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What Is Network Edge?

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The concept of the network edge has gained prominence with the rise of edge computing, which involves processing data closer to the source of data generation rather than relying solely on centralized cloud servers. This approach can reduce latency, improve efficiency, and enhance the overall performance of applications and services. In this article, we’ll introduce what the network edge is, explore how it differs from edge computing, and describe the benefits that network edge brings to enterprise data environments.

What is Network Edge?

At its essence, the network edge represents the outer periphery of a network. It’s the gateway where end-user devices, local networks, and peripheral devices connect to the broader infrastructure, such as the internet. It’s the point at which a user or device accesses the network or the point where data leaves the network to reach its destination. the network edge is the boundary between a local network and the broader network infrastructure, and it plays a crucial role in data transmission and connectivity, especially in the context of emerging technologies like edge computing.

What is Edge Computing and How Does It Differ from Network Edge?

The terms “network edge” and “edge computing” are related concepts, but they refer to different aspects of the technology landscape.

What is Edge Computing?

Edge computing is a distributed computing paradigm that involves processing data near the source of data generation rather than relying on a centralized cloud-based system. In traditional computing architectures, data is typically sent to a centralized data center or cloud for processing and analysis. However, with edge computing, the processing is performed closer to the “edge” of the network, where the data is generated. Edge computing complements traditional cloud computing by extending computational capabilities to the edge of the network, offering a more distributed and responsive infrastructure.



” Also Check – What Is Edge Computing?



What is the Difference Between Edge Computing and Network Edge?

While the network edge and edge computing share a proximity in their focus on the periphery of the network, they address distinct aspects of the technological landscape. The network edge is primarily concerned with connectivity and access, and it doesn’t specifically imply data processing or computation. Edge computing often leverages the network edge to achieve distributed computing, low-latency processing and efficient utilization of resources for tasks such as data analysis, decision-making, and real-time response.

Network Edge vs. Edge Computing

Network Edge vs. Network Core: What’s the Difference?

Another common source of confusion is discerning the difference between the network edge and the network core.

What is Network Core?

The network core, also known as the backbone network, is the central part of a telecommunications network that provides the primary pathway for data traffic. It serves as the main infrastructure for transmitting data between different network segments, such as from one city to another or between major data centers. The network core is responsible for long-distance, high-capacity data transport, ensuring that information can flow efficiently across the entire network.

What is the Difference between the Network Edge and the Network Core?

The network edge is where end-users and local networks connect to the broader infrastructure, and edge computing involves processing data closer to the source, the network core is the backbone that facilitates the long-distance transmission of data between different edges, locations, or network segments. It is a critical component in the architecture of large-scale telecommunications and internet systems.

Advantages of Network Edge in Enterprise Data Environments

Let’s turn our attention to the practical implications of edge networking in enterprise data environments.

Efficient IoT Deployments

In the realm of the Internet of Things (IoT), where devices generate copious amounts of data, edge networking shines. It optimizes the processing of IoT data locally, reducing the load on central servers and improving overall efficiency.

Improved Application Performance

Edge networking enhances the performance of applications by processing data closer to the point of use. This results in faster application response times, contributing to improved user satisfaction and productivity.

Enhanced Reliability

Edge networks are designed for resilience. Even if connectivity to the central cloud is lost, local processing and communication at the edge can continue to operate independently, ensuring continuous availability of critical services.

Reduced Network Costs

Local processing in edge networks diminishes the need for transmitting large volumes of data over the network. This not only optimizes bandwidth usage but also contributes to cost savings in network infrastructure.

Privacy and Security

Some sensitive data can be processed locally at the edge, addressing privacy and security concerns by minimizing the transmission of sensitive information over the network. Improved data privacy and security compliance, especially in industries with stringent regulations.

In this era of digital transformation, the network edge stands as a gateway to a more connected, efficient, and responsive future.



Related Articles:

How Does Edge Switch Make an Importance in Edge Network?

Best Gigabit Switches to Set up Your Home Network

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If you expect to provide your devices with a wired internet connection that is faster and more stable but your router only has a few Ethernet ports, you should get the best gigabit switch for your home network. When you use one of the best network switches, you can add more ports to your network, allowing you to connect more devices than you could with the router’s few built-in ports. You can compare and choose from the best gigabit switches for your home network in this article.

