Ethernet Alliance gears up for 50th anniversary plus 10G-800G demo at OFC 2023

The Ethernet Alliance this week revealed details of its upcoming multivendor technology demonstration at the 2023 Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC 2023), among the world’s premier telecom and data center optics events, to be held March 7-9, 2023, at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, California.

Ethernet Alliance said this year's multivendor interoperability display uniquely captures Ethernet technology's 50-year track record of success, while illustrating the need for a “living lab” of next-generation technologies, and setting the stage for its next evolutionary phase.

Peter Jones, chairman of the Ethernet Alliance, remarked:

“We’re now at the half-century mark, and Ethernet’s star continues to rise. As a profoundly resilient technology that’s getting progressively faster, it is an innovation engine that drives market diversification and fuels business growth. As the volume and variety of applications expand, bridging between legacy systems and emerging technologies is increasingly critical. The Ethernet Alliance OFC 2023 demo underscores the importance of interoperability and perfectly frames Ethernet’s ability to operate seamlessly across disparate industries and environments.”

Featuring 18 different participating member companies, the Ethernet Alliance interoperability demo in its OFC booth #5417 will span diverse Ethernet technologies, ranging from 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) to 800GbE.

This year's interoperability display will feature a live network between the Ethernet Alliance and the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), EXFO Inc., Spirent Communications, and Viavi Solutions Inc. booths.

The network will leverage single-mode optical fibers with high-speed traffic originating from an array of switches, routers, interconnects, including copper and optical cables.

It will also showcase various interconnects using multiple pluggable form factors such as OSFP, QSFP-DD, QSFP, and SFP, and multiple interface types including OIF 400ZR, OpenZR+ MSA 400ZR+, and 800G-ETC-CR8.

Finally, there will be live demonstrations from BERT and AN/LT test equipment.

Demo features 18 participating EA member companies

The Ethernet Alliance said its OFC 2023 demo incorporates technologies "from every corner of the Ethernet ecosystem." The technology demo's 18 participating member companies include:

AMD/Xilinx (NASDAQ:AMD)
Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH)
Anritsu Corporation (JPX:6754)
Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE:ANET)
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)
CommScope, Inc. (NASDAQ:COMM)
EXFO Inc.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)
Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)
Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL)
Panduit Corp.
Spirent Communications plc (LSE:SPT)
TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)
Teledyne LeCroy Inc. (NYSE:TDY)
Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV)
Wilder Technologies
Xena Networks Inc.

As stated by Ethernet Alliance OFC 2023 technical leads Jean-Marie Vilain of EXFO, Bob Wagner of Panduit, and David Estes of Spirent:

“Our 2023 interoperability demo is formidable, given the manifold technologies, interconnects, and speeds on display, and mirrors the challenges facing the industry. Highly representative of real-world deployments, it interweaves the newest generation of switches, servers and test equipment at speeds of up to 800G, proving the Ethernet ecosystem is ready for 800G’s broad adoption.”

OFCnet, Ethernet roadmap, ZR and ZR+ metro Ethernet panel

A pioneer of live booth-to-booth connectivity, at OFC 2023 the Ethernet Alliance will additionally this year be joining nearly two dozen other companies and organizations in OFCnet, a high-speed fiber research and education network spanning the OFC 2023 expo floor.

The live OFCnet network will highlight topics including quantum networking, network element interoperability, and SDN, among other technologies.

Also at OFC 2023, the Ethernet Alliance will be showcasing the 2023 edition of its Ethernet roadmap.

Stretching from the current landscape to the technology's far horizon, what is billed by EA as the industry’s only Ethernet roadmap document reflects the latest advancements, speeds, and milestones, such as Ethernet’s 50th anniversary, Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) technologies, and ongoing standardization efforts.

Available both digitally and in print, complimentary copies of the roadmap will be available at the Ethernet Alliance OFC 2023 booth.

Finally at OFC 2023, the Ethernet Alliance will be hosting a panel discussion entitled, Ethernet in Telecom: The Rise of ZR and ZR+ for Metro (and Beyond?) from 10:30 – 11:30am PDT on Wednesday, March 8, in the event's Expo Theater II.

Exploring the potential use of ZR and ZR+ pluggables in traditional telecom deployments, expert panelists will discuss coherent optical design and deployment considerations, and the need for interoperable products addressing simultaneous datacom and telecom applications.

