Arelion Achieves 64% CAPEX and 76% OPEX Savings Enabled by Bright 400ZR+ Deployment

In August 2023, Arelion announced that it has taken another landmark step in converging its IP and optical layers as the first global network to deploy 400G QSFP-DD ZR+ Bright coherent optical modules in its production #1 ranked IP backbone. This first regional reach deployment spans 675 kilometers between Stockholm and Copenhagen over third-party Optical Open Line System (O-OLS). According to Arelion, the streamlined architecture eliminates the need for excessive hardware, thereby reducing potential points of failure. As a result, it achieves 64% CAPEX and 76% OPEX savings. This contributes to a significantly more cost-efficient network with fewer interfaces to control and maintain.

Highlighting the benefits of these modules, Arelion’s Mattias Fridström shares his insights in this video from testing the technology to how they can potentially transform network infrastructures.

Mattias Fridström, Vice President & Chief Evangelist at Arelion shares the benefits of deploying Acacia’s 400G QSFP-DD Bright Optical Modules in Arelion’s production IP backbone

Dariusz Solowiej, VP Network Technology & Customer Operations at Arelion added, “With constantly rising demand for our IP services and increasing traffic across the Internet, Arelion is constantly looking to deploy the latest technology. The deployment of 400G QSFP-DD Bright Optical Modules will ensure cost-effective, high-performance connectivity for our customers and help us grow our network in scale as we continue to connect the world. In addition, the coherent pluggable modules also help us achieve our sustainability goals through improved energy efficiency and redeploying redundant hardware assets.”

CENIC Validates Coherent Pluggable Optics for Big Data Applications
Using Bright QSFP-DD coherent optics, the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) turned up a 300 Gbps optical service over CENIC’s production line system between Los Angeles and Sunnyvale and confirmed the error-free performance of the service with a comfortable operating margin.

According to CENIC, the new-generation coherent pluggables integrate an amplifier, making it possible to transmit from the optic at power levels that match those of typical transponder line cards. As a result, external amplification is no longer needed to boost the power level transmitted from the optic before it reaches the optical line system.  As explained by Sana Bellamine, CENIC’s Director of Regional and International Infrastructure, “The elimination of the external amplification requirement is an important step toward simplifying the provisioning of optical services and facilitates the adoption of coherent pluggables over our production line system.”

CENIC Validation Setup Diagram with Bright ZR+ Coherent Pluggables with Integrated Amplifiers

Announced earlier this year, Vodafone Turkey and Sipartech trials are summarized in this article.

Bright 400ZR+ QSFP-DD Modules Expands Applications by Enabling Longer Reach Applications
With an optical transmit power at least 10X greater than 400ZR, Bright QSFP-DD modules enable network operators to expand applications that can be addressed by 400G coherent pluggables in router-based optical deployments to include brownfield and greenfield metro/regional networks with reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) nodes.

Bright 400ZR+ QSFP-DD modules expand applications of 400G coherent pluggable to brownfield and greenfield metro/regional networks with ROADM nodes.

Visit Us at ECOC OIF 400ZR+ Interop Demonstration
If you are attending ECOC and want to see the Acacia Bright ZR+ coherent module in action, check out the 400ZR+ optics interoperability demonstration at the OIF Booth #304.  We hope you see you there!

Additional Resources

• Blog: Brightening ROADM Networks
• Product Page: Bright 400ZR+ coherent pluggable QSFP-DD module

Below is a recap of each speaker’s presentation. You can also watch the replay by registering at this link.

400ZR Evolution:  Not Just for DCI Use Cases Anymore
Sterling explained how 400ZR is a specific technology standard and implementation agreement that was defined by OIF after many years in the making. The key goals were interoperability and reducing power, size and cost in order to fit coherent optics inside client-sized routers and switches. Initial buyers were the large hyperscalers, which was key for driving volume. However, the technology has quickly evolved to also address the requirements of communication service providers (CSPs) who have much broader needs beyond point-to-point connectivity.

Figure 1:  Initially addressing volume hyperscalers, pluggables now meet the diverse needs of CSPs.

400G Pluggables Leverage the Same Component Technology Across Many Applications
Looking back to the original DCI use case, Tom Williams, Sr. Director of Marketing for Acacia, recounted how the industry was able to capitalize on an opportunity to bring the power of coherent into the same form factor as client optics. The key was finding the “sweet” spot in terms of the performance needed to cover a large number of applications. “Fortunately, the work on standardization was started early enough so vendors could start developing them and hit the market at just the right time,” he said.

Figure 2:  Industry standardization efforts drove expansion of 400G pluggable use cases.

As a result, today we are seeing 400G pluggables being used across a wide range of applications, leveraging the same component technology throughout each form factor. This has allowed coherent pluggables to expand from the original DCI use case and into service provider networks such as point-to-point, ROADM, campus, enterprise, and even space.

Figure 3:  Acacia’s comprehensive 400G pluggable portfolio addresses a wide range of hyperscale and service provider applications.

400G Pluggables are Powering Comcast’s Core and Access Networks
Venk Mutalik, Fellow at Comcast, started his presentation by giving a brief overview of the Comcast network. While they have a very large core metro footprint, their access network has 3X the fiber mileage compared to the core, making it a very rich fiber environment. Today, 400G pluggables are in the core and the metro and they expect them to become even more important in the future.

