Suppliers move towards cheaper 10Gbyte Ethernet optical networking

The Ethernet Alliance has 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.