At OFC 2023 (March 7-9) in San Diego, Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) unveiled its new High-Speed Ethernet (HSE) testing platform; the company also announced that it has introduced 800G ETC support in its latest software release.
In its press statement for OFC, the largest global conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals, Viavi noted how Ethernet is driving bandwidth and scale at an ever-accelerating rate.
The company further contends that Ethernet technology is now also picking up key aspects of classic DWDM, in areas such as data center interconnection (DCI) and ultra-long range optical communications protocols such as ZR. The company contends that this trend is driving a new level of test requirements addressing scale and bandwidth of Ethernet, coupled with service provisioning and DWDM capability.
"Network architects and developers, more than ever, need sophisticated instrumentation to test at higher speed Ethernet services for greater flexibility and performance," stated Viavi. In response to such demands, the company is expanding its presence in the Ethernet testing space with its new High-Speed Ethernet (HSE) platform, a multiport system that complements the physical layer testing capabilities of the Viavi ONT-800 platform.
Value proposition
Viavi's HSE platform provides IC, module and network systems companies with high-speed devices for testing up to 128 x 800G signals. The platform offers physical layer test features with advanced traffic generation and analysis to troubleshoot and test the functionality and performance of integrated circuits and pluggable interfaces, along with switching and routing devices and networks.
At OFC, Viavi is also demonstrating the recently released 800G Ethernet Technology Consortium (ETC) capability of its ONT 800G FLEX XPM module, supporting the testing needs of hyperscalers, data centers and related applications.
In addition to supporting the 800G ETC implementation, the company said the new software release also offers extensive Forward Error Correction (FEC) stress and validation tools critical to ASIC, FPGA and IP implementations. The Viavi ONT 800G XPM also offers tools to validate potential draft IEEE 802.3df proposals.
Tom Fawcett, SVP and GM, Lab & Production, Viavi, commented:
"As the leader in optical network testing up to 1.6T, Viavi continues to invest in helping its customers simplify the challenges and complications involved with testing at high Ethernet speeds. Our ONT-800 platform now supports 800G ETC, providing a logical addition to our solid physical layer testing foundation as we move up the Ethernet stack to the new HSE solution."
Loopback Adapters
Additionally, a new line of Viavi Loopback Adapters has also been introduced at OFC.
The Viavi QSFP-DD800 Loopback Adapters enable network equipment vendors, IC designers, service providers, ICPs, contract manufacturers and FAE teams to develop, validate and produce Ethernet switches, routers and processors that use high-speed pluggable optics.
The company says these adapters provide a cost-effective and scalable solution for loopback and load ports up to 800 Gbps compared with using expensive and sensitive pluggable optics. The adapters also support thermal simulation to validate the cooling function of the device architecture.
OFC 2023 attendees viewed the new products in Viavi's show booth. Viavi also participated in the Ethernet Alliance's booth interoperability demonstration at OFC.