Figure 4:  Comcast deploys many different 400G pluggable form factors throughout its network

For Comcast’s access network, they view this as converged platform that can handle both business and residential services. It is the 100G Bi-Directional CFP-2 pluggable modules that are enabling Comcast to use the access footprint to provide these combined services on one single fiber.

Figure 5: 100G Bi-Directional CFP-2 pluggable modules enable Comcast to combine business and residential services on one single fiber.

Venk explained how Comcast has been able to launch coherent optics in the access domain and it’s been very successful in multiple divisions. “As pluggables become more pervasive, Comcast needs optics to be pluggable, with a good mixture of 100G, 400G, Bi-Di, 400ZR+ and 0dBm pluggable modules,” he said. “Performance, power dissipation, and software automation will continue to be very important, and routers will also need to address the speed and latency requirements.” According to Venk, Comcast is excited about pluggables and is thankful the industry has gotten them to the point where they enable the system to be simpler and more reliable.

Colt Sees 69% Capex Savings and 2X Reduction in Rack Space and Power Consumption
According to Bart Janssens, Senior Specialist Packet Network Architect at Colt Technology Services, 400G pluggables have become a vital piece of Colt’s next-generation packet networks. The company is a business-only infrastructure provider and when they look at their customer requirements, the main trend they see is the need to consume traditional cloud services on demand without limitations on the bandwidth they are consuming between end points.

Figure 6: Colt’s business customers want traditional cloud services on demand without limitations on the bandwidth

To meet these needs for performance and flexibility, Colt moved the traditional Provider/Provider Edge (P/PE) to the edge and then looked for the right technology to put at the center of its core. The solution they chose was Cisco’s Silicon One 8201, which gave them many QSFP-DD ports for 400G coherent pluggables. That allowed Colt to use a fraction of the rack space and power consumption at a much lower cost to build 35.4X more capacity per 1RU. This resulted in a core network using IPoDWDM 400G ZR+ between core routers. Colt then added the same layer in the metro, allowing them to aggregate 100G and 400G to the key data centers using 400G ER1/ZR (Acacia’s Bright 400ZR+)/LR4 DCI. And this year, they expect to extend this concept further to access routers moving to 400G.

According to Bart, 400G pluggables are driving growth in the future expansion they are doing, and he detailed some real-world use cases in Europe using LR, LR4 and ZR+. Colt has been able to improve their core transport costs by 69 percent capex, while at the same time helping the environment by removing rack space and power consumption by double digits. As Bart said in his closing remarks “What is really amazing is the transition of capex spending.  While in the past, the initial spend was on expensive routers, it’s the opposite today. We can just plug in more pluggables and scale our network to meet the never-ending customer growth.”

Watch the replay
Click here to register for the webinar which will give you access to the replay. You can read more about Acacia’s coherent pluggable portfolio here.  If you have any follow-up questions for any of the panelists, please feel free to reach out to us via this contact form.

Supporting data rates up to 1.2 terabits per second (1.2Tbps), the CIM 8 is the first commercial single optical carrier coherent transceiver that breaks into the “Terabit Era.” It is powered by Jannu, Acacia’s 8^th generation digital signal processor (DSP) ASIC, which is based on 5nm CMOS and features the latest in Silicon Photonic technology.  This solution delivers industry-leading performance in a small faceplate pluggable module by combining the Jannu DSP with 3D Siliconization packaging technology. The CIM 8 supports multi-haul applications by using second-generation 3D Shaping technology and continuous baud rate adjustment up to 140Gbaud, enabling customers to scale their networks efficiently and cost-effectively.

“The ability to maximize transmission data rate across a wide range of multi-haul network applications is key for cost-effectively scaling networks,” said Bill Gartner, SVP / GM Optical Systems and Optics Group at Cisco.  “Not only does the CIM 8 deliver exceptional performance, but it also consumes less than half the power per bit of competing solutions, allowing us to support terabit transmission with a small pluggable module.”

“Shipping CIM 8 Terabit Era optical transceivers with 140Gbaud capability to customers and seeing them tested in carrier networks is very exciting,” said Mehrdad Givehchi, VP of Engineering for Acacia. “Delivering the highest channel capacity and longest reach with maximum fiber utilization, the CIM 8 transceiver enables a wide range of multi-haul network applications including DCI, metro, long-haul, and subsea.”

Benefits of Increased Baud Rates

Increasing baud rate is an efficient way to enable more cost-effective optical networks by reducing the number of optics needed to support a given transmission capacity. By doubling the baud rate between successive generations, CIM 8 supports twice the capacity per carrier over greater reaches than earlier generations such as our widely deployed AC1200 coherent module. Three 400GbE client interfaces can be transmitted over virtually any network application, delivering 1.2Tbps per carrier capacity for high-capacity DCI interfaces, 800G per carrier capacity over most optical links using 4 bits/symbol (~16QAM) modulation and 400G QPSK over ultra-long-haul and subsea distances.

Performance Optimizing Features Enabled by the Jannu DSP

A key feature of the Jannu DSP is Acacia’s second-generation 3D Shaping technology, which includes advanced Probabilistic Constellation Shaping, Adaptive Baud Rate, and enhanced transmission impairment compensation algorithms providing superior performance using a single carrier implementation. This technology gives service providers unprecedented transmission flexibility to match their network’s architecture, optimize fiber utilization, simplify deployment, and save on both CAPEX and OPEX.