Key Features of the Gigabit Switch

Gigabit switch, called the 1G switch, helps increase home network speeds, typically supporting copper speeds of 10/100/1000 Mbps and fiber optic speeds of 1000 Mbps. The following are some features of gigabit switches:

  • Gigabit switches have varying numbers of ports, from 2 to 50 or more.
  • From the point of view of port design, there are two types, namely gigabit Ethernet switch and fiber gigabit switch. Ethernet switches can transmit data quickly, while SFP fiber switches can transmit longer distances.
  • Gigabit switches are also classified as managed or unmanaged switches, which means that the former can operate in automatic mode, while the latter must be programmed manually.
  • Most desktop switches feature a simple plug-and-play design, making them easy to operate.
  • Gigabit switches can implement half-duplex and full-duplex modes in terms of traffic in single-mode and multi-mode network environments.
  • These switches will have many LED indicators that indicate various parameters such as port type, status, link, activity, etc.

”Also Check- Gigabit Switch

What You Can Expect From Your Home Network

Influenced by several years of COVID-19, people are more and more working from home, so we pay more and more attention to home networks. Today, with the rapid development of high-speed communications, the demand for home networks is even stronger, because even if residents do not work at home, they still want to share high-speed networks at home.The requirements for Gigabit Ethernet in the home network usually have the following points:

  • Increased efficiency in media sharing
  • Fluency of office network
  • Supports HD video calling and conferencing
  • Unlimited upload and download speed

A Better Gigabit Switch For Your Home Network

Here are several aspects to consider when choosing a Gigabit switch. You can determine the type of switch you need based on the characteristics of the switch and your personal requirements.

Number of ports

Checking the number of ports it comes with is one of the most important things you can do to help you choose a great gigabit switch for your home network. You don’t want to buy a device that doesn’t solve this problem because one of the reasons you’re spending money on an Ethernet switch is to get more ports for your devices.The switches provide a variety of port configurations, ranging from 5 to 28, making it simple to select the model that best suits your requirements. For example, FS S3900-48T6S-R has 48 RJ45 ports, built-in dual redundant power supply and dual fans, with higher ease of use, highly secure business operation, sustainability and borderless network experience.


”Also Check- FS S3900-48T6S-R Switch

FS Switch

PoE vs Non-PoE Switches

Gigabit Power over Ethernet (PoE) gigabit switches connect devices to data and DC power. These are very useful for connecting powered network equipment to the network, as only one cable is required to connect to the equipment. You can effectively avoid home network failures by using a managed PoE switch to remotely restart connected devices by turning off and on the Ethernet port’s power.A gigabit non-PoE switch that only provides network connectivity but does not supply DC power to connected devices. When there are a lot of non-powered network devices, like PCs and laptops, on the network, these switches are a good choice.

Managed vs Non-managed Switches

Managed gigabit switches are more secure and can either separate portions of your network into their own virtual local area networks (VLANs) or monitor traffic for troubleshooting purposes. If you decide to use this type of switch, you should also check that your switch is compatible with VLANs. For instance, a setup that does not use a bridge and uses Amazon’s eero mesh routers renders VLANs useless.Unmanaged network switches are what we recommend for most users if you only need wired internet access to a few devices. This does not imply that the switch lacks features; unmanaged switches frequently possess a wide range of sophisticated capabilities, such as loop detection and traffic prioritization QoS.

Fan vs Fanless Switches

The active cooling system used by the built-in fan switch is a type of cooling technology that uses an external device to improve heat transfer. During convection, an active cooling system means that the rate of fluid flow increases, significantly increasing the rate at which heat is removed.A fanless switch operates quietly because it does not have a fan built in. Utilizing a heat spreader or heat sink to maximize the radiation and convection heat transfer modes, the passive cooling system achieves a high level of natural convection and heat dissipation.

Conclusion

Gigabit switches are the most widely used and can save energy in home networks. It is wise to choose a managed or unmanaged Gigabit switch with copper and fiber port modules as it makes it easy to expand the network in the future or even add devices in the short term. FS offers a wide range of Gigabit Ethernet switches with RJ45 and SFP ports compatible with a wide range of devices and copper and fiber optic networks, most of which also support PoE.

Related article:

Home Ethernet Wiring Guide: How to Get a Wired Home Network?

How to Choose the Best 10 Gigabit Switch for Home?

