OFCNFOEC: The increasing demand for bandwidth
OFCNFOEC conference and exhibition, February 24–28, 2008, San Diego, CA, www.ofcnfoec.org.
Martin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 2/28/2008 12:23:00 PM
Wednesday at OFCNFOEC 2008 featured a panel discussion with members of companies ranging from Facebook to component maker Avago Technologies. Five other companies were represented, including Reuters. Each panel member discussed how the increasing demand for bandwidth from Facebook to YouTube to the 18-to-29-year olds is fueling the need for ever more network bandwidth. As a result, video downloads are stressing core networks and the unlit fibers of earlier this decade are now full.
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Dave D’Andrea of Avago Technologies cited a problem with 10-Gbps optical transceivers—too many configurations. “Today’s connectors and transceivers never achieved a low enough price,” he said, which keeps costs too high for many data centers to move to 10-Gbps links. “Unlike Gigabit Ethernet and Fast Ethernet, connectors and transceivers for 10-Gbit Ethernet are not being made by the millions needed to get the economies of scale that push prices down.” He’s pushing a new connector called SPF+ as the solution even though the standard for the transceiver is not yet ratified.
The show floor featured several test-equipment makes showing their wares to engineers.
Anritsu introduced the MW90010A Coherent OTDR (C-OTDR). It utilizes coherent detection to improve dynamic range and sensitivity. It can measure optical cables as long as 12,000 km with 100 times the accuracy of the company’s previous instruments. The MW90010A detects faults with 10-m resolution and it collects 1.2 million data points on ultra-long optical submarine cables up to 12,000 km long. It detects faults and captures important waveform data, including cable loss, bending loss, and fiber length, that support detailed cable evaluation. It’s primary use will be in testing undersea fiber-optic cables.
Anritsu also introduced a Voice over IP (VoIP) test option for its CMA 3000 field tester. With the VoIP option, the CMA 3000 initiates and answers calls. By connecting an analog phone to the CMA 3000, you can conduct a conversation with the called/calling party. The tester generates statistics during a call that can inform a technician of the communication line’s performance. The CMA 3000 uses the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) and R-factor values to evaluate voice quality.
Centellax demonstrated its line of test equipment including the TG1B1-A 10 Gbps bit-error-rate tester (BERT). The instrument combines with a clock-recovery unit and a clock synthesizer to form a complete system.
Digital Lightwave showed its OWM Series 2 real-time monitoring system for DWDM networks. With its 20 pm accuracy and 0.375 GHz optical resolution, the OWM2 can operate like an optical spectrum analyzer. The company also displayed its 40 Gbps modular tester for SONET/SDH networks.
General Photonics introduced the PSGA-101-A optical polarization meter that uses magneto-optic crystals to control the polarization of output light. With the crystals, the meter can use digital control rather than analog control for polarization. The meter then reads the light output from a device-under-test and compares the polarization of the received light to that of the transmitted light.
Polatis introduced a touch screen for its line of optical switches. With the screen, engineers can configure the switch without the need for a separate computer. The switch also includes local setup for its internal optical power monitors.
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