Ethernet Alliance Showcases Latest Generation of Ethernet Technologies at OFC 2015

The Ethernet Alliance, a global consortium dedicated to the continued success and advancement of Ethernet technologies, today announced it will be hosting a live, multi-vendor interoperability demo in booth 2531 at the upcoming Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC 2015) from March 24 – 26, 2015 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, Calif. The demonstration showcases the latest generation of innovative 10, 40, and 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) advancements from an array of Ethernet Alliance member companies.

“Our OFC 2015 multi-vendor demo illustrates how standardization is accelerating the development and evolution of forward-looking Ethernet technologies and extending its application horizon into new markets. It also clearly shows that 40GbE and 100GbE technology has reached the level of maturity needed for active deployment,” said Scott Kipp, president, Ethernet Alliance; and principal technologist, Brocade. “We’re very pleased to have the enthusiastic support and participation of many Ethernet Alliance member companies in our OFC 2015 demo.”

The Ethernet Alliance’s OFC 2015 integrated multi-vendor demo includes innovative 10, 40, and 100GbE solutions from a diverse range of member companies from every corner of the Ethernet ecosystem. The live demonstration emulates two data centers, with each containing a core device and a top-of-rack switch. Additional analysis and test emulation equipment will be connected to simulate traffic typically seen within these setups. A main focus of the demo is highlighting the various types of 100GbE links being leveraged in these configurations, including QSFP28 LR4; CPAK LR4; CFP2 SR10; CPAK SR10; CFP2 LR4; CFP2 ER4f; and CPAK ER4f.

Among member companies taking part in the Ethernet Alliance’s demo are Amphenol Corporation (NYSE: APH); Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM); Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); CommScope (NASDAQ: COMM); Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR); Hitachi, Ltd. (TYO: 6501); Ixia (NASDAQ: XXIA); Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR); Oclaro, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLR); Spirent Communications (LSE: SPT.L); and Teledyne LeCroy, Inc.

During OFC, the Ethernet Alliance will also be launching the industry’s first publicly available roadmap charting the future course of the billion port/year Ethernet market. With the continued advancement of 40GbE and 100GbE, and the move to develop new speeds such as 2.5GbE and 5GbE, the organization is looking ahead and providing a view to Ethernet’s future via its comprehensive roadmap. To learn more about the Ethernet Alliance’s new roadmap, please visit booth 2531 on the OFC expo floor.

Additionally, the Ethernet Alliance is hosting two OFC 2015 panels in Expo Theater II, Exhibit Hall G of the Los Angeles Convention Center on Tuesday, March 24, 2015:

• Next Generation Tunable Technology and Applications, 10:30 – 11:30am PST. Led by moderator Kevin Affolter, director of product line management, JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU), panelists Srinath Kalluri, senior engineering development manager, JDSU; Vladmir Kozlov, CEO LightCounting; and Robert Blum, director of strategic marketing, Oclaro, Inc. will explore areas of significant investment and innovation in new application spaces for tunable technology. The panel will also address the development and adoption of tunable-based solutions such as tunable XFP and SFP+.
• Ethernet Roadmaps, 11:30am – 12:30pm PST. Moderated by Ethernet Alliance President Scott Kipp, panelists Kapil Shrikhande, principal engineer, Dell, Inc.; David Chalupsky, product architect, Network Division, Intel Corporation; and Mark Gustlin, principal system architect, Xilinx, Inc. will discuss the variety of coming Ethernet speeds and target applications driving their development. Additionally, panelists will explore the timing of these speeds and their underlying technologies.

To experience the Ethernet Alliance live multi-vendor demo at OFC 2015, please visit booth number 2531 on the expo floor; for live Twitter updates, please follow the #EAOFC2015 hashtag. For more information about the Ethernet Alliance, please visit http://www.ethernetalliance.org, follow @EthernetAllianc and on Twitter, visit its Facebook page, or join the Ethernet Alliance LinkedIn group. Individuals who would like to receive updates on Ethernet Alliance, activities, and events may sign up for the organization’s newsletter at www.ethernetalliance.org/newsletter.

About the Ethernet Alliance

The Ethernet Alliance is a global consortium that includes system and component vendors, industry experts, and university and government professionals who are committed to the continued success and expansion of Ethernet technology. The Ethernet Alliance takes Ethernet standards to market by supporting activities that span from incubation of new Ethernet technologies to interoperability demonstrations and education.

Additional Quotes:

“For the past six years Amphenol has been part of the Ethernet Alliance live demo at the OFC exhibition and is once again proud to be involved in this year’s events. The OFC conference and exhibition is one of the nation’s premier optical events each year and the Ethernet Alliance booth is great place for designers and end users to get the latest information on the latest in GbE and see the latest products in live and static demos.

