%
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2018/04/u-s-biz-fiber-availability-reaches-54-8.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2018-04-10&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24
According to Vertical Systems Group, the availability of optical fiber connectivity to large and medium size commercial buildings in the United States reached 54.8% in 2017. As a result, what the company calls “the U.S. Fiber Gap” has dropped to less than 50% for the first time. The annual research is intended to quantify the scope of fiber-lit buildings in the United States with 20 or more employees.
“More commercial U.S. buildings were newly lit with fiber during 2017 than in any other year since we initiated this research in 2004. The number of net new fiber-lit buildings increased across every building size segment, and most substantially for medium size sites,” said Rosemary Cochran, principal of Vertical Systems Group. “Deployments will continue to accelerate because fiber is both a strategic asset for delivery of wireline business services, as well as a necessity for enabling 5G.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wi-Fi testing: More than compliance
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/rowe-s-and-columns/4460342/Wi-Fi-testing–More-than-compliance
You probably have a Wi-Fi router at home and probably in your office as well. While all access points, routers, computers, phones, and other devices must comply with IEEE 802.11 and Ethernet Alliance standards, that’s no assurance the device will meet your expectations. The UNH-IOL has announced Wi-Fi testing services that go beyond 802.11 specifications.
Why is such testing needed? IEEE specifications don’t cover measurements such as throughput vs. signal strength, but users care about that because it affects connectivity and throughput. I can certainly see a performance decrease when a Wi-Fi device gets near the limits of my 802.11n router’s range.
“You have to test the whole internet experience,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: HCI helps simplify data center architecture, but still lacks traction
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/04/report-hci-helps-simplify-data-center-architecture-but-still-lacks-traction.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-10&pwhid=e8db06ed14609698465f1047e5984b63cb4378bd1778b17304d68673fe5cbd2798aa8300d050a73d96d04d9ea94e73adc417b4d6e8392599eabc952675516bc0&eid=293591077&bid=2062366
HCI is a software-defined IT infrastructure in which key elements of the data center (servers, storage and networks) are virtualized. Despite a number of potential benefits, few organizations have deployed hyper-converged infrastructure technology, according to a new report from WinMagic, a provider of data security products. The company hired market research firm Viga to survey 1,029 IT decision makers in the U.S., U.K., and Germany in November 2017, and found that only 15 percent report having any HCI technology in their infrastructure.
https://www.information-management.com/news/hci-helps-simplify-data-center-architecture-but-still-little-used
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rosenberger OSI develops singlemode eight-fiber MTP cabling solution for data centers
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2018/04/rosi-8-fiber.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-10&pwhid=e8db06ed14609698465f1047e5984b63cb4378bd1778b17304d68673fe5cbd2798aa8300d050a73d96d04d9ea94e73adc417b4d6e8392599eabc952675516bc0&eid=293591077&bid=2062366
Rosenberger Optical Solutions & Infrastructure (Rosenberger OSI) recently introduced a new parallel optical data center cabling solution. The company’s PreCONNECT OCTO employs the 100 GBE-PSM4 Ethernet transmission protocol to foster singlemode fiber transmissions of up to 500 meters. “Our new solution creates a powerful and efficient multi-fiber cabling product by using eight fibers per MTP connection, achieving optimal results through cost and attenuation reduction,” comments Thomas Schmidt, managing director of Rosenberger OSI.
The company notes that parallel optical data transmission of this type used to be the sole precinct of multimode cabling. That method leveraged the 40 GBE-SR4, 100 GBE-SR10, 100 GBE-SR4, or 4×16 GFC protocols.
The PreCONNECT OCTO platform fits into the spot between multimode solutions and longer-range 100 GBE-LR4 transmission implementations, adds Rosenberger OSI. “The length limitations of the transmission protocols mentioned above are an essential element even in the planning of data centers,”
Rosenberger OSI’s PreCONNECT OCT includes MTP trunks, MTP patch cords, MTP type B adapters for multimode, and type A adapters for singlemode in SMAP-G2 housing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Determining the best polarity for today’s and tomorrow’s data center cabling infrastructure
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-26/issue-3/features/data-center/determining-the-best-polarity-for-today-s-and-tomorrow-s-data-center-cabling-infrastructure.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-10&pwhid=e8db06ed14609698465f1047e5984b63cb4378bd1778b17304d68673fe5cbd2798aa8300d050a73d96d04d9ea94e73adc417b4d6e8392599eabc952675516bc0&eid=293591077&bid=2062366
Methods A, B, and C each have their attributes. How can we take advantage of each?
