Fremont, CA, November 21, 2002. The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) has adopted four Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Implementation Agreements (IA) for tunable lasers, SFI-4, Phase 2, VSR4-05 and VSR5. The approval of the four IAs brings the total number of IAs approved by the OIF in 2002 to a record eight. The Physical and Link Layer Working Group (PLL WG) approved the formation of the Common Electrical I/O (CEI) project last week at the Forum's quarterly technical committee meeting held in Orlando.
The first tunable laser IA from the OIF PLL working group addresses the communication protocol, electrical interface and mechanical form factor interoperability for tunable continuous wavelength (CW) lasers. This agreement defines a common form, fit, interface and function of a tunable laser subsystem. Optical specifications are not included in the scope of the agreement due to the wide range of applications for tunable lasers. This allows system and component vendors to reduce costs and increase interoperability and sourcing by targeting a common platform.
SFI-4, Phase 2 determines aggregate data bandwidths of OC-192 ATM and Packet over SONET/SDH (POS), as well as other applications at the 10 Gbps data rate. The typical line interface of a communications system with 10 Gbps optical links may consist of three separate devices: an optical module containing a SERDES
component, a forward error correction (FEC) processor and a framer. The IA includes objectives and requirements for the interconnection between these devices requiring a parallel electrical bus operating significantly slower than the optical data rate.
(VSR) OC-192 serial interface including optical cross connects (OXC): VSR4-05 includes both 4dB and 11dB optical link budgets, which covers distances from 2m to 600m. The 11dB option can be deployed in an optical network where the optical
path includes a passive (transparent) photonic cross-connect (PXC), patch panels and up to 600m of single mode fiber.
VSR5 - SONET/SDH OC-768 interface for VSR applications: As the first 40 Gbps optical interface project defined by the Forum, VSR5 is four times faster than previous 10 Gbps interfaces and is a lower cost alternative to interconnect within a central office (CO). VSR5 is capable of nominal 40 Gbps aggregate bit rate intra-office systems for link distances up to 2 km. The IA specifies a set of functional SONET/SDH OC-768/STM-256 interfaces for VSR applications. The complete solution set is intended to address the set of reference applications, while minimizing overall network and operational cost and complexity.
Common Electrical I/O (CEI) Project: The PLL WG has begun a new project to define electrical specifications for 4.976 to 6+ Gigabit and 9.95 to 11+ Gigabit
signaling. The CEI work will focus on both short reach (0 to 200 mm with up to one connector) and long reach (0 to 1m with up to two connectors) applications.
More information on the OIF can be found at www.oiforum.com .
Laser Focus World