Cisco Introduces Next-Generation 100 Gigabit CMOS-based Transceivers

Cisco CPAK Dramatically Reduces Space and Power Requirements, Makes 100 Gbps More Widely Deployable

San Jose – Today Cisco announced the industry’s most compact and power-efficient 100 gigabits per second (100 G) transceiver technology, reducing space and power requirements by over 70 percent compared with alternative transceiver form factors, such as CFP. The breakthrough transceiver, Cisco CPAK™, will initially be available on the Cisco® ONS 15454 MSTP 100 G coherent transponder. Future routing and switching line cards will also incorporate CPAK technology, which is powered by Cisco’s nLight™ silicon.

Internet Protocol (IP) backbones, the foundation of the public Internet, use high-speed fiber optics to connect the major routers across the Internet, enabling networks to communicate with each other. Amid the explosion in video, data and mobile traffic, 100 G rates are necessary for these backbones to enable a generation of video and multimedia services to their customers. Demonstrating the increasing role of the network in people’s lives, the most recent Cisco Visual Networking Index Forecast indicates that global IP traffic has increased eightfold over the past five years and will increase threefold over the next five years.

However, to make 100 G widely deployable, its cost and power must be significantly reduced. Solutions based on Cisco CPAK technology are engineered to meet rapidly increasing bandwidth demands while improving port density and reducing power consumption requirements to deploy 100 G services.

Cisco has combined advanced optics with leading-edge integrated circuit (IC) technology to create the industry’s first production complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transceivers, which fully comply with applicable 100 G industry standards. The small footprint and reduced power consumption significantly increase face-plate density for 100 G pluggable optics, helping enable network operators to cost-effectively support traffic levels predicted for the zettabyte era. Most importantly, by using mature and highly reliable CMOS fabrication technology, Cisco is able to take advantage of more than 40 years and $400 billion in industry investment in proven CMOS IC technology, mitigating risks associated with esoteric fabrication technologies.

“Cisco’s CMOS design allows us to utilize the immense and highly evolved CMOS IC fabrication industry, which delivers low-cost, highly integrated and reliable components,” said Bill Gartner, vice president and general manager of Cisco’s High End Routing and Optical business unit. “We see this as a critical differentiator to reduce the power, cost and size of components, and it will help make 100 gigabit as widely deployed as 10 gigabit is today. No other industry solution offers as much opportunity to reduce 100 gigabit deployment costs as the Cisco CPAK.”

“CPAK represents a significant advancement in optical networking, providing dramatic space and power efficiencies,” said Eve Griliches, vice president, ACG Research. “The timing for this solution could not be more ideal, as network traffic volumes continue to escalate, with no end in sight. If the telecommunications industry is to advance and enable a new generation of services, it will need a new generation of optics, and the Cisco CPAK represents one of the early options in this area.”

Cisco’s first line card to incorporate CPAK technology is the 100Gbps CPAK Coherent DWDM line card, compatible with the ONS 15454 MSTP platform. The card uses Cisco’s 100GE IEEE standards-based LR4, SR10 and ER4 CPAK pluggables on the client interface and Cisco’s proven ultra long-haul coherent technology on the network facing (trunk) interface.

Supporting Resources

• Cisco: http://www.cisco.com/
• Cisco Service Provider Solutions: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns341/networking_solutions_service_provider_home.html
• Cisco Carrier Packet Transport: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11348/index.html
• Cisco 100 GE Solutions: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns577/networking_solutions_solution_category.html
• Cisco nLight Technology: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps5763/whitepaper_c11-718853.pdf
• Cisco Visual Networking Index home page: http://www.cisco.com/go/vni

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