I am reminded every now and then that fiber optics has been around in the U.S. since the early 1980s and that it has always been advertised as the end-all solution for networking. But somehow, copper seems to perpetually reinvent itself to be able to compete at least up to 100 meters. And it seems that this may happen again at 40 and 100 Gig.
The current copper spec within the IEEE 802.3ba standard is for up to 10 meters of twinax assemblies that may use active equalization in both the transmitter and receiver. But there is a movement about to develop a “call for interest” for a 40G/100G IEEE project for Category cables. This wouldn’t be the first time that the copper standards lagged the optical ones – Gigabit (1000BASE-T) and 10-Gigabit (10GBASE-T) were both developed after the initial fiber-optic ones. Indeed, there is much R&D being conducted at universities (Penn State) and industry (Nexans, Inc., The Siemon Company, Broadcom) to determine what can be done. While I am skeptical (based on lukewarm response to presentations given at recent Ethernet Alliance events) that a project will materialize within the IEEE any time soon, I would not rule it out—especially since recent simulations that were based on real cabling data have shown that at least 40G twisted-pair copper systems are feasible.
What keeps me a cynic about a 40/100G Category cabling solution is the extremely slow adoption of even 10GBASE-T. While it was 1000BASE-T that really propelled the Gigabit Ethernet market in 1999, it has been 10GBASE-SR (850nm VCSEL-based variant) that has enabled 10G market growth. And we really have yet to see 10GBASE-T take off at all, mainly due to its slow adoption in Ethernet switches based on its high power consumption. As I’ve stated in the market research report I wrote for CIR earlier this year, until this is solved (which may be a long time from now according to some chip suppliers), 10GBASE-T will continue to see very slow uptake.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
FCoE does NOT Mean the End of Fibre Channel and InfiniBand
Today, servers in the data center typically have two to three network cards. Each adapter attaches to a different element of the data center—one supports storage over Fibre Channel, a second for Ethernet networking, and a third card for clustering, which is probably InfiniBand. Data center managers must then deal with multiple networks. A single network that could address all of these applications would greatly simplify administration within the data center.
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) is one approach that has been proposed to accomplish this goal. It is a planned mapping of Fibre Channel frames over full duplex IEEE 802.3 Ethernet networks. Fibre Channel will leverage 10-Gigabit Ethernet networks while preserving the Fibre Channel protocol. For this to work, Ethernet must first be modified so that it no longer drops or reorders packets, an outcome of the array of CEE standards in development (IEEE 802.1p and IEEE 802.1q.)
With the implementation of FCoE, data centers would realize:
• Reduced number of server network cards and interconnections
• Simplified network
• Leveraging of the best of Fibre Channel, Ethernet and installed base of cabling
• Minimum of 10G network card on each network element
For this to work, the various applications would be collapsed to one converged network adapter (CNA) in an FCoE/CEE environment.
While this would greatly simplify the data center environment, it still seems too costly to implement in every network element – one CNA with an SFP+ port costs upwards of $1200, while the total of three separate one, two and 2.5 Gigabit ports still cost less than $600. This is one of the main reasons that FCoE/CEE will only be deployed where the flexibility that it provides makes sense – which is most likely at servers on the edge of the SAN.
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) is one approach that has been proposed to accomplish this goal. It is a planned mapping of Fibre Channel frames over full duplex IEEE 802.3 Ethernet networks. Fibre Channel will leverage 10-Gigabit Ethernet networks while preserving the Fibre Channel protocol. For this to work, Ethernet must first be modified so that it no longer drops or reorders packets, an outcome of the array of CEE standards in development (IEEE 802.1p and IEEE 802.1q.)
With the implementation of FCoE, data centers would realize:
• Reduced number of server network cards and interconnections
• Simplified network
• Leveraging of the best of Fibre Channel, Ethernet and installed base of cabling
• Minimum of 10G network card on each network element
For this to work, the various applications would be collapsed to one converged network adapter (CNA) in an FCoE/CEE environment.
