CommScope Demonstrates 100GbE Over 340 Metres

Networking companies CommScope, Ixia and Reflex Photonics have mounted the first public demonstration of 100 Gigabit Ethernet using OM4 fibre over a range of 340 metres – more than twice the distance allowed for in a new IEEE standard.

The demonstration, carried out at the Cisco Live event in London on Tuesday, used off-the-shelf 340-metre multi-mode fibre optic cabling with seven MPO connections. It used CommScope’s Systimax LazrSpeed multi-mode fibre cabling, Ixia’s K2 100 Gb Ethernet test interfaces and fibre-optic transcievers from Reflex Photonics.

Above the standard

The 100GbE standard was approved in June 2010 by the IEEE 802.ba committee, but only covers distances of up to 150 metres, CommScope pointed out. The demonstration shows that high-quality parts can be used to more than double that distance, the company said.

“Achieving an error-free transmission over a 340-metre link with 7 MPO connections in current data centre environments is a great accomplishment,” said George Brooks, vice president of the Data Centre Business Unit at CommScope, in a statement.

The company pointed out that its demonstration is the first to take place in a public environment, outside of a laboratory setting.

The technology is available to the market now and CommScope said the Amsterdam Internet Exchange is already using it to achieve greater performance.

In November Broadcom showed the fruits of its November 2009 acquisition of Dune Networks with the unveiling of a chip that will enable the creation of Ethernet switches with throughput capabilities of 100 Gbps, with the potential for 100 Terabits per second (Tbps).

New technology

Broadcom said the BCM88600 is a family of chips that will enable greater scalability in various Ethernet network switching solutions, a need that is rapidly growing in demand due to the rapidly increasing amount of video and data Internet traffic that is driving demand for high levels of bandwidth.

The new technology comes at a time when vendors and enterprises are looking at 100GbE, even as the transition from 1GbE to 10GbE is still underway and 40GbE is on the horizon. Networking vendors such as Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks and Alcatel-Lucent in 2009 started showing off 100GbE adapters. In addition, vendors demonstrated 100GbE networking products compliant with the IEEE’s 802.3ba standard at the SuperComputing 2010 show in November.