INTEROPERABILITY
and 2) Unamplified, fixed wavelength links of 2-10km. Both applications support Ethernet client(s) (minimum 100GE) up to 800G aggregate bandwidth.’ Driven by industry needs, this work is
identifying technical challenges and creating relevant interoperability projects in OIF. ‘For example,’ said Brown, ‘OIF recently published the High Bandwidth-Coherent Driver Modulator (HB-CDM) 2.0 for 800G-plus coherent solutions IA. Te HB-CDM 1.0 64 Gigabaud (GBd) standard was a critical new component enabling optimised 400G+ metro and long-haul coherent networks, supporting the industry’s need for more capacity with a standardized footprint, interface, and performance. Te HB-CDM 2.0 is a natural extension covering 128GBd in coherent technology for 800G per wavelength and beyond coherent systems. Te HB-CDM 2.0 follows the integrated laser and coherent receiver standards from OIF in enabling next-generation compact, high-performance coherent networking solutions.’
Co-packaging Te Co-Packaging Framework IA was launched in late 2020 following virtual member-only and public workshops that explored and discussed key drivers and the significant constraints (electrical, thermal, optical, etc.) related to co-packaged connectivity interoperation. ‘Te scope of the Co-Packaging Framework project is to: identify the key co-packaged applications and their requirements; study and identify issues associated with co-package connectivity (both optical and copper); identify opportunities and develop industry consensus to pursue interoperability standards; and document the study in the Framework IA (a technical whitepaper); as well as to launch follow-on standardisation activities at OIF or other appropriate standard bodies,’ said Brown. Te initial projects started under the Framework project’s umbrella are the 3.2T Co-Packaged Optical Module and the External Laser Small Form Factor Pluggable (ELSFP) Module. In March 2021, the organisation started a
3.2T Co-Packaged Module project for intra- data centre switching applications. It targets the need for a standardised co-packaged solution to address data centre power constraints and enable new network architectures and applications. Te IA will define a 3.2T co- packaged optical module that targets Ethernet switching applications utilising 100G electrical lanes. Following that, in May, it launched the
External Laser Small Form Factor Pluggable (ELSFP) Module Project to support co- packaged optics applications. Tis blind-mate pluggable external light source module project
Fibre Yearbook 2022
will define a new form factor optimised to package lasers to support co-packaged optical modules.
Protocol ‘FlexE maintenance release 2.2 incorporates the updates and corrections reflected in the FlexE 2.1 implementation guide,’ explained Brown. ‘FlexE is a technology for extending standard Ethernet PHYs to add support for bonding, sub-rating, and channelisation and also provides support for management channels and time synchronisation. Te FlexE 2.1 IA supports homogeneous collections of 50GbE, 100GbE, 200GbE, and 400GbE PHYs. A common application is data-centre interconnect over advanced coherent links. Te FlexE framing mechanism is used as the basis for Recommendation ITU-T G.8312, Interfaces for the metro transport network. As IEEE 802.3 continues to develop standards for beyond 400 Gb/s Ethernet, it is anticipated that FlexE will be extended to operate over groups of greater than 400 Gb/s Ethernet PHYs.’
Management Te Coherent – Common Management Interface Specification (C-CMIS) project also launched in 2020 creating an IA that serves as an extension to the CMIS specification, specifically targeting DCO modules and DWDM functions. ‘C-CMIS provides the necessary management information for Digital Coherent Optical (DCO) modules in form factors including QSFP-DD, OSFP, and COBO,’ said Brown. ‘Te document is focused on supporting the OIF 400ZR implementation agreement. Future versions will include more complex Metro modules and may extend these management features to other form factors.’ Brown talked about the two new
management projects launched in August. ‘Te first,’ he said, ‘transitions ownership and maintenance of the Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) from the Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable Double Density (QSFP-DD) Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) to OIF, and the second will focus on CMIS extensions for co-packaging implementations. Due to the complementary/synergistic nature of the work with OIF’s co-packaged optics, NPO, CEI, and coherent optics projects, OIF will take over the ongoing CMIS revisions as well as further enhancements and CMIS extensions under this track.’
Electrical OIF is also building on its work defining Common Electrical I/O (CEI) interfaces that began almost 20 years ago with a 6Gb/s IA. Te newest project is addressing next-generation architectures and data rates around 224Gb/s
“
Open networks rely on multi-vendor interoperability across the physical data plane and up and down the management plane and application layers”
for CEI interfaces. ‘Te expected result will be a technical white paper summarising a consensus-based body of knowledge that will enable several new projects for next-generation CEI clauses addressing specific reaches and architectures,’ explained Brown. Another new initiative, the CEI-112G-Extra
Short Reach (XSR)+ project is designed to allow lower power, multi-source 112Gb/s (optimised for 106.25Gb/s) electrical I/O interface to be developed with advanced PCB and substrate technology, into 2022 and beyond. Brown explained: ‘Te project will also support an open ecosystem based on Near Package Optics (NPO) architecture. OIF members are proposing that an “XSR+” type interface be used to add reach for NPO applications over the existing XSR interface to enable a multi-vendor open ecosystem without adding significant power.’
Networking In May 2021, OIF started the Application of Artificial Intelligence to Enhanced Network Operations project. Tis will result in a white paper identifying a collection of use cases for applying AI to construct intelligent, resilient, and high-performance optical and packet networks. Planning for a 2022 Transport SDN API
Interoperability Demo continues, according to Brown. ‘Te 2020 OIF Transport SDN API Interoperability Demonstration focused on SDN-based programmability, control, and automation in open, partially-disaggregated transport network architectures,’ he said. ‘By collaborating with other industry groups such as Open Networking Foundation (ONF), MEF, and Telecom Infra Project (TIP), these multi-vendor interop demos have aligned the industry on standard open architectural frameworks and application programming interfaces such as T-API. Te planned 2022 demo will test enhanced T-API and OpenConfig API spec use cases such as streaming telemetry.’ Looking to the future, Brown emphasised that there will be no laurel-resting for the
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