PMC-Sierra, Inc. (NASDAQ:PMCS) used OFC 2015 last month to launch its latest Optical Transport Network (OTN) processing device. The metro-focused DIGI-G4 offers single-chip 4x100G OTN processing with 50% less power per port than last year's DIGI-120G device (see "PMC, InPhi demo interoperability for 100G OTN ICs"). It also boasts low-latency encryption capabilities and support for software-defined networking (SDN) applications, the company says.
Aimed at line cards for packet-optical transport platforms, ROADM/DWDM systems, and emerging data center interconnect hardware, the DIGI-G4 offers flexible client mapping of Ethernet, storage, IP/MPLS, and SONET/SDH. With security a significant concern in metro and data center interconnect applications, the device offers multi-rate, sub-180-ns latency OTN encryption, according to Babak Samimi, vice president of marketing and applications for PMC-Sierra's Communications Business Unit. This includes sub-wavelength OTN encryption capabilities.
The DIGI-G4 also features an integrated 100G gearbox to support direct connections to CFP2, CFP4, and QSFP28 optical transceivers. On the line side, a framer-to-DSP interface with 25G granularity offers scalable line rates to match the programmable modulation capabilities now popular in coherent DSPs.
With SDN in mind, the device offers the ability for OTN and packet traffic to be groomed and switched together over 100G wavelengths in a converged platform. It also can dynamically provision, switch, and scale optical connections from 1- to 100-Gbps line rates without traffic interruption.
The PM5990 DIGI-G4 is sampling now. Samimi predicts the device will be in production by the end of the year.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher
Stephen Hardy has covered fiber optics for more than 15 years, and communications and technology for more than 30 years. He is responsible for establishing and executing Lightwave's editorial strategy across its digital magazine, website, newsletters, research and other information products. He has won multiple awards for his writing.
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