The three MTP polarity methods are described as Method A, Method B, and Method C. These three methods show light path (transmit to receive) using two fibers as duplex and twelves fibers as parallel connections. The three standards show MTP connectors as male (pinned) or female (non-pinned) and key-up or key-down orientation when mating in an MTP coupler. To better explore the three MTP polarity methods, understanding the components in each link is essential.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DCIM market to continue streak through 2025 – Analyst
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/04/dcim-market-to-continue-streak-through-2025-analyst.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-10&pwhid=e8db06ed14609698465f1047e5984b63cb4378bd1778b17304d68673fe5cbd2798aa8300d050a73d96d04d9ea94e73adc417b4d6e8392599eabc952675516bc0&eid=293591077&bid=2062366
Increasing demand in data center virtualization, enterprise migration into private clouds and optimization of operational costs, the data center infrastructure management (DCIM) market has emerged as the key market for IT and facilities management vendors. The recent report, Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) market fundamentally discovers insights that enable stakeholders, business owners and field marketing executives to make effective investment decisions driven by facts – rather than guesswork.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A.I. seen penetrating deep into data center networks
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/04/a-i-seen-penetrating-deep-into-data-center-networks.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-10&pwhid=e8db06ed14609698465f1047e5984b63cb4378bd1778b17304d68673fe5cbd2798aa8300d050a73d96d04d9ea94e73adc417b4d6e8392599eabc952675516bc0&eid=293591077&bid=2062366
According to Mind Commerce, the total market for AI-driven networking solutions is expected to hit $5.8 billion by 2023. In fact, by that time, more than half of the total AI spend will go toward the network. Much of this will be linked to the deployment of software-defined networking (SDN), as well as edge computing, the IoT and emerging 5G topologies on the mobile side. Ultimately, the rudimentary intelligence will lead to self-organizing networks (SON) and cognitive network management solutions capable of supporting autonomous decision-making across wide swaths of network infrastructure.
AI Delving Deep into Data Center Networks
http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/datacenter/datacenter-blog/ai-delving-deep-into-data-center-networks.html
Intelligent networking is already making its way into the enterprise, forever changing the ways in which both traffic and resources are managed. But how is this likely to play out? What aspects of modern network management are ripe for intelligence now and what is likely to evolve over time?
According to Mind Commerce, the total market for AI-driven networking solutions is expected to hit $5.8 billion by 2023. In fact, by that time, more than half of the total AI spend will go toward the network. Much of this will be linked to the deployment of software-defined networking (SDN), as well as edge computing, the IoT and emerging 5G topologies on the mobile side. Ultimately, the rudimentary intelligence will lead to self-organizing networks (SON) and cognitive network management solutions capable of supporting autonomous decision-making across wide swaths of network infrastructure.
One of the initial applications for AI on the network is visibility. As traffic becomes more complex and data infrastructure becomes more distributed over wide area infrastructure, the need to gain deep packet-level visibility and real-time telemetry increases. Barefoot Networks and Netronome recently teamed up to bring intelligent insight into end-to-end network infrastructure as a means to detect and prevent root-cause problems that impede application performance.
Chip-level solutions are incorporate higher degrees of intelligence as well. Cavium recently introduced the Packet Trakker system on the XPliant series of programmable Ethernet switches.
But even as intelligence is changing the network, it is also altering the way in which data resources are provisioned and consumed, says Market Realist’s Paige Tanner. This is most pronounced in an increasingly intelligent Internet of Things, which is upping the reliance on the cloud and causing many providers to increase the speed and agility of their internal infrastructure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Louise Matsakis / Wired:
Mozilla’s Internet Health Report 2018 calls attention to monopolization of internet by tech giants, IoT security, privacy, digital inclusion, web literacy, more
Mozilla Diagnoses the Health of the Global Internet
https://www.wired.com/story/mozilla-internet-health-report
n its first full “Internet Health Report,” the nonprofit combines research and stories to examine five main issues: privacy and security, openness, digital inclusion, web literacy, and decentralization. “It’s really a look at human life on the internet,” says Mark Surman, the executive director of the Mozilla Foundation.
How healthy is the Internet?
https://internethealthreport.org/2018/
Our 2018 compilation of research explains what’s helping and what’s hurting the Internet across five issues, from personal experience to global concerns.
Tomi Engdahl says:
UL launches data center reliability, safety certification program
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/04/ul-launches-data-center-reliability-safety-certification-program.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-10&pwhid=e8db06ed14609698465f1047e5984b63cb4378bd1778b17304d68673fe5cbd2798aa8300d050a73d96d04d9ea94e73adc417b4d6e8392599eabc952675516bc0&eid=293591077&bid=2062366
New program to certify reliability of data centers now available. Program from UL and ESD Consulting helps mitigate risk for critical business infrastructure through new UL 3223 Standard.
Mass adoption of cloud computing has created a significant new risk: the potential to affect large numbers of companies and individuals in the event of a failure of a cloud services provider’s data center, infrastructure or network. To combat this risk, UL approached ESD to collaborate on the development of an international UL Data Center Certification Program. ESD is widely regarded as a thought leader by influencers in the data center engineering, colocation and hyper-scale data center industries, and the company’s expertise enables the engineering services portion of the UL Data Center Certification Program.
The UL Data Center Certification Program helps mitigate risk for data center owners and operators by providing a set of criteria to increase end-user transparency, provider accountability, and proper data center documentation. The program addresses the continued reliability and safety of data centers by evaluating key components of critical infrastructure. The integration of multiple disciplines creates a comprehensive service for data center owners and operators, who will benefit from the combined expertise of professionals in the technology, engineering, fire and life safety, security, commissioning, and eco-energy areas of focus. Other benefits could include: reduced insurance premiums, reduced construction costs, tax exempt status on personal property and equipment tax and a high-level of marketing brand.
UL launches data center reliability and safety certification program
http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/content-tracks/design-build/ul-launches-data-center-reliability-and-safety-certification-program/99989.article
The organization wants to certify entire facilities, and not just their components
Tomi Engdahl says:
OIF and MEF collaborate on 2018 SDN transport demonstration
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/oif-and-mef-collaborate-on-2018-sdn-transport-demonstration.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_enabling_technologies_2018-04-12&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2066814
The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) unveiled plans for its 2018 software-defined networking (SDN) transport application programming interface (T-API) interoperability demonstration, advancing the global commercialization of transport SDN. The 2018 event will be a collaboration with MEF. It will aim to deliver new behavior use cases and deployment scenarios into network operator labs worldwide to test and validate the T-API 2.0 northbound interface (NBI) from the Open Networking Foundation (ONF).