PAM4 in 400G Ethernet application and solutions

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400G PAM4 (4 Pulse Amplitude Modulation) is the modulation technology that fits for high-speed signal interconnection in the next-generation data center, paving the way to 400G Ethernet in data centers. What is 400G PAM4? Why is it chosen to be applied to 400G Ethernet? Find answers here.

What Is PAM4 for 400G Ethernet?

Pulse Amplitude Modulation 4-level (PAM4) is a technology that uses four different signal levels for signal transmission and each symbol period represents 2 bits of logic information (0, 1, 2, 3). By transmitting two bits in one symbol slot, PAM4 halves the signal bandwidth. Therefore, it is feasible to increase bandwidth by using advanced modulation PAM4 technology to increase the data rate without having to configure the data center with more fibers. 400 Gbps Ethernet can be realized with four lanes of PAM4 (8× 50 Gbps). This effectively doubles a network’s data rate, enabling 400G PAM4 for short-haul and long-haul transmission.

Why Does 400G Ethernet Need to Use PAM4 Technology?

In terms of supporting 400G Ethernet speed, the transmission rate of NRZ 25Gbps single channel has reached its limit, which cannot be adapted to the development of current high-density data centers. When discussing the 400GE IEEE 802.3bs standard, it was proposed to replace NRZ with PAM4 technology. So why is 400G PAM4 technology a viable alternative to NRZ?

Benefits of 400G PAM4

PAM4 modulation replaces 400G Ethernet using 16×25G baud rate NRZ and provides a path from 100G Ethernet using 4×25G baud rate to 400G Ethernet through 8×25G baud rate architecture. It is called 400G Ethernet The link adopts the 8×50G bit rate solution, reducing not only the fiber cost but also the link loss. For hyper-scale data centers, it’s time for them to transition from the previous 100G or Gigabit networks to 400G PAM4 Ethernet for faster transmission efficiency..

Compared to the NRZ signal, PAM4 has some better advantages. PAM4 carries 2 bits per symbol and transmits twice the NRZ information per symbol period. Hence, PAM4 doubles the bit rate for a given baud, thereby bringing higher efficiency to 400G transmission with greatly reduced signal loss. This key benefit of PAM4 allows existing channels and interconnects to be used at higher bit rates without doubling the baud rate and increasing channel loss..

PAM4 vs NRZ

Some information about the specific differences between PAM4 and NRZ. NRZ signaling uses two signal levels in which positive voltage defines bit 1 and the zero voltage defines bit 0. 1 bit signal is transmitted during a clock cycle.

PAM4 vs NRZ

Figure: PAM4 vs NRZ

Double Bit Rate – PAM4 doubles the bit rate for a given baud rate over NRZ. Thus, a 28 Gbaud PAM4 signal can deliver the same bit rate as a 56 Gbaud NRZ signal.

Less Signal Loss – PAM4 should let you develop 56 Gbps data lanes with less signal loss than would occur by simply doubling the NRZ (sometimes called NRZ-PAM2) bit rate. Exotic PCB materials can compensate for the deficiencies, but at a cost few are willing to pay.

400G PAM4 Transceivers: Multi-mode vs Singlemode

The 400G QSFP-DD transceivers modulation method uses PAM4 technology, including multi-mode and single-mode. In addition, the electrical port side of the 400G optical module supports 8x50G PAM4 modulation, and the optical port side supports both 8x50G PAM4 and 4x100G PAM4 modulation.

Both 400G SR8 and 400G SR4.2 multimode optical modules support 8x50G PAM4. 400G SR8 optical modules can use MPO-16 connectors or MPO-24 connectors to connect 8 pairs of fibers. The 400G SR4.2 modules use MPO-12 connectors, and the wavelengths are bidirectional and multiplexed.

According to the above mentioned, in the single-mode 400G optical module, the electrical port side is modulated with 4x100G PAM4, and a group of the optical port side is modulated with 8x50G PAM4. There are three common 8x50G PAM4 400G optical modules: FR8, LR8, and 2xFR4. 400G FR8 and 400G LR8 are the earliest available 400G single-mode interfaces, 8 wavelengths are multiplexed into one fiber, and duplex LC light is used at the same time. interface. The 2xFR4 400G optical module uses 8 lasers but is divided into two groups of 4 wavelengths according to the 200G FR4 standard.

400G optical modules modulated by 4x100G PAM4 are the focus of the current market, including 400G DR4, 400G FR4, and LR4, and their line-side uses four channels of 100G PAM4. In the 400G DR4 optical module, the DSP converts the 8x50G PAM4 electrical signal into 4x100G PAM4 and then transmits it to the optical engine.