While this would greatly simplify the data center environment, it still seems too costly to implement in every network element – one CNA with an SFP+ port costs upwards of $1200, while the total of three separate one, two and 2.5 Gigabit ports still cost less than $600. This is one of the main reasons that FCoE/CEE will only be deployed where the flexibility that it provides makes sense – which is most likely at servers on the edge of the SAN.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Datacom Transceiver Vendors Transitioning into New Businesses
Have you noticed that it seems like all of the top datacom transceiver suppliers are transitioning their businesses? I’ve already talked about Avago’s new venture with its MicroPOD technology. They seemed to have supplanted Finisar as the technology leader in the space. Finisar has expanded its offerings into more telecom markets and JDSU is all but gone from the scene and focusing more on telecom again.
Finisar seems to be enjoying what may well be short-term success with its Laserwire offering. Since it is a non-standards based solution, it is difficult to believe it will become a mainstream one. While Finisar is offering other AOCs—C.wire (CXP-based) and Quadwire (QSFP-based), it does not seem to be participating in what seems to be a chip-to-chip optical interconnection revolution like Avago and Luxtera are (see previous posts for details) . Finisar used to be the technology leader in the optical transceiver space, it has veered off-course from that strength in preference for market diversification instead—now covering telecom and HPC standards-based solutions as an alternative. But perhaps this is the right move for Finisar, since it has not seemed to hurt its revenue position at all.
JDSU seems to be absent from the short-reach module market. It appears that the optical components giant has taken the technology that was developed at IBM, E2O and Picolight and thrown it away. Picolight was once a leader in parallel optics and, along with E2O, long-wavelength VCSELs. IBM pioneered v-groove technology and the oxide layer that enabled the next leap in speed and improved reliability for 850nm VCSELs. All of these technologies look like they are destined to die a slow, painful death after being acquired by JDSU. The company’s attention is clearly focused on its tunable technology and telecom applications, which is where, of course, it started. JDSU has never had a good reputation for assimilating acquisitions, so none of this should be a surprise. I was optimistic when JDSU bought these companies thinking that now these emerging technologies would be supported by a larger pocketbook. What was the reasoning for JDSU deemphasizing the technologies it acquired? Was it trying to get rid of short-reach competition in hopes that all optical networking would move towards long-wavelength devices? This would have been naïve; the likes of Finisar, Avago, MergeOptics and others would still be supporting 850nm optics and there remains a healthy market for them in enterprise networks and data centers—albeit a very competitive one.
According to JDSU, it is focusing on the LH and ULH versions of 40G and 100G first because it does not see the value in the CXP module for short-reach applications. For short-reach, it is focusing on QSFP+ modules, but development of these will take longer. The company claims it is not de-emphasizing its 850nm technology, but just focusing elsewhere first. I’m not so sure. Rumor has it, and I tend to believe that JDSU is looking for buyers for its short-wavelength business.
Finisar seems to be enjoying what may well be short-term success with its Laserwire offering. Since it is a non-standards based solution, it is difficult to believe it will become a mainstream one. While Finisar is offering other AOCs—C.wire (CXP-based) and Quadwire (QSFP-based), it does not seem to be participating in what seems to be a chip-to-chip optical interconnection revolution like Avago and Luxtera are (see previous posts for details) . Finisar used to be the technology leader in the optical transceiver space, it has veered off-course from that strength in preference for market diversification instead—now covering telecom and HPC standards-based solutions as an alternative. But perhaps this is the right move for Finisar, since it has not seemed to hurt its revenue position at all.
JDSU seems to be absent from the short-reach module market. It appears that the optical components giant has taken the technology that was developed at IBM, E2O and Picolight and thrown it away. Picolight was once a leader in parallel optics and, along with E2O, long-wavelength VCSELs. IBM pioneered v-groove technology and the oxide layer that enabled the next leap in speed and improved reliability for 850nm VCSELs. All of these technologies look like they are destined to die a slow, painful death after being acquired by JDSU. The company’s attention is clearly focused on its tunable technology and telecom applications, which is where, of course, it started. JDSU has never had a good reputation for assimilating acquisitions, so none of this should be a surprise. I was optimistic when JDSU bought these companies thinking that now these emerging technologies would be supported by a larger pocketbook. What was the reasoning for JDSU deemphasizing the technologies it acquired? Was it trying to get rid of short-reach competition in hopes that all optical networking would move towards long-wavelength devices? This would have been naïve; the likes of Finisar, Avago, MergeOptics and others would still be supporting 850nm optics and there remains a healthy market for them in enterprise networks and data centers—albeit a very competitive one.