This year’s event is founded on the OIF’s previous 2016 interoperability test and demonstration, addressing multi-layer and multi-domain environments (see “OIF, ONF plan SDN T-API transport API interoperability demonstration”).
Additionally, the event will combine service provisioning scenarios at the lifecycle service orchestration (LSO) Presto reference point in the MEF LSO architecture by leveraging the MEF NRP Interface profile specification (MEF 60), which defines T-API extensions in support of MEF Carrier Ethernet services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Get Ready For Integrated Silicon Photonics
https://semiengineering.com/preparing-for-integrated-silicon-photonics/
This more than Moore technology is still ramping up, and problems need to be solved, but it could lead to some fundamental changes.
Long-haul communications and data centers are huge buyers of photonics components, and that is leading to rapid advances in the technology and opening new markets and opportunities. The industry has to adapt to meet the demands being placed on it and solve the bottlenecks in the design, development and fabrication of integrated silicon photonics.
“Look at the networking bandwidth used across cloud computing, search and social networks,” says Brian Welch, director of product marketing for Luxtera. “These guys run mega data centers and they just consume outrageous amounts of bandwidth — far in excess of all of the other markets put together. The next place that could rival that scale is the 5G rollout for radio.”
But it is not just about bandwidth anymore. Integrated silicon photonics has the ability to fundamentally change some notions of computing. The industry is just beginning to see what may be possible.
Another advantage of going to 300mm is that foundries are more likely to be using advanced fabrication technologies. “While you don’t need great lithography for optics, it doesn’t hurt,” says Welch. “The structures are huge compared to transistors, and most optical structures have infinite bandwidth, so they don’t need to scale like you need to scale CMOS to make it faster.”
In fact, talking about node sizes doesn’t really make sense for optics. “The wavelength of a photon is quite a bit larger than the wavelength of an electron,” points out Nagarajan. “This is why electronics can go to a 7nm node. However, standard silicon photonic devices are at 130nm or 180nm node, and that is usually using a 245nm lithography line. Optical devices are different from electrical in that they are phase-sensitive. Sidewall roughness and losses matter. When these things are important it is not the node that is important. It is the quality of the lithography and etch that goes with the finer node, but at a larger scale.”
While you may not want to use a 7nm node, the development for that may indirectly help. “All of the progress we have made towards having reduced line roughness on small gates are applicable,”
The problem now is that photonics does not use a traditional CMOS process, and that has limited the number of foundries willing to manufacture the devices. “You want to use all of the tools that exist in the foundry and we want as few deviations as possible,”
Integration
Integration is the driver for data centers. “Integration really matters because it drives down costs,” says Welch. “As you optimize for cost or power, you will evolve towards more integration. So you can get closer to the switch, until eventually you are in the switch and achieve maximum density. This was the same for copper. It used to have discrete PHYs, but over time they got integrated at higher densities in the back of the switch itself. The same will play out in optics.”
“The photonics die is generally lower cost to manufacture,” says Chris Cone, product marketing manager in the Custom IC design group of Mentor, a Siemens Business. “They are generated at a lower technology node such as 130 or 65nm, and the photonics dies tend to be larger. This means they can be flip-bonded, with a CMOS die bonded on top of it. We are seeing large strides in this area. Imagine a CMOS die flip bonded on top of a photonics die, and this die is somewhat larger so you can use it as an interposer. Then you need access to the CMOS die and that would require some form of through-silicon vias (TSV) approach to gain access to the electrical signals.”
One significant problem remains. The laser itself. “A major issue is the integration of the active optical elements, which are typically compound semiconductor-based lasers,” says Martin Eibelhuber, deputy head of business development for the EV Group. “The performance of these lasers cannot be met by silicon-based devices and thus heterogeneous material integration is required, which is not common to a standard CMOS infrastructure. Direct wafer bonding has proven to be an excellent method of combining different materials — allowing high-quality integration at low costs. Due to geometrical constraints, a full wafer-to-wafer bonding approach is not preferred for silicon photonics and thus collective die transfer processes utilizing plasma activated direct bonding have been developed.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Indented Arrays Boost Full-Duplex Systems
http://www.mwrf.com/components/indented-arrays-boost-full-duplex-systems?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180412_MWRF-001_150&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=16497&utm_medium=email&elq2=417c4d4e1cce4d8aac19d64a82eeffbd
The use of indented antenna arrays can improve the isolation between transmit and receive functions in full-duplex communications systems.
The use of STAR signals within the same frequency band has often been the operating approach of continuous-wave (CW) radar systems and it is increasingly being used in full-duplex communications systems. The approach eliminates the need to separate the frequency spectrum into two different functional portions (while also eliminating the need for a diplexer to do the spectral separating) and clears the way for programmable use of different portions of the active frequency spectrum, such as by means of a software-defined-radio (SDR) communications systems approach.
