Picolight releases 1310 nm transceivers for Metro applications
Picolight s new family of 1310 nm transceivers combines the company s proven pluggable packaging with 20 km reach optical technology to affordably, simply and efficiently bridge the "optical bandwidth chasm" in the access network.
The first product in the E x t e n s u s family is a Small From Factor Pluggable (SFP) transceiver that delivers 1.06 Gbps or 1.25 Gbps over single-mode fiber for Gigabit Ethernet 1000BASE-LX and Fibre Channel 100-SM-LC-L applications. The PL-XPL-00-L13 SFP transceiver provides metro-access and optical Ethernet equipment manufacturers with the advantages commonly associated with enterprise optics: hot pluggability, increased density, lower power, and "no-compromise" performance. Systems that use these modules can achieve four times greater port density as compared with existing optical transceivers.
The PL-XPL-00-L13 is now being tested by select customers for deployment supporting communications over 10 to 20 km distances. "Picolight is delivering on its promise to bring the economics of enterprise optics to the metro-access segment, starting with the optical Ethernet and storage networks," said Stan Swirhun, president and chief executive officer at Picolight.
"Our debut of 1310 nm transceivers in high-performance, enterprise-style packages is a solid step forward in creating a new optical economy - one in which bandwidth can be quickly and inexpensively delivered to many users, from carriers to the enterprise and to neighborhoods and small businesses."
Picolight s E x t e n s u s family builds upon the company s short-wavelength solutions, but targets the delivery of affordable bandwidth in point-to-point applications such as Ethernet-in-the-First-Mile (EFM). The product family will include a full range of high-performance, low-power, extended-reach interconnect solutions at 1, 2, 2.5 and 10 Gbps.
The E x t e n s u s products complement Picolight s Accelar(TM) line of short-reach transceivers, and establish the company as a broad line supplier of enterprise optics.
Link in the Last Mile
Picolight s long-wavelength transceivers forge the link in the last mile between telecommunications service providers and their customers. In this part of the access network, there is a gap in bandwidth access and availability that has become more acute as enterprise networks move to 10 Gbps data rates while last-mile connections remain at inadequate kilobit speeds.
Though long-reach optical interconnects currently on the market can offer greater bandwidth than traditional electronic interconnects, these existing products are not suitable for volume deployment or high-density applications. This constrains broadband service deployment because carriers simply cannot provision bandwidth cost-effectively throughout the metropolitan-area infrastructure.
In contrast, Picolight s enterprise-style longwave transceivers provide high-speed, plug-and-play solutions, allowing 64-port-or-higher line cards - which is as much as eight times denser than current solutions. These high-speed links can be used to extend the reach of storage area networks (SANs), switch and hub interconnects, mass storage systems interconnects, host adapter interconnects, computer cluster cross-connects, custom high-speed data pipes, and Gigabit Ethernet LAN/WAN routers.
"The last mile of metropolitan-area networks continues to constrain high speed data service deployments," said Beth Gage, vice president of consulting with TeleChoice. "New long-wave optical interconnect products can offer promising solutions to this problem by leveraging the technologies and economies of scale achieved in the high-volume, short-reach enterprise optical interconnect space. "We expect the local market platform choices to improve as companies like Picolight bring bandwidth improvements with significant cost reductions to the metro optical-transport platform vendors."
Product Details
The PL-XPL-00-L13 SFP transceiver satisfies extended reach Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel and pluggable Fiber Connection (FICON) module applications, at speeds up to 1.25 Gbps over 20 km. The module is delivered in a customer-proven mechanical package that delivers superior shielding of electromagnetic radiation, a key issue in high-port-count systems.
Picolight s 1310 nm transceiver uses the same hot-pluggable SFP package configuration that has revolutionized optics deployment in LANs and SANs. Pluggability maximizes circuit card yields, since the optics can be added late in the build cycle without being exposed to processes used to assemble other components on the card. Enhanced management features make it possible to monitor a transceiver s performance and system stability, and its full die-cast metal housing provides robust mechanical performance and superior electro-magnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Low power further enables more ports per system. In short, these benefits of enterprise optics combine to improve carriers economical deployment in optical access networks.
Pricing and Availability
The PL-XPL-00-L13 transceiver is available in sample quantities, and is scheduled to enter volume production by the end of the second calendar quarter of this year. The transceiver is priced at $150 per unit in OEM quantities of 1,000.
Lynn Watson, Picolight Inc. Boulder
Tel: +1 303 530-3189
or
Roslyn Whitehurst, Benjamin Group
Tel: +1 949 260-1300
roslyn_whitehurst@benjamingroup.com
E-mail: lynn.watson@picolight.com
Web site: http://www.picolight.com
