TheEthernet Alliancehas announced that
members are working towards improved interoperability of products
to deliver cheaper 10 Gigabit Ethernet.
It says members have successfully conducted multi-supplier
interoperability testing of Small Form Factor Pluggable (SFP+)
short-reach (10GBase-SR) and long-reach (10GBase-LR)
optical interfaces.
Those taking part in the tests included AMCC, Avago
Technologies, Broadcom, ClariPhy, Cortina Systems, ExceLight
Communications, Finisar, Gennum, Inphi, Intel, JDSU, MergeOptics,
NetLogic Microsystems, Opnext and Vitesse
The testing was recently held at the University of New Hampshire
Interoperability Lab (UNH-IOL) by the Ethernet Alliance SFP+/EDC
sub-committee.
The tests demonstrated multiple SFP+ SR and LR optical
transceivers and physical layer (PHY) ICs interoperating more than
270 metres of OM3 multi-mode fibre and 10Km of single-mode
fibre.
In addition, the group demonstrated multiple SFP+ SR and LR
optical transceivers and PHY ICs interoperating with XENPAK, X2,
and XFP optical transceivers over the same distances.
SFP+ modules are hot-pluggable, small-footprint optical
transceivers intended for datacom applications. SFP+ interfaces
offer the smallest, lowest-power system for 10 Gigabit Ethernet
(10GbE), to enable increased density in enterprise
applications.
"We expect the move to smaller SFP+ modules will help increase
the port density and reduce the cost of 10 Gigabit Ethernet line
cards," said Jag Bolaria, an analyst at Linley Group.
"Demonstrating interoperability between 10GBase-SR-SR and
0GBase-SR-LR SFP+ modules with existing Xenpak, X2 and XFP modules
showcases the readiness for deployment of SFP+ modules," he
said.