According to JDSU, it is focusing on the LH and ULH versions of 40G and 100G first because it does not see the value in the CXP module for short-reach applications. For short-reach, it is focusing on QSFP+ modules, but development of these will take longer. The company claims it is not de-emphasizing its 850nm technology, but just focusing elsewhere first. I’m not so sure. Rumor has it, and I tend to believe that JDSU is looking for buyers for its short-wavelength business.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Quantum Dot Lasers Now Reality
In recent research I conducted for the Optical Interconnect report I wrote for CIR, I found some encouraging news on quantum dot lasers. Measuring 20nm in diameter, a quantum dot (QD) is defined as a semiconductor whose electrons are confined in all three spatial dimensions. As a result, it has properties that lie somewhere between those of bulk semiconductors and those of discrete molecules. QDs have been studied for a wide range of applications such as transistors, solar cells, displays, medical imaging, optical amplifiers, sensors, drug delivery and light emitters (both LEDs and diode lasers). QDs also could be used as the physical "incarnation" of qubits in quantum computing R&D and in quantum encryption systems. All of these applications are based on the fact that QDs are zero dimensional, which gives them superior transport and optical properties. They also need very little power.
QD Laser, a Japanese firm backed by Fujitsu Limited, Mitsui Ventures and Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd, announced what I believe is the first commercially viable QD laser in March 2009. Since then, it has added several products to its portfolio. They include FP/DFB laser chips, TO-can and TOSA and wide-band SOA butterfly components. The lasers have capability to run at data rates up to 10 Gbps. These devices are well suited for datacom and telecom equipment.
It seems that QD lasers may have future applications in chip-to-chip optical connections. They may also have applications outside of telecom in sensors and in future quantum encryption/quantum computing systems. In addition to QD Laser's devices, Taiwanese researchers have built tunable QD VCSELs. Also, VI Systems (VIS), a German-based start-up, is working on QD-enhanced VCSELs. This components company has recently received substantial funding and we note that at recent industry conferences VI Systems presented a paper on 25-Gbps VCSELs that were rendered temperature insensitive with the use of QDs. VIS has recently released a product catalog of TOSAs, ROSAs, VCSELs, PINs, arrays, TIAs, VCSEL drivers and high-speed test boards that utilize its technology. Its products are suitable for 850nm 25G and 40G operation. It seems as though this may be one of the only currently viable solutions for stable operation of VCSELs beyond 10G.
QD Laser, a Japanese firm backed by Fujitsu Limited, Mitsui Ventures and Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd, announced what I believe is the first commercially viable QD laser in March 2009. Since then, it has added several products to its portfolio. They include FP/DFB laser chips, TO-can and TOSA and wide-band SOA butterfly components. The lasers have capability to run at data rates up to 10 Gbps. These devices are well suited for datacom and telecom equipment.
It seems that QD lasers may have future applications in chip-to-chip optical connections. They may also have applications outside of telecom in sensors and in future quantum encryption/quantum computing systems. In addition to QD Laser's devices, Taiwanese researchers have built tunable QD VCSELs. Also, VI Systems (VIS), a German-based start-up, is working on QD-enhanced VCSELs. This components company has recently received substantial funding and we note that at recent industry conferences VI Systems presented a paper on 25-Gbps VCSELs that were rendered temperature insensitive with the use of QDs. VIS has recently released a product catalog of TOSAs, ROSAs, VCSELs, PINs, arrays, TIAs, VCSEL drivers and high-speed test boards that utilize its technology. Its products are suitable for 850nm 25G and 40G operation. It seems as though this may be one of the only currently viable solutions for stable operation of VCSELs beyond 10G.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Luxtera’s Contribution to a Push for All-Optical Networks
Yesterday I wrote about Avago’s new miniaturized transmitters and receivers so today I’d like to introduce you to a similar product from Luxtera. Well known for its CMOS photonics technology, Luxtera actually introduced its OptoPHY transceivers first – in late 2009.