To explore the effectiveness of indented antenna arrays in STAR full-duplex communications systems, researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles examined the design of a four-element standalone indented antenna array and compared its performance to a conventional antenna array operating in the approximate frequency range of 3.2 to 3.4 GHz. When making measurements at about 3.35 GHz, they found more than 15-dB improvement in return loss for the indented antenna array compared to the conventional antenna array, with much improved isolation between the transmit and receive functions for the antenna array operating within the same frequency band.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How a rural electric co-op connected a community
http://nmpolitics.net/index/2018/04/how-a-rural-electric-co-op-connected-a-community/
An increasing number of rural electric cooperatives in the U.S. are launching locally run fiber-optic internet networks, a model researchers cite as a way to bring New York City-speed internet to rural areas ignored by major telecommunications companies who can’t make enough return on investment. Of the roughly 900 electric cooperatives in the U.S., 60 offer fiber-optic internet access. That’s up from just a dozen or so a decade ago.
Questions continue for how Kit Carson can provide back-up internet businesses need during outages. And homeowners who want a fiber-optic connection today face hefty start-up fees.
But the alternative – limited to no access to high-speed internet – has implications for rural communities.
Andrew Gonzales, the telecommunications manager for Kit Carson, says cost is the biggest barrier for electric co-ops starting their own internet services. Gonzales is pictured here in Kit Carson’s server room in Taos.
Tomi Engdahl says:
U.S. Commerce Dept. finds ZTE violated export disciplinary agreement, bans U.S. component supply
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/u-s-commerce-dept-finds-zte-violated-export-disciplinary-agreement-bans-u-s-component-supply.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_service_providers_2018-04-16&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2069243
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced today that it would ban U.S. companies from providing components to ZTE because the Chinese company failed to comply with the terms of a disciplinary agreement reached in March 2017 arising from U.S. export law violations. The ban, slated to last seven years, also prevents others from reselling U.S. components to ZTE. The action has a direct effect on optical component and subsystems vendors who had ZTE on their customer rosters.
In March 2016, the Department of Commerce slapped export restrictions on U.S. technology to ZTE under suspicion that the Chinese communications systems house had sold equipment to Iran and North Korea containing U.S. technology between January 2010 and early 2016 (later amended to April 2016).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Photonic communication comes to computer chips
https://news.mit.edu/2018/startup-ayar-labs-optoelectronic-computer-chips-0406
Startup’s optoelectronic chips could reduce energy usage by up to 50 percent in data centers while increasing computing speeds.
Backed by years of research at MIT and elsewhere, Ayar has developed chips that move data around with light but compute electronically. The unique design integrates speedy, efficient optical communications — with components that transmit data using light waves — into traditional computer chips, replacing less efficient copper wires.
According to the startup, the chips can reduce energy usage by about 95 percent in chip-to-chip communications and increase bandwidth tenfold over their copper-based counterparts. In massive data centers — Ayar’s first target application — run by tech giants such as Facebook and Amazon, the chips could cut total energy usage by 30 to 50 percent, says CEO Alex Wright-Gladstein MBA ’15.
“Right now there’s a bandwidth bottleneck in big data centers,” says Wright-Gladstein, who co-founded Ayar with Chen Sun PhD ’15 and Mark Wade, a University of Colorado graduate and former MIT researcher. “That’s an exciting application and the first place that really needs this technology.”
Ayar’s core technology — now backed by more than 25 academic papers — is a decade in the making.
The idea was to help data transmission keep up with Moore’s Law. The number of transistors on a chip may double every two years, Wright-Gladstein says, “but the amount of data we push across those copper pins hasn’t grown at the same rate.”
The idea was to help data transmission keep up with Moore’s Law. The number of transistors on a chip may double every two years, Wright-Gladstein says, “but the amount of data we push across those copper pins hasn’t grown at the same rate.”
One solution is light. An optical wire can transmit multiple data signals on different wavelengths of light, while copper wires are limited to one signal per wire. Optical chips can, therefore, transmit more information using significantly less space. Moreover, photonics produce very little waste heat.
To avoid making changes to the CMOS process, the researchers focused on a new class of miniaturized optical components, including photodetectors, light modulators, waveguides, and optical filters that encode data on different wavelengths of light, and then transmit and decode it. They essentially “hacked” the traditional method for silicon chip design, using layers intended for electronics to build optical devices, and enabling chip designs to include optics more tightly configured than ever inside a chip’s structure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Faster speeds main driver for G.fast deployment: Broadbandtrends
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/faster-speeds-main-driver-for-g-fast-deployment-broadbandtrends.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_friday_5_2018-04-13&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2068009
Broadbandtrends conducted a global service provider survey of broadband operators’ plans to deploy G.fast technology within their network. Of the “Global Service Provider Survey: 2018 G.fast Deployment Strategies and Vendor Leadership” participants, 80% plan to deploy G.fast by the end of 2018, with 27% currently in live deployments.
G.fast and other broadband copper technologies advances continue to extend the life of the copper plant by delivering speeds that will support developing high-bandwidth applications
While G.fast enables operators to address both the competitive environment and time to market demands with aggregate speeds of up to 2 Gbps, they are primarily interested in G.fast deployment to provide faster speeds (greater than 250 Mbps), according to the survey. Operators plan to remain tactical in their deployment over the next two years, focusing primarily on deployment of MDUs with copper infrastructure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia chosen by China Mobile to supply equipment for regional optical transport network
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/nokia-chosen-by-china-mobile-to-supply-equipment-for-regional-optical-transport-network.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_friday_5_2018-04-13&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2068009
Nokia said it has been chosen by China Mobile Communications Corp. (CMCC) to supply equipment for its regional optical transport network, and deployment of the new network has already commenced. China Mobile will provide enhanced support for its customers with high-speed and ultra-low latency services through a new optical backbone, which will play a crucial part in the next-generation of mobile services that 5G will bring, Nokia attests.
