Infinera’s ICE flow

Infinera’s newest Infinite Capacity Engine 5 (ICE5) doubles capacity to 2.4 terabits. The ICE, which comprises a coherent DSP and a photonic integrated circuit (PIC), is being demonstrated this week at the OFC show being held in San Diego. 

Infinera has also detailed its ICE6, being developed in tandem with the ICE5. The two designs represent a fork in Infinera’s coherent engine roadmap in terms of the end markets they will address.

Geoff BennettThe ICE5 is targeted at data centre interconnect and applications where fibre in being added towards the network edge. The next-generation access network of cable operators is one such example. Another is mobile operators deploying fibre in preparation for 5G.

First platforms using the ICE5 will be unveiled later this year and will ship early next year.

Infinera’s ICE6 is set to appear two years after the ICE5. Like the ICE4, Infinera’s current Infinite Capacity Engine, the ICE6 will be used across all of Infinera’s product portfolio.

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Infinera unveils first platforms using its latest PIC & DSP

• The Cloud Xpress 2 platform for data centre interconnects packs 1.2 terabits in a 1 rack unit (1RU) box.  
• Infinera has also unveiled two DTN-X XT 'meshponder' platforms that aggregate client signals and offer sliceable transponder functionality that delivers wavelengths to multiple destinations. 
• The company also announced an open flexible grid line system that supports the C and L bands 
• Three of the top four US internet content providers are Infinera customers.

Infinera has started to unveil its platform portfolio based on its Infinite Capacity Engine that combines the company's latest-generation photonic integrated circuit (PIC) and coherent DSP-ASIC technology.

Geoff Bennett

The first platform using the technology is the Cloud Xpress 2, Infinera second-generation data centre interconnect platform, was unveiled in September. More recently, it has added two DTN-X meshponder platforms - the XT-3300 and the XT-3600 - as well as upgrading two of its existing DTN-X platforms.

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Infinera goes multi-terabit with its latest photonic IC

In his new book, The Great Acceleration, Robert Colvile discusses how things we do are speeding up.

In 1845 it took U.S. President James Polk six months to send a message to California. Just 15 years later Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address could travel the same distance in under eight days, using the Pony Express. But the use of ponies for transcontinental communications was shortlived once the electrical telegraph took hold. [1]

The relentless progress in information transfer, enabled by chip advances and Moore's law, is taken largely for granted. Less noticed is the progress being made in integrated photonic chips, most notably by Infinera.    

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