The Jannu DSP provides customers with continuous baud rate adjustment up to 140Gbaud and continuous modulation to optimize utilization of available spectrum in point-to-point DWDM or cascaded ROADM paths. As a single carrier design, the Jannu DSP incorporates Acacia’s most advanced line-rate processing algorithms to efficiently overcome fiber transmission impairments across various fiber types and fiber cable installation conditions. These power-efficient algorithms are designed to compensate fiber non-linearity to achieve longer transmission distance, automatically compensate for very large chromatic dispersion over trans-Pacific submarine cables, tolerate older deployed fibers with high Polarization Mode Dispersion, as well as provide fast state-of-polarization tracking required for aerial fiber cables in stormy weather conditions.

Leverages Acacia’s 3D Siliconization

The CIM 8 continues Acacia’s history of technology leadership by delivering industry leading performance based on the same silicon photonics used in high-volume pluggable modules. 3D Siliconization, a key enabler for the industry leading 140Gbaud, uses highly scalable and reliable volume semiconductor manufacturing processes, leveraging 3D stacking technology to enable a single packaged device to include all the high speed electrical and opto-electronic functions necessary for coherent transceivers. This device decreases footprint by integrating the DSP, Photonic Integrated Circuit, modulator drivers, and Transimpedance Amplifiers, and is manufactured using standard CMOS packaging processes that offer improvements in reliability, cost, and volume scaling.

To learn more, visit the Coherent Interconnect Module 8 page or contact us.

Supporting Resources

Acacia Unveils Industry’s First Single Carrier 1.2T Multi-Haul Pluggable Module

How Industry Trends are Driving Coherent Technology Classifications

The Road Ahead for Next Generation Multi-Haul Designs (Part 1 of 3)

The Road Ahead for Next Generation Multi-Haul Designs (Part 2 of 3)

The Road Ahead for Next-Generation Multi-Haul Designs (Part 3 of 3)

100GBaud+ Silicon Photonics Solutions Drive Optical Network Evolution

Connecting the Un-Connected with LEO Satellites
Current statistics show that more than a third of the world’s population is currently without internet access. LEO satellites can play a significant role in closing this digital divide because they can be distributed to provide connectivity to anywhere it’s needed on earth. With advancements in rocket launch technology, LEO satellites require less energy to deploy and less power for transmissions because they are closer to earth. This makes them more affordable and easier to replace. Their proximity to earth also provides lower transmit/receive latency compared to traditional satellites, enabling the use of more latency sensitive applications that were not viable with a traditional satellite network. For these reasons, many companies around the world have been getting into the business of LEO satellites to create a communication network in space.

As noted by the World Economic Forum in February 2022, below are just a few of the more notable LEO constellation launches:

• SpaceX’s Starlink has deployed nearly 2,000 satellites in orbit and has applied for licenses to fly more than 40,000 satellites.
• Amazon has announced plans to deploy more than 3,000 satellites later this year.
• The European Union is developing a LEO satellite system worth €6 billion.

These networks are like the worldwide telecommunications infrastructure we have on earth, except instead of sending signals across fiber optic cables, signals are sent via laser beams through free space.

Why Optical Communications Technology?
Just as key fiber optic advancements helped to improve our global telecommunications infrastructure, these technologies can be used to power the future of space communications. Leveraging technologies such as coherent optical networking, the terrestrial communications industry has been able to migrate to higher performing networks, and today we are reaping the rewards with next generation 400G, 600G and even 1.2 Terabit network speeds. Coherent technology is evolving rapidly and continuing to push the envelope on low power consumption, performance, cost, and small form factors. These are attributes that can be key for building an inter-satellite communications network.

Optical communication in space uses what is referred to as “free space optics (FSO)”. With FSO, data can be transmitted at high speeds by laser beams outside the visible spectrum. Free space optics has been used for many years between satellites with 10 Gbps capacity. Today there is massive deployment of FSO due to the increased LEO constellation launches. This has led to the need for 100 Gbps and above speeds leveraging high Rx sensitivity coherent technology receivers to meet the large data traffic demand between satellites.

Our Connected World
As this space network evolves and connects to our global terrestrial telecommunications network, there can be many benefits. For some that may mean more bandwidth for existing and new applications, while for others it may mean that wireless communications are more affordable such as on airplanes, in the ocean or in remote areas.

Airplanes could soon provide faster, more secure, and more affordable communications for passengers by leveraging these space networks. And for the more than a third of the global population without internet access, it has the potential to bring education to rural areas, create jobs, and help people rise out of poverty. It can even help during natural or man-made disasters when terrestrial networks are knocked out, bringing emergency internet connectivity to wherever it’s needed.  For example, according to Reuters, SpaceX made its Starlink satellite broadband service available in Ukraine after its communication services were disrupted as a result of the Russian invasion.

It is exciting to see the innovation and product development taking place to build out a large-scale space communication network. While there are challenges to overcome, there is already so much innovation taking place. At Acacia, we believe satellite technology can enable the next generation of broadband infrastructure and we’re excited that high-capacity transmission enabled by our coherent technology could help make these revolutionary networks possible.