As Chinese consumers and businesses are quickly adopting cloud and 4G mobile services, China Mobile is responding by building the optical transport network to support advanced data center interconnect, consumer broadband services, and 4G backhaul. The network will also support 5G and the next-generation of network services, Nokia says.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DWDM Optical Modules Take It to the Edge
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/dwdm-optical-modules-take-it-to-the-edge.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_datacom_2018-04-17&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2071061
The need for low latency and quality of service is driving cloud traffic ever closer to the edge of the network. In response, cloud providers are moving toward a new distributed data center architecture of multiple edge data centers rather than a single mega-data center in a geographic market. This distributed data center model requires an orders-of-magnitude increase in optical connectivity among the edge data centers to ensure reliable and robust service quality for the end users.
As a result, the industry is clamoring for low-cost and high-bandwidth transceivers between network elements. The advent of pluggable 100G Ethernet DWDM
modules in QSFP28 form factor holds the promise of superior performance, tremendous cost savings, and scalability.
Moving data to the edge
According to Cisco, global IP traffic will increase nearly threefold over the next 5 years, and will have increased 127-fold from 2005 to 2021. In addition, almost half a billion (429 million) mobile devices and connections were added in 2016. Smartphones accounted for most of that growth, followed by machine-to-machine (M2M) modules. As these devices continue to multiply, the need to bring the data center closer to the sources, devices, and networks all producing data is driving the shift to the network’s edge.
With 5G on the horizon, bandwidth will continue to be a major challenge. Cisco predicts that although 5G will only be 0.2% of connections (25 million) by 2021, it will generate 4.7 times more traffic than the average 4G connection.
Data center virtualization
Applications and virtualization are driving the need for low-latency network requirements, further propelling the need for data to be stored closer to the user. For example, with the increased popularity of software as a service (SaaS) applications such as Microsoft 365 and Salesforce.com, enterprises are replacing proprietary, on-site applications and workloads with third-party alternatives hosted in public cloud data centers. This shift requires optical connections in both private buildings and data centers in addition to the external workloads and applications being processed, effectively creating a virtual enterprise campus. This rise in migrating application workloads is increasing the demand for a fast, reliable, and cost-effective optical connectivity approach.
Overcoming the fiber bottleneck: 100G DWDM
The recent bandwidth surge often leads to available fiber pairs becoming fully consumed. The result is fiber exhaustion, a condition that can be a particular issue in dense urban areas where the data centers tend to be smaller and segmented over several discrete sites.
Adding more fiber may be prohibited by conduit size, permit requirements (right of way), service startup time, or most importantly construction cost, which can add up to millions of dollars depending on location and distance. Any one or combination of these factors can prevent operators from scaling their network quickly and efficiently to meet their user’s growing demands.
Wavelengths in the C-Band range from 1520 nm to 1577 nm, and typical low-cost multiplexers/demultiplexers operate on a 100-GHz grid supporting up to 48 independent channels in a single fiber. The 1550-nm C-Band window also leverages the capabilities and cost of Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) to account for optical system losses. Although an investment in a DWDM line system is required, the payback can be in the order of months depending on the bandwidth and fiber availability.
Traditionally, 100G DWDM technology is optimized for transport applications that can connect data centers at hundreds to thousands of kilometers. These 100G DWDM offerings require up to 25 W per 100G and are available in large-chassis transport boxes or telecom CFP/CFP2 modules, rather than the data center industry standard 100G QSFP28 form factor.
Recently, a new breed of DWDM QSFP28 module, based upon silicon photonics and PAM4 modulated transmission, has been introduced in the market. This transceiver enables IP over DWDM (IPoDWDM), a paradigm for cost-effective, scalable DWDM interconnect for distributed data center architecture. Use of such pluggable modules enables convergence of the optical layer inside as well as between edge data centers, enabling switch-to-switch connectivity up to 80 km without the need for a dedicated transport layer.
These modules can also support up to 40 DWDM channels on a single fiber, giving network operators a 40x increase in fiber utilization or spectral efficiency (4 Tbps versus 100 Gbps in a single fiber pair).
Tomi Engdahl says:
UK’s National Cyber Security Centre warns use of ZTE equipment poses national security risk
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/uk-s-national-cyber-security-centre-warns-use-of-zte-equipment-poses-national-security-risk.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_datacom_2018-04-17&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2071061
As if ZTE wasn’t already having a bad week after the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed a seven-year ban on access to U.S. communications components (see “U.S. Commerce Dept. finds ZTE violated export disciplinary agreement, bans U.S. component supply”), the company’s reputation has been called into question by a UK cyber-security agency. A statement posted April 16, 2018, on the website of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) advised against the use of ZTE equipment in UK telecommunications networks. The post is being backed by a letter addressed to the UK telecommunications community.
The NCSC is part of the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), a group that provides signal intelligence and related services to the UK government and military. NCSC aims to prevent cyber attacks, manage such incidents, and improve UK network security. And it doesn’t like the looks of ZTE.
“It is entirely appropriate and part of NCSC’s duty to highlight potential risks to the UK’s national security and provide advice based on our technical expertise,”according to Dr. Ian Levy, technical director of the NCSC, via the website post. “NCSC assess that the national security risks arising from the use of ZTE equipment or services within the context of the existing UK telecommunications infrastructure cannot be mitigated.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Virtualization: Building specs for remote MACPHY
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2018/04/virtualization-building-specs-for-remote-macphy.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2018-04-17&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24
CableLabs recently launched the Remote MACPHY working group as part of its Distributed CCAP Architecture program in order to develop specifications to ensure the interoperability of MACPHY solutions when deployed.
