OIF launches 3.2T Co-Packaged Module project

March 11, 2021
The 3.2T Co-Packaged Optical Module Implementation Agreement (IA) effort is the started under the umbrella of the Co-Packaged Framework Project unveiled last November

OIF says its members launched a 3.2T Co-Packaged Module project at the recently concluded first quarter 2021 meeting, held virtually February 22-26. The project targets technology for data center switching applications.

The 3.2T Co-Packaged Optical Module Implementation Agreement (IA) effort is the started under the umbrella of the Co-Packaged Framework Project unveiled last November (see “OIF targets Co-Packaging Framework Implementation Agreement”). The module codified within the IA is expected to use 100G electrical lanes and will include the following interoperability specifications:

  • Optical interface options supporting 400GBASE-FR4 and 400GBASE-DR4 with backwards compatible to 200G interfaces
  • CEI-112G-XSR high-speed electrical interfaces
  • Electrical, mechanical, and management interface.

“This 3.2T Co-Packaging project builds on OIF’s 20+ year successful track record to anticipate and address the industry’s needs,” said Jeff Hutchins, Ranovus and OIF Physical and Link Layer Working Group, Co-Packaging vice chair. “With its broad membership from across the ecosystem, OIF is well positioned to create unified host, module, and control specifications.”

“The industry has clearly articulated the need for a standardized co-packaged solution to address data center power constraints, and further, to enable new network architectures and applications,” added Mark Filer, Microsoft principal hardware engineer and OIF board member. “The 3.2T Co-Packaged Optical Module project is a concrete step toward that goal, and OIF is uniquely qualified to rapidly execute on the implementation agreement in order to meet the market needs.”

Also at the meeting, members of the OIF Networking Interoperability Working Group and Telecom Infra Project (TIP) MUST project participated in a joint workshop. The groups agreed to explore potential projects to further define, validate, and implement transport SDN technologies in open, disaggregated open optical networks. Results of the collaboration will leverage the TIP MUST reference architecture and use cases as well as outcomes from the OIF 2020 Transport SDN API Interoperability Demonstration (see “January 12th Webinar: OIF 2020 Transport SDN API Interop Demo Read-out”).

Finally Jia He of Huawei Technologies., Ltd. was elected as the new Networking & Operations Working Group chair.

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.

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