Luxtera took a different approach to its new high-density, optical interconnect solution. It is a transceiver module and is based on LW (1490nm) optics. Just like Avago’s devices, the transceivers use 12-fiber ribbon cables provided by Luxtera, but that’s really were the similarities end. The entire 10G–per-lane module only uses about 800mW compared to Avago's 3W, and they are true transceivers as opposed to separate transmitters and receivers. Luxtera is shipping its device to customers, but have not announced which ones yet.
In addition to the projected low cost for these devices, what should also be noted is that all of the solutions mentioned in the last three entries – Intel’s Light Peak; Avago’s MicroPOD and Luxtera’s OptoPHY – have moved away from the pluggable module product theme to board-mounted devices. This in and of itself may not seem significant until you think about why there were pluggable products to begin with. The original intent was to give OEMs and end users flexibility in design so they could use an electrical, SW optical or LW optical device in a port depending on what length of cable needed to be supported. You could also grow as you needed to – so only populate those ports required at the time of installation and add others when necessary. The need for this flexibility has seemed to have waned in recent years in favor of density, lower cost and lower power consumption. The majority of pluggable ports are now optical ones, so why not just move back to board-mounted products that can achieve the miniaturization, price points and lower power consumption?
Luxtera took a different approach to its new high-density, optical interconnect solution. It is a transceiver module and is based on LW (1490nm) optics. Just like Avago’s devices, the transceivers use 12-fiber ribbon cables provided by Luxtera, but that’s really were the similarities end. The entire 10G–per-lane module only uses about 800mW compared to Avago's 3W, and they are true transceivers as opposed to separate transmitters and receivers. Luxtera is shipping its device to customers, but have not announced which ones yet.
In addition to the projected low cost for these devices, what should also be noted is that all of the solutions mentioned in the last three entries – Intel’s Light Peak; Avago’s MicroPOD and Luxtera’s OptoPHY – have moved away from the pluggable module product theme to board-mounted devices. This in and of itself may not seem significant until you think about why there were pluggable products to begin with. The original intent was to give OEMs and end users flexibility in design so they could use an electrical, SW optical or LW optical device in a port depending on what length of cable needed to be supported. You could also grow as you needed to – so only populate those ports required at the time of installation and add others when necessary. The need for this flexibility has seemed to have waned in recent years in favor of density, lower cost and lower power consumption. The majority of pluggable ports are now optical ones, so why not just move back to board-mounted products that can achieve the miniaturization, price points and lower power consumption?
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Optical Interconnects for All-Optical Networking May be Closer to Reality than You Think
On-board interconnects have for some time just been handled with copper traces, but with data rates now reaching beyond 10G, this is ripe for change. In fact, it is already changing; evidenced by the big splash IBM and Avago Technologies made at this year's OFC/NFOEC conference. The computer giant and transceiver manufacturer teamed to develop what they are calling "the fastest, most energy-efficient embedded interconnect technology of its kind."
Deemed the MicroPOD™, Avago developed it for IBM's next generation supercomputer, POWER7™. While it was designed for HPC server interconnects, it could be used for on-board or chip-to-chip interconnects as well. The devices use a newly designed miniature detachable connector from US CONEC called PRIZM™ LightTurn™. The system has separate transmitter and receiver modules that are connected through a 12-fiber ribbon. Each lane supports up to 12.5 Gbps. It uses 850nm VCSEL and PIN diode arrays. The embedded modules can be used for any board-level or I/O-level application by either using two PRIZM LightTurn connectors or one PRIZM LightTurn and one MPO.
While these modules are currently for the HPC market, Avago designed something very similar for Intel and its Light Peak interconnect system (see previous post for details) for what some are calling “optical USB.” MicroPOD is targeted at high-density environments so a natural extension of its market reach would be into switches and routers. The market for such devices probably will not become huge in the next few years, but it is exciting to see that companies in this space have started to spend R&D dollars again and that there are at least a few customers willing to employ the technology right out of the gate. Of course, it must be noted that this project was partially funded by DARPA.