OFC 2023 Press Release Testimonials from Participating Ethernet Alliance Members:
“As the amount of data, users, and devices has grown considerably both in size and complexity, the move to 800G Ethernet is especially crucial for the sustainability and evolution of network infrastructure. AMD is proud to work with the Ethernet Alliance and its diverse partner ecosystem to demonstrate and ensure 800G interoperability using AMD Versal® Premium silicon and IP.” – Harpinder Matharu, wired and wireless communications marketing senior director, AMD/Xilinx
“As we celebrate the fiftieth year of Ethernet and all the change it has brought to the world Amphenol can think of no better way to celebrate than partnering with the Ethernet Alliance and other leading Ethernet manufacturers at OFC. We are proud to supply our 400Gb and 800G optics and DAC’s as part of the EA demo and encourage everyone to stop by the EA booth to see the live demonstration.” – Chris Lyon, cloud business development manager, Americas; and president, Ethernet Alliance
“Anritsu is pleased to participate once again in the Ethernet Alliance’s interactive demo at OFC 2023 highlighting multivendor interoperability. To support the vast evolution of data center technology, the Network Master™ Pro MT1040A will showcase its Dual 400GbE, flexibility, and ease of use while interacting with multiple vendor equipment.” – Shu Zhuang, senior product marketing manager, Anritsu
“Industry-wide interoperability has been foundational to the success of Ethernet networks, and takes on particular significance during technology transitions, such as the transition from 400G/port to 800G/port systems. Arista is pleased to participate with the Ethernet Alliance demonstrating multi-vendor interoperability with our high-density 400G and 800G systems over a variety of optical and copper media." – Martin Hull, vice president, systems engineering and platforms, Arista Networks
“CommScope is pleased to include Propel at the Ethernet Alliance interoperability demo at OFC 2023. Introduced in 2022, Propel is the end-to-end, ultra-low loss, modular high-speed fiber platform from CommScope. At the Ethernet Alliance booth (#5417) Propel will provide fiber connectivity and carry 100G, 400G, and 800G Ethernet traffic between active equipment from multiple vendors.” – Earl Parsons, director, data center architecture evolution, CommScope
“Interconnect validation and conformance testing has never been more important than now, with the adoption of 100Gb signaling and new management interfaces. Within the Ethernet ecosystem, all stakeholders are increasingly reliant on leading edge test and verification tools to ensure rapid and reliable product adoption. EXFO is pleased to showcase its latest interconnect test solutions in support of the Ethernet Alliance here at OFC ‘23.” – David J. Rodgers, business development manager, EXFO
“Juniper Networks is a proud and active member of the Ethernet Alliance. We greatly value the opportunity to work alongside our fellow industry experts to jointly develop and promote meaningful and lasting innovations. As an industry leader in networking and data center solutions, we’re particularly excited this year to demonstrate the interoperability of our advance ZR/ZR+ Coherent DWDM Optics and are committed to supporting this technology across our broad routing and switching portfolios enabling our global customers to realize the compelling benefits of IPoDWDM.” – Dwayne McIntosh, director of marketing, edge and core solutions, Juniper Networks
“As part of this year’s OFC multi-vendor demo, Marvell will highlight our Alaska® C X9340P PHY and its interoperability with ecosystem partners for 800GbE operation. 100G PAM4 I/Os and 800G Ethernet represent a leap forward in cloud data center and communications networking applications. The X9340P is built in 5nm using Marvell's industry-leading 112 Gbps PAM4 long-reach SerDes technology.” – Venu Balasubramonian, vice president of product marketing, PHY Business Unit, Marvell
“Panduit is pleased to once again join the Ethernet Alliance’s Interoperability demonstration at OFC 2023. This demonstration highlights how products from a diverse list of market leaders work seamlessly together assuring flexible and scalable customer deployments from 25G to 100G per lane up to 800G per port.” – Jeff Paliga, director, business development, Panduit
“Spirent is proud to contribute to Ethernet Alliance’s multivendor interoperability demonstrations at OFC 2023. This year’s test bed features the latest technological advances in 800G, 400G and 100G Ethernet, showcasing innovative products designed to fulfill next generation networking needs. Spirent is demonstrating its industry-leading multi-speed 800G and 400G test solutions, for validating the reliability, high performance, and interoperability of next generation high-speed Ethernet solutions across the entire ecosystem, from chipsets, transceivers, optical fibers, and network equipment, to cabling.” – Aniket Khosla, VP of cloud and IP product management, Spirent Communications
“As a founding principal member of the Ethernet Alliance, TE Connectivity (TE) is proud to provide our highest speed copper and optical connectivity products in the Ethernet Alliance physical interoperability demonstrations at the OFC show in 2023. OFC and Ethernet Alliance are always critical forums to demonstrate how TE is paving the way to meet the technology demands for next generation Ethernet products and architectures.” – Nathan Tracy, principal technologist, system architecture team, TE Connectivity
"Next Generation Terabit Ethernet requires new solutions for testing and analyzing high speed networking signals. Teledyne LeCroy is excited to be working with the Ethernet Alliance to support the industry requirements and demonstrating support for 800Gb Ethernet for both optical and copper solutions. OFC and the Ethernet Alliance bring together the best of optical communications and networking to showcase the value of interoperability across Ethernet platforms." – Nick Kriczky, VP of products and services, Teledyne LeCroy
“Ethernet is driving bandwidth and scale at an ever-accelerating rate. Network equipment vendors, interconnect & IC companies, and service providers more than ever, need increasingly sophisticated instrumentation to test at higher speed Ethernet. As part of the Ethernet Alliance demonstration at this year’s OFC, VIAVI is pleased to demonstrate the 800G ETC testing capabilities of our ONT 800G FLEX XPM, along with 100GbE through 400GbE and ZR support of our ONT 800G FLEX family.” – Dr. Paul Brooks, technology lead – optical transport, VIAVI Solutions
“Participating with Ethernet Alliance at OFC 2023 is a great opportunity to collaborate with industry leading companies in advancing Ethernet technology and fortifying interoperability. Wilder Technologies welcomes this opportunity to share our compliance test fixtures with the group as it provides a real-world experience. From high-speed signal analysis to communicating with CMIS registers via Wilder’s fixtures, inclusion and access to the wide range of devices incorporated in the EA live demo, affirms our position as a leader in the testing and measurement of Ethernet networking equipment.” – Tim Brackett, technical sales director, Wilder Technologies

To learn more, visit https://www.ofcconference.org and https://bit.ly/EthernetAlliance-OFC23.

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