The Growth of 400G Pluggables
LightCounting’s Market Forecast from October 2021 estimates that the opportunity for pluggables based on 400ZR and 800ZR technology will surpass $2.3 billion by 2026. Acacia is experiencing strong demand for its 400G products and is ramping quickly.

This is being driven by growing bandwidth demand that is putting pressure on cloud providers to increase the data center interconnects (DCI) that link their facilities around the globe. 400G pluggable modules represent a key architectural change in high-bandwidth data center interconnects because they can be plugged directly into switches and routers offering the same density for both coherent DWDM and client optics in the same chassis. Much has been written about how this architectural change helps network operators support their growing bandwidth demands in a more cost-efficient manner.

Service providers are embracing the same technology to address applications with greater reaches and more complex network architectures. Acacia is continuing to introduce product configurations that offer maximum flexibility for service providers to leverage common technology to scale their network capacity.

We believe 400G pluggable solutions including “coherent gray optics” will continue to expand and allow customers to address a wide range of applications for cloud DCI and service provider networks with interoperability support for 400ZR, OpenZR+, Open ROADM, and CableLabs.

Acacia experts are presenting in a few sessions on this topic if you’d like to hear more:

Show Floor Program: Deployment of 400ZR and the Ongoing OIF Work to Define 800ZR/LR
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 9, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Acacia Speaker: Tom Williams, Sr. Director of Marketing

Show Floor Program: OpenZR+: Enabling High-performance Router-based Optics
Date/Time: Thursday, March 10, 11:30 – 12:30 pm
Acacia Speaker: Tom Williams, Sr. Director of Marketing

Market Watch Panel V: Evolution of Coherent Transceiver Architectures for Specific Applications
Date/Time: Thursday, March 10, 10:30 – 12:00 pm
Acacia Speaker: Anuj Malik, Director of Product and Strategy

Performance Optimized Multi-Haul Solutions
Another hot topic continues to be ultra-high-performance multi-haul solutions.  The discussions around the importance of Silicon Photonics and roadmap alignment with industry trends continue.

Coherent technology innovations are helping service providers evolve their optical networks, optimize performance and lower cost per bit. To continue to advance, these providers need high-performance solutions that maximize their fiber investment, reduce power, simplify operations, and decrease costs.

To meet these needs, Acacia’s multi-haul coherent optical solutions work across multiple applications to help cost-effectively meet bandwidth needs. Acacia’s latest innovation, the Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8) solution, is the industry’s first 1.2T pluggable coherent module designed to enable network operators to maximize transmission data rate across a wide range of multi-haul network applications including DCI, metro, long-haul, and subsea. In fact, the CIM 8 just received a 5.0 rating in the annual Lightwave Innovation Reviews.

If you’d like to learn more about the advancements in this area, we have several Acacia speakers sharing their expertise at these OFC sessions:

Workshop: Single-Carrier Versus Multi-Carrier for >800G Coherent Optics: A Revived Debate After a Decade
Date/Time: Sunday, March 6, 4:00 – 6:30 pm
Acacia Speaker: Ian Dedic, Distinguished Engineer

Workshop: How will 200G (and beyond) per Lambda IM/DD Compete with Coherent Technology for Intra-DC Applications
Date/Time: Sunday, March 6, 4:00 – 6:30 pm
Acacia Speaker: Mark Heimbuch, Principal Engineer

Panel: What are the Parallelization Technologies for Cost and Energy Efficient 1.6Tb Links?
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 8, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Acacia Speaker: Long Chen, Director of Engineering

Panel: 1.6T SiPh Coherent Solution for Intra data Center Interconnection
Date/Time:  Tuesday, March 8, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Acacia Speaker:  Hongbin Zhang, Principal Engineer 

Acacia Participating in First-Ever Public Multivendor 400ZR Interop Demo
Acacia’s 400ZR QSFP-DD and 400G CFP2 Pluggable Coherent Optical Modules will be used in the Optical Internetworking Forum Interoperability Demonstration to showcase progress on 400ZR.   OIF’s 400ZR project is critical in facilitating the reduction of cost and complexity for high bandwidth data center interconnects and promoting interoperability among optical module manufacturers. This is the first-ever public multivendor 400ZR interop demo. The demo consists of a full implementation of 400GE across an 80km, DWDM ecosystem using multiple modules, router, open line systems, and test equipment vendors, demonstrating the project achieved its interoperability goals.  You can see the demo at OIF’s booth, #5101.

Come See Us!
If you are attending the show and want to connect in person or virtually, we’d welcome the opportunity to meet with you. Click here to set up a meeting.  We hope to see you in San Diego!

Coherent Technology Evolution
We begin our series by reviewing the state of the industry and its impact on the evolution of coherent technology for supporting high speed optical transmission.

Multiple factors such as required bandwidth, technology capabilities, scalability, and cost should be considered by the industry to reach consensus on the next transmission data rate. These factors are explored and debated before investing dollars and resources into developing the solutions for the next generation. Ethernet, the dominant client protocol traffic type, has recently moved beyond 100 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) to current implementations at 400GbE, looking ahead towards 800GbE. To support these client traffic rates, coherent solutions also should provide optimal transport solutions for different distance applications with cost-efficiencies.

