Acacia targets access networks with coherent QSFP-DD

• Acacia Communications has announced a 100-gigabit coherent QSFP-DD pluggable module.
• The module is the first of several for aggregation in the access network.

The second article addressing what next for coherent

Part 2: 100-gigabit coherent QSFP-DD

Acacia Communications has revisited 100-gigabit coherent but this time for access rather than metro networks.

Acacia’s metro 100-gigabit coherent pluggable product, a CFP, was launched in 2014. The pluggable has a reach from 80km to 1,200km and consumes 24-26W.

Tom Williams

The latest coherent module is the first QSFP-DD to support a speed lower than the 400-gigabit 400ZR and ZR+ applications that have spurred the coherent pluggable market. 

The launching of a 100-gigabit coherent QSFP-DD reflects a growing need to aggregate 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) links at the network edge as 5G and fibre are deployed.

“The 10GbE links in all the different types of access networks highlight a need for a cost-effective way to do this aggregation,” says Tom Williams, vice president of marketing at Acacia.

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Books in 2019 - Final Part

Gazettabyte asks industry figures each year to cite the memorable books they have read. These include fiction, non-fiction and work-related titles.

In the second and final part, the recommendations during 2019 of Analysys Mason's Dana Cooperson and Tom Williams from Acacia Communications are included.  

Part 2 of 2

 

Dana Cooperson, Research Director, Analysys Mason

I’ll cheat somewhat and go back several years when picking favourite books and then I’ll focus on titles read in 2019.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past five years thinking about, helping my kids apply for, and paying for university education, so education-related books have been a focus. 

My first recommendation is Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, by William Deresiewicz, an ex-professor and admissions counsellor at Yale. 

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ECOC 2019 industry reflections II

Gazettabyte requested the thoughts of industry figures after attending the ECOC show, held in Dublin. In particular, what developments and trends they noted, what they learned and what, if anything, surprised them. Input from II-VI, Ciena, Fujitsu Optical Components and Acacia Communications. The second and final part. 

Sanjai Parthasarathi, chief marketing officer at II-VI 

One new theme at ECOC is the demand for lower-cost 100-gigabit coherent transceivers for deployment in optical access for wireless access and fibre-deep cable TV. Such demand would significantly expand the market.

It was noteworthy at the show how 5G has become a significant factor influencing the wireless access market, with the potential for wide deployment of dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) technology with wavelength switching and tuning functions, not only in traditional network architectures but interesting new ones too. 

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Acacia heralds the era of terabit-plus optical channels

Acacia Communications has unveiled the AC1200-SC2 that delivers 1.2 terabits over a single optical channel. 

The SC2 (single chip, single channel) is an upgrade of Acacia’s high-end AC1200 module. The AC1200 too is a 1.2-terabit module but uses two optical channels, each transmitting a 600-gigabit wavelength. The SC2 sends 1.2 terabits using two sub-carriers that fit within a single 150GHz-wide channel.

Each line is a data rate. Shown is the scope of how the baud rate and the modulation scheme can be varied and its impact on channel width, reach and data rate. Source: ADVA.

“In the SC2, we take care of everything so the user configures a single channel that is easier to manage in their network,” says Tom Williams, vice president of marketing at Acacia.

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Cisco-Acacia blurs the optical ecosystem vendor divide

Cisco Systems’ acquisition of Acacia Communications would make it first to market with a 400ZR pluggable coherent interface. So claims Vladimir Kozlov, CEO of LightCounting Market Research. 

“This is the main reason Cisco is doing the deal,” says Kozlov. “It is very important for Cisco to get its core routers with DWDM optics and push network evolution in this direction.” 

Cisco is keen to grow its market share among service providers and lead in the development of software for automating telecom networks centred around routers, he says: “This will be the best way for Cisco to re-energise its optical transport business.”

Tom Williams, Acacia“We are planning to sample [the 400ZR] before the deal closes,” says Tom Williams, vice president for marketing at Acacia. “Our plan is to be first to volume, that is the most important thing.”

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second half of Cisco’s fiscal year, 2020 (February-July 2020).

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Acacia bets on silicon as coherent enters its next phase

Gazettabyte interviewed Acacia Communications’ president and CEO, Murugesan ‘Raj’ Shanmugaraj, as the coherent technology company celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Acacia Communications has come a long way since Raj Shanmugaraj (pictured) first joined the company as CEO in early 2010. “It was just a few conference rooms and we didn't have enough chairs,” he says.

The company has since become a major optical coherent player with revenues of $340 million in 2018; revenues that would have been higher but for the four-month trade ban imposed by the US on Chinese equipment maker ZTE, an Acacia customer.

And as the market for coherent technology continues to grow, Acacia and other players are preparing for new opportunities. 

“We are still in the early stages of the disruption," says Shanmugaraj. “You will see higher performance [coherent systems] in some parts of the network but there is going to be growth as coherent moves closer to the network edge.” 

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Acacia eyes pluggables as it demos its AC1200 module

The emerging market opportunity for pluggable coherent modules is causing companies to change their strategies. 

Ciena is developing and plans to sell its own coherent modules. And now Acacia Communications, the coherent technology specialist, says it is considering changing its near-term coherent digital signal processor (DSP) roadmap to focus on coherent pluggables for data centre interconnect and metro applications. 

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