As the name indicates, the aim of remote MACPHY is to put both main functions of the CMTS/CCAP device – the MAC and the PHY – out into the access network. “Technically speaking, you (wouldn’t) have anything in the headend that would resemble a CCAP any more,” said Jon Schnoor, lead engineer, CableLabs wired technologies.
The first phase of the MACPHY project will see the MAC and the PHY in the node together as kind of a mini-CMTS self-contained in the node. Then in phase 2, the MAC and the PHY will be pulled apart again. The remote MAC core will be MAC functionality in software form, which could be installed anywhere in the access network – headend on a shelf, hub site, in a pedestal, etc.
“It gives operators flexibility,” Schnoor said.
The timeline is still being defined within the Remote MACPHY group. Right now, the discussion is centering on what the interfaces are that need specifications. Phase 1 should be well underway by the middle of the year.
“The plan is to hit major milestones each quarter so that in 2019, operators can hit the ground running with certain features,” Schnoor said.
As for the benefits, aside from flexibility, distributed access and remote MACPHY bring the ability to provide the gigabit speeds users are demanding without the real estate and power requirements.
“Operators want to get out of the real estate business … to build out the infrastructure to support bandwidth needs (without a distributed architecture), they would have to double or triple their real estate. They don’t want to do that,” Schoor said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s next for ZTE, and optical suppliers, after ban?
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/what-s-next-for-zte-and-optical-suppliers-after-ban.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_datacom_2018-04-17&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2071061
A day after the U.S. Department of Commerce activated a previously suspended seven-year ban on U.S. component sales to ZTE (see “U.S. Commerce Dept. finds ZTE violated export disciplinary agreement, bans U.S. component supply”), the optical community is still evaluating the fallout. Questions remain about where ZTE will turn to replace the U.S. optical communications devices that play important roles in ZTE’s systems, as well as how ZTE’s U.S. suppliers will deal with the sudden loss of a customer.
ZTE says it is taking stock of the situation. “ZTE is aware of the denial order activated by the United States Department of Commerce,” the company posted on its website. “At present, the company is assessing the full range of potential implications that this event has on the company and is communicating with relevant parties proactively in order to respond accordingly.”
As it is unknown whether ZTE can appeal the Commerce Dept. action, observers have begun speculating about where ZTE might find alternative sources of coherent DSPs and other semiconductors, optical modules, and optical components.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s the Difference Between Long- and Short-Haul Links?
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/what-s-difference-between-long-and-short-haul-links?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180417_MWRF-001_62&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=16728&utm_medium=email&elq2=ca7fda45ef5e4d66ae0b197805abfcf7
Wireless communications can be performed over near and far distances depending on a number of factors, including transmit power, receive sensitivity, and operating frequency.
The Long and the Short of It
Although there’s no absolute definition as to what constitutes a short-haul wireless link versus a long-haul link, a short-haul link is considered anything covering a few kilometers or less while a long-haul link is usually 20 to 50 km or longer. The relatively long wireless links between cellular communications systems, such as 4G LTE, can usually be identified, at least at one end, by their fairly large parabolic dish antennas
Frequency plays a part in any link budget, especially for longer links, since long-distance links require the longer propagation distances of larger-wavelength, lower-frequency signals rather than smaller-wavelength, higher-frequency signals. Long-distance microwave radio links are usually operating at lower frequencies licensed by an applicable government organization, such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Licensed bands at 6 and 11 GHz are now used for long-haul links in 4G LTE systems, to transfer callers from their local access point to their intended listener.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Distributed Access Architecture (DAA)
Video and Data capabilities for distributed network evolution
http://www.arris.com/solutions/distributed-access-architecture/
Bandwidth usage continues to grow year-on-year, a trend driven by consumer video consumption from Internet video services. Service Providers are looking to extend their service offerings to deliver IP video, 4K video, and business services. Meeting network demand, along with practical constraints in their network operations including physical space, power consumption and cooling in head-end locations, is driving the evolution of the network.
Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) enables the evolution of cable networks by decentralizing and virtualizing headend and network functions. DAA extends the digital portion of the head-end or hub domain out to the fiber optic node and places the digital to RF interface at the optical-coax boundary in the node. Replacing the analog optics from the head-end converts the fiber link to a digital fiber Ethernet link, increasing the available bandwidth improving fiber efficiencies (wavelengths and distance), and directional alignment with NFV/SDN/FTTx systems of the future.
HFC networks are defined by analog fiber plumbing. DAA replaces analog fiber with IP connections (digital fiber) and creates a software-defined network
For Service Providers, the resources to run additional fiber, implement node splits and upgrade head-end facilities require significant investment. DAA can be implemented gradually with normal plant and service upgrades and without disrupting legacy services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The debate on Distributed Access Architectures is over. Here’s why
https://www.nokia.com/en_int/blog/debate-distributed-access-architectures-heres
I love a good argument. Who doesn’t? For me, it’s not so much about winning (OK, sometimes it’s about winning), it’s more about the satisfaction of reaching an agreement. Putting something to bed. Aligning on a way forward.
Our industry, of course, really loves a good argument.