To achieve a targeted data rate over a single carrier, coherent designs utilize two key variables:  modulation order and baud rate. To transport 400GbE over DCI and metro links, industry consensus focused on utilizing 4 bits/symbol (~16QAM) at the Class 2 baud rate of 60-64Gbaud (corresponding to a 400G line rate). This allowed the design to meet the reach requirements for high-volume DCI and metro applications. As I expand on later in this blog series, this consensus is an important “stake in the ground” with respect to scaling to future coherent solutions and network architectures as bandwidth and client requirements continue to increase.

A Shift in Focus
Much has been written about how coherent DSP with algorithmic advancements over the years have resulted in narrowing the gap to the Shannon limit, the theoretical maximum information capacity within an optical channel. While each generation introduces innovations to improve performance, as the gap to the Shannon Limit narrows, the additional capacity achieved from digital signal processing power is becoming smaller. Thus, the industry has shifted its focus to increasing the baud rate per carrier, while also introducing performance-improving innovations, to enable end-users to achieve cost-efficiencies as bandwidth demand continues to grow. Newly introduced Class 3 120+Gbaud solutions based on silicon photonics offer a path to cost-effectively double capacity over a single carrier compared to current Class 2 implementations.

Moore’s Law
While the Shannon Limit informs us as to the maximum capacity allowed in an optical channel, the equally important Moore’s law predicts the trend for semiconductor industry transistor density to double approximately every two years helps to predict how coherent DSPs shrink in size and power consumption. This helped usher in generation after generation of increased functionality, size-reduced DSPs that can be leveraged for not only small sized transceiver form factors but also to support increasingly sophisticated algorithms for performance-optimized multi-haul transmission.

Photonic Integration
In 2014, Acacia introduced the first pluggable coherent module (CFP form factor) which laid the groundwork for future smaller pluggable modules, including the CFP2 and QSFP-DD multi-source agreement (MSA) form factors. Silicon photonics (SiPh), which uses semiconductor design tools and processes, played a key role in this evolution because of the benefits in size, power, cost, and yield. The miniaturization of the coherent DSPs along with SiPh technology enabled co-packaged designs to fit inside these compact MSA pluggable form factors. Performance-optimized multi-haul coherent solutions based on SiPh were able to leverage these miniaturized designs as well as silicon manufacturing processes.

These technology trends inform our decisions when we make investments in next generation coherent technology. One of Acacia’s strengths has been our ability to recognize technology shifts starting with the adoption of coherent to silicon photonics and pluggable DCO modules. We believe that a roadmap that is aligned with industry trends can best help network operators meet their growing bandwidth demands.

Learn More About the Considerations Driving Next Generation Multi-Haul Solutions

• Part 2 of 3
• Part 3 of 3

That means 1) knowing what traffic granularity they need to transport and then 2) scaling the capacity in their transport network so that it aligns with the traffic granularity they need to move.

In addition, operators are looking for a common solution that can maximize network capacity over the widest network coverage. This can provide the ability to scale to higher capacity in a cost-effective way.

400GbE is Today’s Unit of Currency
Networks are evolving from 100GbE to 400GbE dominant traffic. As Telia Carrier stated, “400G: it’s here and huge!.” Network operators now need to figure out a way to build their networks to best support 400GbE traffic. True multi-haul solutions have emerged to meet this need because they were designed to be a flexible solution for DCI, metro, long-haul and subsea applications. However, a multi-haul solution is only effective if it can carry the different types of traffic it needs to transport while maximizing the value of existing infrastructure and reducing operational costs.

Multi-haul solutions maximize fiber utilization and simplify deployment.

Modulation Order Drives Design Decisions
Class 2 implementations utilizing 4 bits/symbol (~16QAM) and 60-64Gbaud have been standardized in the industry because they address a wide range of DCI and service provider metro applications as networks transition to 400GbE. Multi-haul implementations allow even greater reaches using approximately 4 bits/symbol with shaping and higher gain forward error correction algorithms. Class 2 multi-haul products transport 400GbE clients over the majority of network applications using 4 bits/symbol, with the ability to dial down the modulation format to 2 bits/symbol for the most challenging ultra-long-haul links.

Looking to Class 3 multi-haul products, efficient transmission of 400GbE traffic can best be achieved by doubling the baud rate to 120-128Gbaud. This enables 4 bits/symbol transmission supporting 800G line rates and 2 bits/symbol supporting 400G line rates. In high-capacity edge applications, these Class 3 products can support up to 1.2T line rates. By aligning client traffic granularity with the modulation orders that can best support network applications, identifying the preferred baud rate for Class 3 implementations becomes straightforward.

The industry has standardized on Class 2 implementations utilizing 4 bits/symbol (~16QAM) and 60-64Gbaud for various 400G implementations that address a range of DCI and service provider network applications.

Maximizing Network Application Coverage
A recently introduced Class 3 multi-haul solution, Acacia’s Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8), can address transmission of multiple 400GbE client interfaces over virtually any network application, delivering 1.2T per carrier capacity for high-capacity DCI interfaces, 800G per carrier capacity over most optical links using 4 bits/symbol (~16QAM) modulation, and 400G per carrier over long-haul and subsea links.