Transceiver Solution Based on 400G PAM4

PAM4 is a relatively low-cost solution for 400GbE and data centers that has been adopted by the transceiver industry, enabling high-speed data rates, moving toward 400G and beyond. FS 400G transceivers apply 4×100G PAM4 or 8×50G PAM4 technology, which have been standardized by the IEEE working group, including 400GBASE-SR8, DR4, LR8, ER8, XDR4, FR4, and LR4. The FS 400G transceivers use a pluggable double-density design to support transmission requirements of different distances. At the same time, they can perform signal conversion through PAM4, and use multiplexing technology to convert transmission channels to achieve reasonable distribution of data center fiber resources.

StandardTransceiver TypesLink DistanceMedia TypeLanesPower Consumption
IEEE P802.3cm400GBASE-SR8100mMMF8× 50G PAM4<10W
IEEE 802.3bs400GBASE-DR4500mSMF4× 100G PAM4<10W
400GBASE-LR810kmSMF8× 50G PAM4<14W
IEEE P802.3cn400GBASE-ER840kmSMF8× 50G PAM4<14W
100G Lambda MSA400GBASE-XDR42kmSMF8× 50G PAM4<12W
400GBASE-FR42kmSMF4× 100G PAM4<12W
400GBASE-LR410kmSMF4× 100G PAM4<12W

Conclusion

As the market moves to PAM4-based modulation, more and more chip makers and transceiver vendors are manufacturing new 400G products using PAM4, transferring 400G PAM4 from theory to practice. PAM4 400G based on 50G PAM4 or 100G PAM4 will certainly become the basic rate of the next-generation Ethernet and stand out with its high performance and potential.

Article Source

https://community.fs.com/blog/pam4-for-400g-ethernet-applications.html

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Things You Must Know: 200G vs. 400G Ethernet in Data Centers

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With the rise of high data rate applications such as 5G and cloud computing, 200G and 400G Ethernet are getting much attention in data centers. In most cases, 400G Ethernet is more competitive than 200G Ethernet with regards to the applications in data centers. In this post, we are about to reveal how 400G Ethernet outperforms 200G Ethernet in several aspects.

400G Ethernet vs 200G Ethernet: More Comprehensive Standardization

During the evolution of the IEEE protocol standard, the 200G standard was issued later than the 400G standard. The 400G standard was first proposed in 2013 by IEEE 802.3 Working Group and was approved in 2017 with IEEE 802.3bs 400G Ethernet standard. While the 200G standard was proposed and approved in 2015 and 2018 respectively. And the 200G single-mode specification is generally based on the 400G single-mode specification but halved the 400G one. With the fast upgrades of 400G technology and its products due to market needs, the 400G standard is more comprehensive and maturer than that of 200G.

Common Use of 100G Server Promotes More 400G Ethernet Applications

Network switch speed is always driven by server uplink speed. No matter in the past or at present, one-to-four structure is often used to connect switches and servers to increase the port density of switches. And this structure is likely to be adopted in the future as well. Then, how to choose between the 200G Ethernet and 400G Ethernet mainly depends on the server we use.

How to Connect Servers in Data Centers.jpg

According to Crehan research and forecast, the momentum of 100G servers surpassed that of 50G servers since 2020. That means, most network operators are likely to use 100G server connection rather than 50G. And 100G servers would become the mainstream according to the trends during 2020-2023. In other words, one could skip 200G and choose 400G directly with 100G server deployed.

50G vs 100G Server Adoption Rates.jpg

Optical Transceiver Market Drives 400G Ethernet

There are two main factors that push 400G Ethernet more popular than 200G Ethernet in the optical transceiver market. One is the module supply, another is the cost.

400G Optical Transceivers Gain More Market Supplies and Acceptance

Normally, the early adoption of 400G is to support the rise of 200G long-haul for aggressive DCI network builds. It makes 400G possible in metro networks and supports 3x the distance for 200G wavelengths. WIth further development, 400G transceivers are more favorable among manufacturers. Many suppliers pay more attention to 400G Ethernet rather than 200G. For example, Senko’s new CS connector is specifically designed for 400G data center optimization. Actually, all things have reasons. Even if the total cost of 200G transceiver and 400G transceiver is the same, the cost and power consumption per bit of 400G transceiver is half of the 200G’s because of the doubled bandwidth of 400G. More importantly, the total revenue data among 100G, 200G and 400G shows that 400G is far beyond 200G in the whole market.