Distributed access architectures (DAA) unleash new bandwidth in cable access. This is essential for operators to keep up with rocketing demand for ultra-broadband. Between 2010 and 2020, internet users are growing by a factor of 4, average broadband speeds by a factor of 7, and IP traffic (most of which is video) by a factor of 101.
While we all had high hopes for CCAP (Converged Cable Access Platform), it doesn’t really cut it in the face of this IP explosion. And while full fiber-to-the-home is the long-term destination for many cable operators, it will take some time – and money – to get there.
DAA arrived at the right time as a way of boosting capacity by solving headend constraints and improving outside plant efficiency. The trouble, and the start of the argument, was that it arrived in two flavors.
DAA with Remote-PHY moves the DOCSIS signal generation (PHY) into the access node so that the analog fiber between headend and node can become digital. This gives much better performance in the outside plant.
DAA with Remote-MACPHY, on the other hand, pushes both the PHY and DOCSIS processing (MAC) to the access node. As well as the benefits of digital fiber, this frees up an enormous amount of space in the headend which can be reused for extra capacity.
You might be thinking so, what’s the problem? Operators have a choice, which is a good thing. The problem is that networks are not homogenous. Different portions need different solutions at different times, depending upon the operator’s plans. And, unfortunately, our industry has struggled to find a way for both to coexist, forcing some operators to get locked in to a single approach.
By fully leveraging SDN and NFV, we’ve created a flexible cable access approach called virtualized distributed access architecture (vDAA). It virtualizes the CMTS function so it can be placed at any point in the network:
in the node to create a Remote-MACPHY device,
in the outside plant close to the node,
in the hub or headend, or in the central datacenter.
And it has a universal node that can be converted from R-PHY to R-MACHPHY, or vice versa, on the fly.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Netflix does failovers in 7 minutes flat
https://opensource.com/article/18/4/how-netflix-does-failovers-7-minutes-flat?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
Netflix decreased the time it takes to respond to an outage from 45 minutes to seven with no additional cost.
During winter 2012, Netflix suffered an extended outage that lasted for seven hours due to problems in the AWS Elastic Load Balancer service in the US-East region. (Netflix runs on Amazon Web Services [AWS]—we don’t have any data centers of our own.
During the outage, none of the traffic going into US-East was reaching our services.
To prevent this from happening again, we decided to build a system of regional failovers that is resilient to failures of our underlying service providers. Failover is a method of protecting computer systems from failure in which standby equipment automatically takes over when the main system fails.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Virtualization: Building specs for remote MACPHY
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2018/04/virtualization-building-specs-for-remote-macphy.html?cmpid=enl_btr_docsis_31_2018-04-18&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24
CableLabs recently launched the Remote MACPHY working group as part of its Distributed CCAP Architecture program in order to develop specifications to ensure the interoperability of MACPHY solutions when deployed.
As the name indicates, the aim of remote MACPHY is to put both main functions of the CMTS/CCAP device – the MAC and the PHY – out into the access network. “Technically speaking, you (wouldn’t) have anything in the headend that would resemble a CCAP any more,” said Jon Schnoor, lead engineer, CableLabs wired technologies.
he first phase of the MACPHY project will see the MAC and the PHY in the node together as kind of a mini-CMTS self-contained in the node. Then in phase 2, the MAC and the PHY will be pulled apart again. The remote MAC core will be MAC functionality in software form, which could be installed anywhere in the access network – headend on a shelf, hub site, in a pedestal, etc.
“It gives operators flexibility,” Schnoor said.
Remote MACPHY architecture also will allow operators to remove or replace analog optics in the access network with digital optics to extend the reach of the access and reduce costs. Ethernet can be used between the CCAP core and the PHY device, which removes the constraints of traditional cable and analog optics. Fiber amplifiers are not needed, and operators can increase access network distances and get better efficiency, Schoor said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CableLabs eyes latency-tolerant mobile fronthaul
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2018/04/cablelabs-eyes-latency-tolerant-mobile-fronthaul.html?cmpid=enl_btr_docsis_31_2018-04-18&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24
The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) recently has released a white paper detailing the milestones that have been reached regarding a vRAN (virtual radio access network) mobile fronthaul interface developed with the participation of CableLabs.
TIP, an offshoot of the Open Compute Project, was founded by Deutsche Telecom, Facebook, Intel, SK Telecom and Nokia in 2016. It is now run by a board of directors, with CableLabs running a TIP Community Lab.
A prototype solution has been running since August, and the TIP Community Lab officially opened in November. The project has been approved to move from Phase 0 to Phase 1, which means the move from prototype to commercial-ready, field trial-ready solutions, said Joey Padden, principal architect, wireless, CableLabs. By the fall, deployable remote radios should be ready along with deployment grade virtualized baseband units (the section that runs in the cloud).
“We are gearing up for field trials for roughly the end of the year, but (if not, then) early next year,” Padden said.
What does this mean? vRAN uses the same concepts as remote PHY DOCSIS, but applied to LTE, Padden said. The traditional LTE base station is split and has a cloud portion that could run on the same server that is running your virtualized CCAP. The connection in between this baseband unit and the remote radio is called the fronthaul link.
The traditional fronthaul protocol requires extremely low latency on the order of microseconds, but the TIP fronthaul group is working on a protocol that can tolerate latency of up to 30 milliseconds. “This is multiple orders of magnitude than traditional front haul solutions,” Padden said.
Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI), for example, requires something on the order of 260 microseconds of latency at the most. DOCSIS networks usually have latency of somewhere between 10 milliseconds and 20 milliseconds, which basically rules out using CPRI over DOCSIS, Padden said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
159 terabytes per second
Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT) Institute for Network Systems and Fiber Manufacturer Fujikura have developed a three-way optical fiber that is capable of broadband communication in its outer diameter with a standard fiber that can be connected to existing equipment.
The partners have successfully completed a 1045-kilometer transfer test with a data rate of 159 terabytes per second. Enhancement technology was introduced at the recently held OFC 2018 event.
During the year 2017, several petabits per second passed experiments in multi-core fibers. Generally, however, it has been estimated that the transfer of large capacity and long distance would be difficult in multi-format fiber.
Multiphase fibers have different propagation delays between different color optical signals, which complicates high data rate and long distance transmission. NICT’s achievement shows that such restrictions can be overcome.
The achieved result can be expressed as a data rate and distance of 166 Pb / s × km. This is a world record for the outside diameter of the standard (0.125 milliard) fiber.
To achieve a record breaking capacity of 159 terabytes, the multiplexing of a single link was 16-QAM.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7875-159-terabittia-sekunnissa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsemi DIGI-G5 supports 1.2 Tbps of combined OTN, client interfaces
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/microsemi-digi-g5-supports-1-2-tbps-of-combined-otn-client-interfaces.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_enabling_technologies_2018-04-19&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2074826
Microsemi Corp. (NASDAQ: MSCC) has extended its family of DIGI Optical Transport Network (OTN) silicon with the DIGI-G5, which the company says delivers a 3X increase in capacity while reducing power consumption per port by 50%. In addition to OTN 3.0 and Flexible OTN (FlexO), the device will support 25 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), 50GbE, 200GbE, 400GbE, and Flexible Ethernet (FlexE). The DIGI-G5 will enable designs that support 1.2 Tbps of combined OTN and client interfaces, Microsemi asserts, while offering an integrated security engine.
Additional features include 56G PAM4 serializer/deserializer (SerDes) functionality that enables direct connection to QSFP-DD, OSFP, and coherent digital signal processors (DSPs). An integrated packet test set enables remote troubleshooting and debug, while the integrated CrypOTN security engine supports end-to-end AES-256 based encryption and authentication. The device also features integrated G.HAO bandwidth-on-demand processing for OTN switching networks
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cignal AI bullish on 400G coherent
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/cignal-ai-bullish-on-400g-coherent.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_enabling_technologies_2018-04-19&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2074826
Cignal AI doesn’t believe coherent 400-Gbps technology will begin ramping significantly until next year – but it will prove more popular than the market research firm initially anticipated, according to the company’s most recent “Optical Applications Report.” Andrew Schmitt, lead analyst at Cignal AI, cites a growing number of applications for pluggable 400G ZR technology as well as improved performance from systems operating at 400G and greater across all distances.
“Coherent 400G will cap the growth of existing 200G and 100G technologies by 2020 as new equipment becomes available that maximizes optical capacity independent of reach,” said Andrew Schmitt, lead analyst for Cignal AI. “Compact modular equipment is the enabling platform, with revenue almost quadrupling in 2017, and we expect that it will continue to grow at least 40 percent per year through 2022.”
That leaves vendors of 100G and 200G coherent to maximize their opportunities in the short term. The report indicates 200G technology accounts for more than 10 percent of the market, with Ciena and Nokia leading the way. Meanwhile, coherent 100G port shipment growth in North America outpaced that of the Chinese market during 2017 for the first time. However, price declines offset the increased port shipments, leaving revenue growth flat.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Phononic non-hermetic compatible thermoelectric cooler targets telecom, datacom laser packages
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/04/phononic-non-hermetic-compatible-thermoelectric-cooler-targets-telecom-datacom-laser-packages.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_enabling_technologies_2018-04-19&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2074826
Phononic now offers a Non-Hermetic Compatible Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC) Platform for use alongside communications lasers for telecom and datacom applications. The TEC platform enables high reliability and cooling performance with low power consumption, according to the company.
“Laser performance can be significantly hindered by environmental challenges inside laser packages,” said Kevin Granucci, general manager and vice president of sales, Phononic. “Humidity, condensation, corrosion, and even ice formation are all potential impediments that can degrade laser slope efficiency or increase coupling losses, which reduce data transmission rate, reach, and the usable lifetime of a TOSA. Hermetic packaging to safeguard against these conditions has historically been challenging and expensive to implement. Non-hermetic laser packaging that not only overcomes reliability and cost obstacles, but is cooled as well, could greatly advance today’s optical communications technology, further accelerating the global transition to wireless 5G networks.”
The company asserts the new TEC platform aids in the development of non-hermetic laser packages.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Globally, there are 145 billion emails sent per day. Television is going from cable to streaming. The internet of things is touching more devices daily. There are 7 billion technology users who touch the cloud or co-location data centers every day.
Source: https://www.csemag.com/single-article/certifying-data-centers/a024d7e0b7b5398c28d1b482150c0cd2.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: DOJ has sent subpoenas to the top 4 US mobile carriers and GSMA association over alleged collusion to impede eSIM features for easier carrier switching
Justice Department Probes U.S. Wireless Carriers’ Work on SIM Card Alternative
https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-probes-u-s-wireless-carriers-work-on-sim-card-alternative-1524261509
AT&T, Verizon at center of probe into whether major carriers are making it harder for subscribers to switch providers
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether U.S. wireless carriers and an industry trade group teamed up to make it harder for cellphone subscribers to switch providers, according to people familiar with the investigation.