Finisar EXFO and Ixia Demonstrate 100G Ethernet Optical Link

March 30, 2010 – Finisar Corp., a leading er of high-speed optical communications, working with EXFO Inc. and Ixia, demonstrated a standards-compliant 100G Ethernet (100GE) optical link at OFC in San Diego last week. The demonstration consisted of an Ixia “K2″ 100G tester and an EXFO 40G/100G Ethernet Packet Blazer tester communicating error-free at 103.1 Gb/s using Finisar’s 100GE-LR4 CFP optical transceiver modules.

Error-free operation was demonstrated by transmitting IP packets between the 100G testers over 20 kilometers of single-mode fiber, exceeding the 10 kilometer maximum distance being standardized for this application.

The Finisar FTLC1181R optical transceiver modules are compliant with the CFP Multi-source Agreement (MSA) and support the 100GBASE-LR4 (4 x 25 Gb/s) optical interface defined by the IEEE P802.3ba Draft standard. They are part of a family of Finisar CFP transceivers that also includes 40G Ethernet single-mode and multimode fiber versions. Finisar’s entire portfolio of CFP transceiver modules utilize internally developed integrated circuits and internally packaged optics.

The EXFO FTB-85100G is a portable 100/40 Gb/s Ethernet tester; it simplifies lab testing, field trials, and early deployments. Product features include:

Fully integrated layer 1/2/3 performance assessment of 100G and 40G Ethernet equipment and network services
EtherBERT test functionality for verifying the integrity of 100G and 40G Ethernet running on WDM networks
OTU3/4 testing capabilities integrated into a single test module.

Ixia’s “K2″ 40 and 100GE IP network traffic generator and physical coding sublayer (PCS) measurement and analysis solution generates and analyzes full 40GE and 100GE layer 1-7 line rate traffic, with up to 1 million distinct flows per port. The modules allow individual PCS lane bit error rate tests (BERT) testing using a wide range of PRBS patterns. The K2 product line interoperates across Ixia’s existing 1 and 10 GE speed product lines while seamlessly integrating with Ixia’s automation software to provide a cost-effective migration path for the development of higher speed Ethernet systems.