Total Revenue for 100G 200G and 400G Transceivers.jpg

According to shipment data of the top 8 suppliers gathered by Omdia, the 400G transceiver market is more prosperous than that of 200G. There are more options for users in 400G deployment. Although the top 8 suppliers all provide 200G and 400G transceivers, 200G transceivers only offer 100m SR4 and 2km FR4 while 400G transceivers could offer more options like SR8 100mDR4 500mFR4 2kmLR4 10km, and ER8 40km, etc. In addition, 400G products, such as 400G DAC and 400G DAC breakout cables and solutions are maturer and more perfect than 200G because of their earlier release.

Supplier SupportFinisarInnolightFITLumentumAccelinkSource PhotonicsAOIHisense
200G SR4      
200G FR4    
400G SR8
400G SR4.2     
400G DR4
400G FR4
400G ZR       

400G Optical Modules Support More Applications With Fewer Cost

Compared to 200G transceivers, 400G transceivers could support more applications including DCI and 200G applications. And they can double the traffic carrying capacity between applications than 100G/200G solutions. With 400G solutions, fewer transponders will be needed, resulting in less transportation and operating costs. This will make the 400G market more lively in return.

400G Ethernet Is more Suitable for Future Network Upgrades

The 200G optical modules will include two main form factors, namely QSFP-DD and CFP2. The 400G optical transceivers will mainly include QSFP-DD and OSFP packages. Since the OSFP is expected to offer a better path to 800G and higher transmission rates, 400G transceiver is more suitable and convenient for future network migration.

Conclusion

From the current analysis and evidence above, 400G Ethernet is more competitive than 200G Ethernet in Ethernet standardization, 100G server connection, optical transceiver market and future network upgrades. There is no need to hesitate between 200G Ethernet and 400G Ethernet. Choosing 400G Ethernet and products is a wise decision not only for the current but for the long-term future.

Article Source

https://community.fs.com/blog/200g-vs-400g-ethernet.html

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https://community.fs.com/blog/optical-transceiver-market-200g-400g.html

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Silicon Photonics: Next Revolution for 400G Data Center

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400G

With the explosion of 5G applications and cloud services, traditional technologies are facing fundamental limits of power consumption and transmission capacity, which drives the continual development of optical and silicon technology. Silicon photonics is an evolutionary technology enabling major improvements in density, performance and economics that is required to enable 400G data center applications and drives the next-generation optical communication networks. What is silicon photonics? How does it promote the revolution of 400G applications in data centers? Please keep reading the following contents to find out.

What Is Silicon Photonics Technology?

Silicon photonics (SiPh) is a material platform from which photonic integrated circuits (PICs) can be made. It uses silicon as the main fabrication element. PICs consume less power and generate less heat than conventional electronic circuits, offering the promise of energy-efficient bandwidth scaling.

It drives the miniaturization and integration of complex optical subsystems into silicon photonics chips, dramatically improving performance, footprint, and power efficiency.

Conventional Optics vs Silicon Photonics Optics

Here is a Technology Comparison Chart between Conventional Optics vs Silicon Photonics Optics, taking QSFPDD DR4 400G module and QDD DR4 400G Si for example:

The difference between a 400GBASE-DR4 QSFP-DD PAM4 optical transceiver module and a silicon photonic one just lies in: 400G silicon photonic chips — breaking the bottleneck of mega-scale data exchange, showing great advantages in low power consumption, small footprint, relatively low cost, easiness for large volume integration, etc.

Silicon photonic integrated circuits provide an ideal solution to realize the monolithic integration of photonic chips and electronic chips. Adopting silicon photonic design, a QDD-DR4-400G-Si module combines high-density & low-consumption, which largely reduces the cost of optical modules, thereby saving data center construction and operating expenses.

Why Adopt Silicon Photonics in Data Centers?

To Solve I/O Bottlenecks

The world’s growing data demand has caused bandwidths and computing power resources in data centers to be used up. Chips have to become faster when facing the growing demand for data consumption, which can process information faster than the signal can be transmitted in and out. That is to say, chips are becoming faster, but the optical signal (coming from the fiber) must still be converted to an electronic signal to communicate with the chip sitting on a board deep in the data center. And since the electrical signal still needs to travel some distance from the optical transceiver, where it was converted from light, to the processing and routing electronics — we’ve reached a point where the chip can process information faster than the electrical signal can get in and out of it.