Leveraging actual data from representative networks, the below simulation shows that the CIM 8 can effectively address subsea applications with 400G links, long-haul and metro with regional 800G (2x400G) and DCI and metro networks with 1.2T.  This means that the CIM 8 can provide efficient transport of 400GbE client traffic across the entire network, including 90 percent coverage using 800G (2x400GbE client traffic).

Utilizing data from actual service provider networks, Acacia’s CIM 8 can provide ~90% 800G network coverage compared to <20% for ~96Gbaud systems.

Scaling Efficiently and Cost-Effectively Today and Tomorrow
Network operators are being challenged more than ever before to scale their networks efficiently and cost effectively. Key to achieving this is knowing what kinds of traffic they are transporting and then building the right system that can most effectively transport that traffic.

As we approach Shannon’s Limit, further improvement will come from going to higher baud rates, but in a cost-effective way. As this article has discussed, having one solution that can be leveraged across all the various applications can enable an efficient and cost-effective solution for network operators looking to scale their networks today and in the future.

1.2T Delivering Maximum Capacity, Reach & Fiber Efficiency

Acacia, now part of Cisco, is once again introducing a ground-breaking coherent solution with the industry’s first 1.2 terabits per second (1.2T) faceplate pluggable coherent module, highlighting a new 8th generation Coherent Interconnect Module family, powered by Acacia’s Jannu 5nm CMOS digital signal processor (DSP) ASIC. This solution delivers industry-leading performance with single carrier 1.2T operation and combines the Jannu DSP with 3D Siliconization packaging technology which includes the silicon photonics integrated circuit (SiPh PIC), high-speed modulator driver and transimpedance amplifier (TIA) in a single optoelectronic package.

The Jannu DSP is designed to offer network operators the ability to maximize transmission data rate across a wide range of multi-haul network applications including DCI, metro, long-haul and subsea. “By leveraging the latest 5nm CMOS process node and our advanced signal processing algorithms, we’re delivering exceptional performance with less than half the power per bit of competing solutions, enabling a pluggable deployment model,” says Christian Rasmussen, Sr. Director, DSP and Optics Engineering and Founder at Acacia.

The Industry’s Next Class of Coherent Interconnect

The architecture of the new Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8) solution builds upon the success of the Acacia AC1200 product family and aligns closely with the latest client data rates and coherent industry standardization efforts. The CIM 8 is designed to enable network operators to double their transmission capacity over even greater reaches. For links requiring maximum capacity, the new module can provide 1.2T capacity over a single wavelength.

“Historically, Acacia has been a groundbreaker in advancing coherent technology, and the company continues to demonstrate a long-term vision for how multi-haul coherent optics should evolve over time,” said Dr. Scott Wilkinson, Lead Analyst for Optical Components at Cignal AI. “Acacia’s new Coherent Interconnect Module is a great example of market leadership. This solution is a logical next step following the widely adopted Pico DSP-based products and will provide pluggability that is attractive to both traditional and cloud operators.”

The below figure illustrates how coherent technology has evolved in response to growing bandwidth demands. Different baud-rate classes are grouped based on technological capabilities, industry standardization (such as OIF, IEEE, Open ROADM, OpenZR+ MSA, CableLabs, ITU) and common industry investments. As the below figure depicts, the next class of coherent optical products, Class 3, enables a doubling of baud rates from the current Class 2 technology. Class 2 products include both multi-haul embedded modules and 400G faceplate pluggables where the latter was driven by standardization efforts that drove heavy investments into products centered around 16QAM, 60+Gbaud per 75GHz channel transmission.

Throughout this evolution, it has been critical that each successive class provide network architecture compatibility to the previous class, primarily reach and channel width. Acacia’s Class 3 product will support 150GHz channels with double the capacity per carrier and longer reach than that of the previous class, providing a simple, scalable path that is compatible with the previous network architecture generation.

The CIM 8 family is a Class 3 solution that can address transmission of multiple 400GbE client interfaces over virtually any network application, delivering 1.2T per carrier capacity for high-capacity DCI interfaces and 800G per carrier capacity over most optical links using 4 bits/symbol (~16QAM) modulation.

Leading in Performance and Fiber Utilization

The Jannu DSP features Acacia’s second-generation 3D Shaping technology, which leverages enhanced probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS) algorithms and Adaptive Baud Rate, a feature introduced in Acacia’s Pico DSP and widely embraced by network operators. The Jannu DSP provides customers with continuous baud rate adjustment up to 140Gbaud to optimize utilization of available spectrum in a single-span or in cascaded ROADM paths. These 3D Shaping features give service providers unprecedented transmission flexibility to match their network’s architecture, optimize fiber utilization, simplify deployment, and save on both CAPEX and OPEX.

As a single carrier design, the Jannu DSP also includes Acacia’s advanced line-rate processing algorithms to efficiently overcome fiber transmission impairments over greenfield or brownfield fiber infrastructures. These power-efficient algorithms are designed to compensate for linear and non-linear impairments, as well as provide state-of-polarization (SOP) tracking with industry leading response times. In addition, the Jannu DSP leverages Acacia’s new innovative soft-decision error correction (SD-FEC) to further enhance performance.

