How High-Speed Fiber Applications is impacting the Networking Arena

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How High-Speed Fiber Applications is impacting
the Networking Arena?-Mark Mullins
www.flukenetworks.com 2006-2017 Fluke
Corporation
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How High-Speed Fiber Applications is impacting
the Networking Arena?
In last weeks blog, we took a Closer Look at 40
Gig Duplex Multimode Applications, just one of
the many ways that todays data centers are
cost-effectively achieving increased bandwidth in
switch-to-switch fiber links. And when we
say many ways, we literally mean many. If you
take a look at network application standards for
balanced twisted-pair cable, theres not that
many to be concerned with. Sure, we had a
methodical shift from 10BASE-T, to 100BASE-T, to
1000BASE-T, to 10GBASE-T that then jumped back to
2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T to accommodate new
technologies over the installed base and then
forward again to the upcoming 25GBASE-T and
40GBASE-T standards, but all of this is nothing
compared to fiber. And unlike fiber, there are
few, if any, non-standard ways of deploying
copper cabling. But when it comes to fiber,
theres much that resembles the Wild Wild West.
While not necessarily characterized by the rowdy,
unrestrained and disorderly behavior associated
with that era, there is certainly an untamed
territory when it comes to fiber deploymentsmany
of which can be noted for lawlessness (or at
least noncompliance).
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How High-Speed Fiber Applications is impacting
the Networking Arena?
Wide Open Range
For Ethernet application standards over fiber,
its like a wide-open range where you can stake
your claim to achieve speeds from 1 to 100 Gig
over a variety of multimode or singlemode
options. While 100 Mb/s over fiber had just one
standard100BASE-FXthat ran over what is now
considered legacy 62.5µm multimode fiber, 1 Gb/s
fiber applications suddenly gave us six different
options over 62.5µm or 50µm multimode or
singlemode fiber at a variety of wavelengths and
distances.  And when we moved to 10 Gb/s, we
suddenly had 10 different standards to choose
from. During the initial development of 40 and
100 Gb/s fiber applications, the IEEE 802.3
Ethernet working group was only looking at
multimode fiber cable solutions. But that was
short lived. If we now look at the list of IEEE
802.3 standards, we see four different options
for 40 Gb/s and six different options for 100
Gb/s using multimode or singlemode fiber. With
the pending 50GBASE-SR standard anticipated to
release in 2018 followed by 100GBASE-SR2 and
short-reach singlemode fiber applications in
development like 100, 200 and 400GBASE-DR4, this
trend of multiple choices looks like it will
continue. And if applications for OM5 WBMMF with
WDM technology come to fruition, it wont be long
before there are six ways from Sunday to achieve
100 Gb/s.
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How High-Speed Fiber Applications is impacting
the Networking Arena?
Pioneers Among Us
Over the past decade, large hyperscale and
supercomputing data centers have needed to
achieve higher bandwidth speeds faster than IEEE
could develop standards. That has led to a corral
full of nonstandard-based options, with many of
the technologies driven by new industry
consortiums and alliances that have been working
on next generation speeds outside of the existing
IEEE 802.3 Ethernet working group. As mentioned
in our previous blog, we already have several
non-standard bidirectional or unidirectional 40
Gb/s duplex multimode applications using WDM
technology. Currently there are about a dozen
non-standard ways to achieve 100 Gb/s. In fact,
according to LightCounting market reach, more
than 60 of 40 Gb/ shipments and more than 35 of
100 Gb/s shipments are non-standards based
technologies.
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How High-Speed Fiber Applications is impacting
the Networking Arena?
Pioneers Among Us
Some of the technologies for high-speed fiber
applications include variations of WDM and new
interfaces and form factors, such as the QSFP
double-density (QSFP-DD) form factor being
developed to support 200 Gb/s and 400 Gb/s over
eight parallel lanes. Also in development are
interchangeable and interoperable optical modules
that can be mounted onto printed circuit boards.
These on-board optics being developed by the
Consortium for On-Board Optics move optical
components from current pluggable modules
directly onto line cards, which drastically
increases system density. With hyperscale and
supercomputing data centers deploying fiber
technologies to meet their own need for next
generation speeds, its easy to see why fiber is
a lot like the Wild Wild West. And while some
might consider them lawless outlaws, these
pioneers are certainly helping to advance
technology that will someday benefit the rest of
us.
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