But this technology MUST be too expensive for the typical piece of network equipment right? Not so, says Avago, because the manufacturing process is 100-percent automated and with Avago's vertical integration, the prices (at volume) may actually be able to rival those of today's transceivers. I’ll hold judgment until Avago proves it can win more than one big customer, however, I think MicroPOD holds the promise to change the paradigm for on-board, board-to-board and even network-element-to-network-element optical interconnects.
Deemed the MicroPOD™, Avago developed it for IBM's next generation supercomputer, POWER7™. While it was designed for HPC server interconnects, it could be used for on-board or chip-to-chip interconnects as well. The devices use a newly designed miniature detachable connector from US CONEC called PRIZM™ LightTurn™. The system has separate transmitter and receiver modules that are connected through a 12-fiber ribbon. Each lane supports up to 12.5 Gbps. It uses 850nm VCSEL and PIN diode arrays. The embedded modules can be used for any board-level or I/O-level application by either using two PRIZM LightTurn connectors or one PRIZM LightTurn and one MPO.
While these modules are currently for the HPC market, Avago designed something very similar for Intel and its Light Peak interconnect system (see previous post for details) for what some are calling “optical USB.” MicroPOD is targeted at high-density environments so a natural extension of its market reach would be into switches and routers. The market for such devices probably will not become huge in the next few years, but it is exciting to see that companies in this space have started to spend R&D dollars again and that there are at least a few customers willing to employ the technology right out of the gate. Of course, it must be noted that this project was partially funded by DARPA.
But this technology MUST be too expensive for the typical piece of network equipment right? Not so, says Avago, because the manufacturing process is 100-percent automated and with Avago's vertical integration, the prices (at volume) may actually be able to rival those of today's transceivers. I’ll hold judgment until Avago proves it can win more than one big customer, however, I think MicroPOD holds the promise to change the paradigm for on-board, board-to-board and even network-element-to-network-element optical interconnects.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Intel’s Light Peak Optical Interconnect System
Intel made a big splash at its developer's forum in September 2009 by introducing its Light Peak technology. Light Peak uses a new controller chip with LOMF and a 10G 850nm VCSEL-based module with a new optical interface connector, which has yet to be determined. It is aimed at replacing all of your external connectors on your PC including USB, IEEE 1394, HDMI, DP, PCIe, etc. It is also targeted at other consumer electronic devices like smart phones and MP3 players.
Intel designed both the controller chip and the optical module, but will only supply the chip. It is working with a couple of top optical component manufacturers on the modules—Avago and TDK. The semiconductor giant expects to ship its first products this year, but would not say who its initial customers will be. It did tell me that it has "received general support from the PC makers" and both SONY and Nokia have gone on record publically supporting Light Peak. Both companies are willing to entertain a new standard centered on the Light Peak technology. These labors are expected to pay off with formal standardization starting this year.
According to Intel, Light Peak is expected to start shipping this year with several PC manufacturers evaluating it. Next year is anticipated to be a transitional year and by 2012, we should start seeing Light Peak commercially available on PCs. While I would never bet against Intel, this is quite an aggressive schedule. Even USB took longer than that to be adopted and it was a copper solution that was easily implemented by consumers. However, it sure would be nice to have just one connector for my PC!
While Intel says it has targeted this technology at consumers, with its 10G data rate and 100-meter optical reach, it could easily be extended to LAN and/or data center applications.
Intel designed both the controller chip and the optical module, but will only supply the chip. It is working with a couple of top optical component manufacturers on the modules—Avago and TDK. The semiconductor giant expects to ship its first products this year, but would not say who its initial customers will be. It did tell me that it has "received general support from the PC makers" and both SONY and Nokia have gone on record publically supporting Light Peak. Both companies are willing to entertain a new standard centered on the Light Peak technology. These labors are expected to pay off with formal standardization starting this year.
According to Intel, Light Peak is expected to start shipping this year with several PC manufacturers evaluating it. Next year is anticipated to be a transitional year and by 2012, we should start seeing Light Peak commercially available on PCs. While I would never bet against Intel, this is quite an aggressive schedule. Even USB took longer than that to be adopted and it was a copper solution that was easily implemented by consumers. However, it sure would be nice to have just one connector for my PC!
While Intel says it has targeted this technology at consumers, with its 10G data rate and 100-meter optical reach, it could easily be extended to LAN and/or data center applications.
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