Scaling Optical Network Architectures

Acacia has been working towards a clear vision of how to cost-effectively scale network capacity for many years. The Jannu DSP builds on the performance and architectural benefits that have made the Pico DSP such a successful Class 2 coherent solution, but with double the baud rate and enhanced performance that supports transmission up to 1.2T in 150GHz channels. With adaptive baud rate capabilities, the CIM 8 also offers maximum capacity over any reach and channel plan.

“Today is an exciting new milestone in Acacia’s history as we once again introduce an exciting new product that delivers the type of disruption needed to cost-effectively scale network capacity in the future,” said Mehrdad Givehchi, Sr. Director of Engineering for Hardware and Software and Founder at Acacia. “With every generation of product, we have been able to deliver higher transmission data rates, lower power consumption and higher performance and I am proud to see this new product carry on that legacy.”

Crossing the Pluggable Terabit Threshold with High-Density Integration

Acacia’s 3D Siliconization is a major contributing factor in how the CIM 8 can cross the terabit capacity threshold and support faceplate pluggable optics that simplify network deployment and maintenance. 3D Siliconization applies integration and 3D stacking packaging techniques to enable a single device to include all the high-speed optoelectronic functions necessary for coherent transceivers. This device decreases footprint by including the DSP, SiPh PIC, drivers, TIAs, and is manufactured using standard CMOS packaging processes that leverage the same reliability, cost, and volume scaling advantages. With 3D Siliconization, the high-speed RF interfaces are tightly coupled together, resulting in improved signal integrity for high baud rate signals.

The high-density packaging as well as an advanced high-speed modulator design provides superior frequency response that enables the 140Gbaud performance as explained in this white paper.

Acacia Technology Leadership and Vision

Transforming industry trends into a development strategy takes the kind of vision Acacia has repeatedly shown in driving the adoption of pluggable digital coherent optical (DCO) modules based on silicon photonics. However, Acacia’s silicon photonics expertise expands beyond just pluggable coherent solutions. As shown in the above figure, Acacia has previously introduced multi-haul products in previous classes. In fact, the AC400 Class 1 product was the first commercially deployed all silicon photonics-based coherent module for submarine applications and the silicon photonics-based AC1200 was the industry’s first Class 2 multi-haul solution. The newly introduced CIM 8 continues this history of technology leadership by providing industry leading performance based on the same silicon photonics used in high volume pluggable modules. In addition, Acacia is leveraging the investments being made in next-generation standardized solutions. Aligning these developments helps Acacia to accelerate time to market for both standardized and multi-haul products and benefit from the combined scale.

Acacia was a pioneer of silicon photonics for coherent applications in 2012 when it was the first coherent module vendor to envision silicon as the platform for the integration of multiple discreet photonic functions, increasing the density and reducing cost of optical interconnect products.

“Acacia’s vision and technology leadership has enabled us to transform coherent transmission. Our pioneering role in silicon photonics has led to the introduction of industry leading coherent pluggable and multi-haul solutions,” said Benny Mikkelsen, CTO and Founder of Acacia. “With every new product introduction, we have delivered the right solution at the right time to help our customers meet their growing bandwidth demands, and this new product introduction is a culmination of this proven technology leadership.”

To learn more, visit Coherent Interconnect Module 8 page or contact us.

As an example, Acacia’s high-performance Pico DSP-based 1.2 Terabit solution is currently deployed in well over one hundred networks around the globe and has been adopted by three of the four largest hyperscalers. In 2020 alone, Acacia shipped more than 30,000 Pico-based ports as customers increasingly recognized the competitive benefits that high-performance, flexible coherent transmission solutions can provide.

Network Transmission Flexibility Benefits

Multi-haul coherent solutions like the Pico DSP-based 1.2 Terabit solution are software configurable transponder modules that provide various transmission capacities and reaches. By varying the modulation order and baud rate settings, it can provide flexible options for service providers.

A multi-haul coherent solution addresses a range of network applications.

Balancing Modulation Order and Baud Rate

A common method of increasing throughput of a coherent channel is to increase the modulation order. However, this may result in a reduction in reach due to reduced optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) tolerance for the higher modulation orders. Alternatively, the baud rate could be increased while maintaining a lower modulation order which provides additional capacity per channel with minimal sacrifice to reach.

Maximizing the channel capacity using continuously tunable baud rate can convert unused spectrum into usable capacity, with the goal to fill up the available channel bandwidth. However, as discussed in this whitepaper, increasing baud rate provides minimal improvements in fiber capacity once the transmission is well-matched to the channel.

Increasing transmission baud rate proportionally increases the transmission spectrum and can be used to convert unused spectrum into useable extra capacity.

With transmission flexibility, service providers can configure their client traffic with the following flexible options:

• 12×100 GbE or 3×400 GbE with 64 QAM modulation for DCI edge applications
• 8×100 GbE or 2×400 GbE with 16 QAM modulation for metro/regional and long haul
• 4×100 GbE or 1×400 GbE QPSK for the most challenging terrestrial and submarine networks

To ensure a smooth migration from 100GbE to 400GbE, it’s important to have a solution that can efficiently transport either type of traffic, or a combination of both, without restrictions on performance and functionality.

Increase Performance and Reach with 400GbE Long Haul

With 400GbE becoming the “common currency” for high-capacity Ethernet transmission, it’s important to have a solution that can support this traffic over long distances. For service providers supporting 400GbE traffic they can use Acacia’s Pico DSP-based solution and choose from various configurations, as previously mentioned, including the option to combine two 400GbE client signals into an 800G 150 GHz channel for transmission over their metro and long-haul networks.