To Reduce Power Consumption

Heating and power dissipation are enormous challenges for the computing industry. Power consumption will directly translate to heat. Power consumption causes heat, so what causes power dissipation? Mainly, data transmissions. It’s estimated that data centers have consumed 200TWh each year — more than the national energy consumption of some countries. Thus, some of the world’s largest Data Centers, including those of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are located in Alaska and similar-climate countries due to the cold weather.

To Save Operation Budget

At present, a typical ultra-large data center has more than 100,000 servers and over 50,000 switches. The connection between them requires more than 1 million optical modules with around US$150 million-US$250 million, which accounts for 60% of the cost of the data center network, exceeding the sum of equipment such as switches, NICs, and cables. The high cost forces the industry to reduce the unit price of optical modules through technological upgrades. The introduction of fiber optic modules adopting Silicon Photonics technology is expected to solve this problem.

Silicon Photonics Applications in Communication

Silicon photonics has proven to be a compelling platform for enabling next-generation coherent optical communications and intra-data center interconnects. This technology can support a wide range of applications, from short-reach interconnects to long-haul communications, making a great contribution to next-generation networks.

  • 100G/400G Datacom: data centers and campus applications (to 10km)
  • Telecom: metro and long-haul applications (to 100 and 400 km)
  • Ultra short-reach optical interconnects and switches within routers, computers, HPC
  • Functional passive optical elements including AWGs, optical filters, couplers, and splitters
  • 400G transceiver products including embedded 400G optical modules400G DAC Breakout cables, transmitters/receivers, active optical cables (AOCs), as well as 400G DACs.

Now & Future of Silicon Photonics

Yole predicted that the silicon optical module market would grow from approximately US$455 million in 2018 to around US$4 billion in 2024 at a CAGR of 44.5%. According to Lightcounting, the overall data communication high-speed optical module market will reach US$6.5 billion by 2024, and silicon optical modules will account for 60% (3.3% in 20 years).

Intel, as one of the leading Silicon photonics companies, has a 60% market share in silicon photonic transceivers for datacom. Indeed, Intel has already shipped more than 3 million units of its 100G pluggable transceivers in just a few short years, and is continuing to expand its Silicon Photonics’ product offerings. And Cisco acquired Accacia for US$2.6 billion and Luxtera for US$660 million. Other companies like Inphi and NeoPhotonics are proposing silicon photonic transceivers with strong technologies.

Original Source: Silicon Photonics: Next Revolution for 400G Data Center

What’s the Current and Future Trend of 400G Ethernet?

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400G

According to the leading Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) and various networking forecast reports, 400G Ethernet will emerge as the leading technology since 2020. IDC (International Data Corporation) and Cignal Ai have also proved the similar situation. In short, 400G Ethernet will replace 100G and 200G deployments in a faster way than 100G did to the previous Ethernet.

New Technology Adoption Rates.jpg
Faster 400G Ethernet Trend Than Previous Ethernet.jpg

The Rise of 400G Ethernet

The factors affecting the development of 400G are mainly application-driven and technology-driven. The application drivers include 5G high-speed transmission, market requirements for data centers, cloud computing, and high-definition video transmission. Technology drivers include development of technologies in the market and product standardization.

Application-Driven Factors

  • 5G Accelerates 400G Ethernet: An analysis from Cisco points out that 5G technology needs edge computing architecture, which brings cloud resources—compute, storage and networking—closer to applications, devices and users. While, the edge computing needs more bandwidth, support for more devices on the network, and greater security to protect and manage the data. For example, a 4G radio system can support up to only 2,000 active devices in a square kilometer, while 5G could support up to 100,000 active devices in the same range. With 400G technology offering more bandwidth, more devices and applications could be supported in 5G.
Items4G LTE5G
Average Data Rate25 Mb/s100 Mb/s
Peak Data Rate150 Mb/s10,000 Mb/s
Latency50 ms1 ms
Connection Density2,000 Per Square Kilometer100,000 Per Square Kilometer
  • Data Center & Cloud Computing Requirements: A research from Cisco indicates that cloud-based data centers will take over 92% of the next-generation data center workload while the traditional data centers will take over less than 8% after 2021. These objective requirements for higher data rates drive 400G development greatly. It is estimated that 400G will be the prevailing speed in switch chips and network platforms in the coming years.
  • High-Definition Video Transmission Needs: Basically all forms of Internet applications are moving towards video. It is estimated that more than 80% of the traffic is video. Video is a very important platform for everyone to interact in the future, especially real-time video streaming, such as multi-party video conferences. High-definition videos (such as 4K videos) need more bandwidth and less latency compared with the previous normal ones featuring lower definition.