Amphenol will be demonstrating our world class 10GbE SFP+, 40GbE QSFP+ and 100GbE interconnect systems. Amphenol will showcase our passive and active copper cables to our latest AOC’s (Active Optical Cable assemblies) as well as our SFP+ and QSFP+ cages and connectors. In Addition we will be showcasing a new offering of High Density (HD) rack mount optical connectivity panels and trunk cable solutions designed to increase density to improve cable routing and tray congestion.” – Greg McSorley, technical business development manager, Amphenol Corporation

“Brocade is honored to contribute to the Ethernet Alliance at OFC 2015. This event consistently provides an ideal platform for us to show the importance of interoperable standardization in Ethernet through demos and panel presentations.” – Ken Cheng, CTO & SVP, Corporate Development and Emerging Business, Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.

“The demand for higher bandwidth is a driving force toward collaboration and standardization in Ethernet technology. We are thankful for the opportunity to join other top vendors at the OFC 2015 Ethernet Alliance showcase to provide demonstrations on the latest advancements in interoperability and flexibility to support 10, 40, 100G Ethernet, and beyond." – Kevin St. Cyr, senior vice president of Enterprise Solutions, CommScope

"Finisar is very pleased to demonstrate our CFP4 optical modules showcasing 100GE interoperability with other members of the Ethernet Alliance. The CFP4 form factor will play a key role in next-generation 100G carrier applications, supporting both the required increase in bandwidth density as well as multiple reaches and standards." – Christian Urricariet, director of marketing for high-speed optics, Finisar Corporation

“Hitachi Cable America is excited to participate in the Ethernet Alliance’s interoperability demonstration with our high-performance interconnects – designed to meet the market requirements for speed, density, power consumption and reliability. We’re grateful for the opportunity to highlight our 40GbE/100GbE optical transceivers, active optical cables, and direct attach copper cables, as well as our premise and fiber optic cables at OFC 2015.” – Michael Ressl, vice president, business development and technology, Hitachi Cable America Inc.

"In an increasingly competitive market, equipment manufacturers must deliver higher-speed and more flexible networking solutions that meet industry standards. Ixia is focused on providing the solutions our customers need to develop, test, and validate the optical networking technologies of the future. Ixia developed the world’s first 40GbE, 100GbE and 400GbE test platforms, and helping the Ethernet Alliance with its 10/40/100GbE demonstrations at OFC 2015 reaffirms our commitment to advancing Ethernet technologies to meet the latest market requirements.” – Jim Smith, vice president of marketing, Ixia

“As global bandwidth demand continues to increase, our core routing and switching customers are upgrading to 100GbE interfaces, and a variety of applications require longer reaches of up to 40km. Oclaro is pleased to see the introduction and interoperability demonstration of a 100G CFP2 that supports 40km based on the so-called ‘100G ER4f’ interface specification. We believe this new solution will enable lower power and lower cost 100G transceivers through the use of a 25G APD instead of an SOA + PIN-PD receiver and will help further drive 100GbE adoption in the network.” – Kevin Granucci, VP of strategy and marketing, Optical Connectivity Business Division, Oclaro, Inc.

"The increased bandwidth, density and scale required by cloud-based data center deployments has accelerated the pace of development and expanded the number of options of high speed Ethernet form factors and physical media interfaces. In this demonstration with the Ethernet Alliance, we are showcasing how Spirent's test solutions ensure 100G and 40G Ethernet interoperability across the abundance of options available for Ethernet networks today. Spirent has the most flexible, highest density and highest performing test modules to ensure network interoperability, performance and availability." – Abhitesh Kastuar, general manager, Cloud & IP business unit, Spirent Communications

"The emergence of carrier-like high data rates in Data Centers around the world and the evolution of protocols like iWARP, RoCE, and NVMe over Fabrics, have created new challenges for the Ethernet and Fibre Channel communities. No longer are virtual probes and software taps alone sufficient for the capture, analysis, and debug of the high-speed data transiting the bus.

Teledyne LeCroy is leveraging its industry leading T.A.P.3™ probing design experience and our extensive knowledge of both the physical and logical layers, to create tools that compliment and add significant value to the development, validation, and integration operations for our customers.

We are pleased and excited about the increased adoption of the SierraNet line-rate analysis tools in the high-speed fabric environments and we are continuing our market leading efforts, creating new tools to support the Gen 6 Fibre Channel and 25/50/100G Ethernet ecosystems." – Mickey Romm, general manager, Protocol Solutions Group, Teledyne LeCroy, Inc.