Leveraging Acacia’s Pico DSP-based solution service providers can combine two 400GbE client signals into an 800G 150GHz channel for long haul transmission.

Migrating from 100G to Higher Speeds Just Got Easier

Multi-haul coherent solutions enable network operators to easily migrate from 100G traffic toward 400G and higher speeds to deploy new and exciting applications and services. Networks utilizing flexible coherent transmission can provide support for growing client traffic across the entire network—from DCI edge, metro, long-haul, and all the way to submarine. Learn more in this video.

At a fraction of the size of comparable network electronics currently in use, these multi-MSA (Multi-Source Agreement) compliant pluggables allow for deployment models and cost savings that were not feasible with previous generations of long-reach optics.

According to ACG Research paper, The Economic Benefits of IP Transport at 400G, 400G IP transport networks will be more operationally cost effective than typical router bypass networks. In addition, IP transport networks have 46% TCO savings, 57% OPEX savings, and 35% CAPEX savings over router bypass networks because of increased router capacity, lower price  per Gbps and significant reductions in OPEX by simplifying the optical layer.

400G Pluggables – Not Just for DCI Anymore
While the first 400G pluggable application was 400ZR targeting point-to-point data center interconnect (DCI) primarily for hyperscalers, carriers are now seeing the benefits in other applications including metro/regional and long-haul.  For example, some carriers might have data centers to offer as a service to enterprise customers or to host their own content (e.g., entertainment). Others may want to build an infrastructure to offer wholesale pipes as a service to large bandwidth customers such as hyperscalers.

Windstream Wholesale and Telia Carrier both made recent announcements highlighting the use of 400G pluggables in a carrier network environment.

Windstream Wholesale Sets Two Industry Records
Windstream Wholesale announced last month that it had completed a live network trial that successfully deployed 400G single-wavelength transmission over 1,027 kilometers. The trial, which was deployed on Windstream’s long-haul network between Phoenix and Los Angeles, set an industry-leading real-world benchmark of 400G using Acacia Communications’ digital coherent optics technology.  Also, during these trials, Windstream set another industry record by looping back the signal to achieve 300G transmission over 2,054 kilometers.

The optical performance results of the Windstream trial marked a milestone in optical networking by demonstrating that pluggable modules can be used for regional and long-haul reaches.

Windstream Wholesale said that it expects to begin deploying ZR+ coherent pluggable modules in the second half of 2021, and claims the technology has applicability in as many as 80% of its existing links.

Telia Carrier Simplifies its Network with 400G Pluggables
In December 2020, Telia Carrier announced that it was preparing to converge their IP and optical networking layers to simplify their networks. In preparation for this new solution, Telia Carrier claimed it had already deployed open line systems and terminal equipment that could support new 400G pluggable technology.

As an early adopter of this new architecture, Telia Carrier is one of the first network operators to perform full end-to-end validation of the solution. The testing leveraged Acacia’s 400G QSFP-DD coherent modules with OIF 400ZR and OpenZR+ operating modes, enabling Telia to support data rates from 100G to 400G depending on the desired reach. The modules also support client n x 100GbE multiplexing functionality as well as 400GbE transport.

Moving to 400G coherent optical transceiver modules enables Telia Carrier to migrate to a more converged network architecture capable of enabling OpEx and CapEx savings, as well as a pay as you grow business model.

Interoperability with Multi-MSA Compliance
Standardization of optical networking technology helps carriers by providing simplicity, interoperability and volume-driven cost. In the 400G pluggable market, standardization started with 400ZR and quickly evolved as carriers demanded higher performance. This led to the creation of both the Open ROADM and OpenZR+ MSAs.

Open ROADM MSA  – The Open ROADM MSA defines interoperability specifications for Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers (ROADM) networks. Included are the ROADM switch as well as transponders and pluggable optics. Specifications consist of both Optical interoperability as well as YANG data models. The Open ROADM MSA defines a framing approach that supports line rates of 200G, 300G or 400G, greater host interface flexibility and supports a high performance soft-decision FEC, called openFEC, which offers higher coding gain more comparable to proprietary implementations typically used in long-haul applications.

OpenZR+ MSA  – OpenZR+ modules maintain the simpler ethernet-only host interface of 400ZR, and add support for multi-rate Ethernet and multiplexing capabilities at 100G, 200G, 300G or 400G line interfaces. OpenZR+ modules enable reaches beyond 400ZR with higher dispersion tolerance and higher coding gain using openFEC, which has been selected for standardization by the OpenROADM MSA and CableLabs. These enhanced modes allow an OpenZR+ module in a QSFP-DD or OSFP form factor to support a wide range of ethernet applications.

Higher Performance and Longer Distances

It’s exciting to see Windstream and Telia investing in plans to deploy 400G for metro/regional and long-haul applications to leverage the pay as you grow and operational benefits that 400G pluggable coherent optics has to offer.

Watch this video to learn more about Acacia’s 400G pluggable portfolio supporting 400ZR, OpenZR+ MSA, and Open ROADM MSA in QSFP-DD, OSFP and CFP2 pluggable form factors. Please contact us if you’d like to discuss 400G solutions for your network.