OIF plans record number of interoperability demonstrations at ECOC 2013

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) says it will host a record number of multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations at ECOC 2013 in London, September 23 – 25, at the OIF Booth #360. Addressing a wide range of technologies that support 100G and 400G architectures, 11 companies will verify the interoperability of their products in nine separate and diverse demonstrations. The demonstrations will illustrate the feasibility of building and implementing next-generation 100-Gbps and 400-Gbps capabilities into products today, the OIF asserts.

OIF Interoperability 2013 will encompass a variety of OIF-supported technologies, including CEI-28G-VSR chip-to-module interfaces for CFP2 and QSFP28 pluggable module form factors; CEI-25G-LR backplane applications; module thermal specifications; and SerDes interconnect devices. It will show the progress that has occurred since CEI-28G-VSR and CEI-25G-LR interoperability demos at last year's ECOC (see "OIF plans CEI-25G-LR and CEI-28G-VSR demos at ECOC").

“The OIF has defined a robust 25G channel technology that the industry is now adopting for 25G, 50G, 100G, and 400G applications,” said Ed Frlan of Semtech and the OIF Physical and Link Layer Interoperability Working Group chair. “By showing that the technology interoperates with multiple vendors in hardware that is available today, the industry can now leverage the investments made in 25G technology for future 100G and 400G applications.”

Companies participating in the interoperability event include Amphenol, Applied Micro, Cisco, Finisar, Fujitsu Optical Components, Inphi, Molex, MoSys, Semtech, TE Connectivity, and Xilinx. Technologies demonstrated during the testing includes host ICs with VSR SerDes capability, host PCB traces, optical module connectors, high-speed electrical I/O and backplane connectors, module retimers, heat sinks, and optical transceivers all operating with 28G electrical interfaces. Agilent Technologies Inc. and Tektronix, Inc. will supply test equipment used in the demonstrations.

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