ECOC 2024: 800G, 1.6T… (and AI, of course)

The 2024 European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) takes place next week, and AI is expected to be a hot topic again as people continue to think about where AI will have the biggest impact and how network operators can ensure they are ready to future-proof their networks to handle the expected surge. In addition to AI, there are also exciting and coherent technical developments in pluggable interoperable interfaces for 800G and 1.6T. These topics will also be top of mind at the show as the industry discusses how to make these transitions as smooth as we saw with 400G.

The Impact of AI on Optical Transport Networks
While recent attention on high-capacity interconnects for AI applications has been focused on short-reach connections within AI clusters, the industry is already seeing bandwidth demands begin to increase, requiring additional coherent connections between AI-enabled data centers. While it is widely accepted that the bandwidth demands created by AI applications will lead to increased traffic across the network, the industry is in the early stages of understanding how specific parts of the network will be impacted. Coherent optical interconnects for high-capacity transport outside the data center already offer performance-optimized transponder solutions at 1.2T per wavelength, as well as 400G router-to-router wavelengths moving to 800G using MSA pluggable modules. As discussed in recent blogs, we believe this technology can continue to play a role in meeting the growing traffic demands in metro, data center interconnect, long-haul, and other areas.

To learn more about how AI is impacting optical networks, attend the ECOC Symposium on September 22 at 14:00 CET and hear Acacia’s Timo Pfau speak on “How will artificial intelligence impact future transport systems?”

Interoperable 400G and 800G Demonstration
With the explosion of 400G pluggable devices, next-generation switch/router ASICs are now available with 800G I/O port speeds, creating the need for 800G optical interfaces for Data Center Interconnect (DCI). As we will hear at this year’s ECOC, these pluggable devices follow the same 400G MSA pluggable cycle, and multiple standardization bodies such as OIF, Open ROADM and IEEE are working in parallel to provide industry standards for 800G optical transmission and 800 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE). Interoperability will be key to driving economies of scale that can enable these modules to achieve similar levels of success as 400G, while also helping to determine the development path for future 1.6T pluggable devices.

As a leader in 400G coherent pluggable products, Acacia is pleased to participate in the OIF interoperability demonstration to showcase its 400G and 800G pluggable products. The demonstration will be held in the OIF booth #B83 and will focus on interoperability innovations for 800ZR, 400ZR and multi-span optics as well as the Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) – all of which are key to shaping industry standards for the next decade.

Acacia announced earlier this year the launch of its latest silicon-based 800G coherent pluggable product portfolio, which is comprised of Acacia’s 9^day Next-generation DSP. These modules are designed to provide twice the connection speed from 400G to 800G to support DCI upgrades, and the high baud rate design has been proven in CIM 8 modules deployed by Acacia. In addition, the interoperable 800G ZR+ module in the series is the industry’s first module to support the OpenROADM specification, including interoperable PCS transport capabilities, which expands the market for 800G pluggable modules from simple DCI to regional and even long-haul networks. Acacia will host a private demonstration of its interoperable 800G ZR+ module in its private conference room.

To meet customer needs and drive future adoption, 800G coherent MSA pluggable devices must have several key features and capabilities, including optical transport, client traffic, low power consumption, and interoperable module management. One of the key functional requirements that operators are looking for is coherent CMIS compliance. This feature provides a well-defined mechanism to initialize and manage optical and copper modules in a standard manner while still providing the ability to provide custom functionality. This commonality makes it easier for host and module vendors to integrate into different host platforms.

To learn more about CMIS compliance, watch Acacia’s Doug Cattarusa’s ECOC Market Focus presentation, “CMIS: Is Plug and Play Possible?” on Monday, September 23 at 14:40 CET.

Expanded use cases for router-based optics
The introduction of 400G coherent pluggable optics in metro coverage applications enables convergence at the network layer, bringing together the optical transport layer and the IP layer. A recent report from Cignal AI predicts that IP-over-DWDM port deployments will exceed 700,000 by 2027. Recent advances in coherent technology have enabled the extension of coherent and interoperable MSA pluggable module capabilities to long and ultra-long distances, as well as migration from 400G to 800G links. Acacia’s 400G Ultra-Long-Hair (ULH) modules leverage 130+ Gbaud data rate technology to extend the reach of 400G from metro/regional to ultra-long distances, lowering the barriers to deploying IP-over-DWDM for network operators looking to adopt IP-over-DWDM beyond metro/regional applications.

OIF takes the lead in developing 1600ZR and 1600ZR+ standards
OIF initiated the development of 1.6T coherent optical interconnect solutions last year and has made progress on interoperable 1600ZR and 1600ZR+ implementation agreements. While the standards body still has a lot of work to do on 1.6T, we expect this year’s ECOC to be a platform for the industry to discuss solutions to some of the key challenges in this transition. This includes high baud rate modulation using advanced technology and small CMOS nodes that are not yet supported in volume, power consumption, single or dual optical carrier options, internal optical amplification requirements, and backward compatibility with 800ZR/ZR+ and 400ZR/ZR+ interfaces.

Meet us at ECOC 2024!
If you will be attending ECOC this year and would like to make connections, we would love to meet you. Click here Arrange a meeting. We hope to see you in Frankfurt!