OIF slates 28G interoperability test for OFC/NFOEC conference

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) has lined up a multivendor interoperability test of the 28 Gbps Very Short Reach interface draft standard for the upcoming OFC/NFOEC conference March 6-8 in Los Angeles.

The 28G approach has been positioned by some companies as a metro solution, and an ingredient in attaining 100G by using 4 x 25 Gbps optical transceivers within a 50 Ghz sub-channel to reach distances of up to 500 km. The interoperability test, which comes after a year in which several service providers began setting 100G deployment strategies, could be an important step toward adoption of the shorter range technology.

The Physical and Link Layer (PLL) demonstration at the show will involve 28G components companies Altera, Amphenol, Fujitsu Optical Components, Gennum, IBM, Inphi, Luxtera, Molex, TE Connectivity and Xilinx; as well as test vendor Tektronix.

The OIF's Common Electrical Interface (CEI) 28G Very Short Reach (VSR) draft implementation agreement defines chip-to-module electrical interfaces.

For more:
- here's the OIF press release

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