Technology-Driven Factors

400G technology was originally known as IEEE 802.3bs and was officially approved in December,  2017. It regulates new standards including Forward Error Correction (FEC) to improve error performance. Abide by these standards, early 400G network elements have successfully completed trials and initial deployment. At present, some brand 400G switches have been put into use such as Cisco 400G Nexus, Arista 400G 7060X4 Series, Mellanox Spectrum-2, FS 400G switch, etc. 400G connection scheme is also blooming such as 400G DAC and 400G transceivers (400G QSFP-DD transceiver, 400G OSFP transceiver, 400G CFP8 transceiver, etc.), of which 400G QSFP-DD is becoming the leading form factor for its high density and low power consumption. As 400G Ethernet grows faster to standardization, commercialization and scale, soon 400G product system will be gradually perfect and more 400G products will appear in return.

Influences of 400G Ethernet

400G Optics Promotes 25G and 100G Markets While Reduces 200G Market Share

Compared to the 10G Ethernet, 25G Ethernet gains more popularity in the whole optical transmission industry because 25Gbps and 50Gbps per channel technology provide the basic standards for existing 100G (4x 25Gbps), the coming 400G (8x 50Gbps) and the future 800G network. Therefore, the rapid development of 400G Ethernet will promote the 25G and 100G markets to a certain extent in turn. Similarly, the quick appearance of 400G applications implicates that 200G is a flash in the pan.

400G Technology Is Expected to Reduce Overall Network Operation and Maintenance Costs

  • For access, metro, and data center interconnection scenarios, where short transmission distance and higher bandwidth are required, fiber resources are relatively scarce. The single-carrier 400G technology can provide the largest transmission bandwidth and the highest spectral efficiency with the simplest configuration, which effectively reduces transmission costs.
  • In the backbone and some more complex metropolitan area networks, where the transmission distance is longer with more network nodes, the requirements for transmission performance are more stringent. Under such circumstances, dual-carrier technology (2x 200G) and an optimized algorithm could work together to compress the channel spacing. This can not only improve the spectral efficiency by 30% (close to the level of a single-carrier 400G technology), but also extend the transmission distance of 400G Ethernet to several thousand kilometers, helping operators quickly deploy 400G backbone networks with minimum bandwidth resources.
  • 400G solution can also increase the single fiber capacity by 40% and reduce power consumption by 40%, thereby greatly improving network performance and reducing network operation and maintenance costs.

Opportunities for 400G Ethernet Vendors and Users

Many suppliers hype their 400G products to get ahead of the curve. Actually, few vendors have the real supply capacity and the quality of most 400G products supplied can’t be assured. To win from the fierce market competition, vendors should pay more attention to improving product quality and strong supply capability. And this is indubitably beneficial to users, who can get better products and services with relatively lower prices.

Impact of 400G Optics on Cabling and Connectivity

In the multimode installed base, the biggest difference between 100G and 400G modules is the increase in total number of fibers. For single mode transmission system, most of the duplex LC and MPO-based architecture that is deployed at 100G should serve for 400G. For parallel or multi-fiber transmission, transceivers like 400GBASE-SR4.2 operating with short wavelength division multiplexing (SWDM) at four wavelengths provide longer distances over OM5 fiber than OM4 or OM3. And OM5 wideband multimode fiber (WBMMF) will allow use of SWDM technology to transmit multiple signals (wavelengths) on one fiber. This indicates that OM5 fiber and SWDM technologies will continue to offer improved support on 400G Ethernet.

Are You Ready for 400G Ethernet?

400G Ethernet is an inevitable trend in current networking market. Driven by various market demands and technologies, it has come more rapidly than any previous technology. And it also has many significant effects, such as reducing the market share of 200G and saving transmission costs to a certain extent. There are already some mature 400G optics products in the market, such as 400G QSFP-DD transceivers400G DACs, as well as 400G DAC breakout cables. And 400G technology is no doubt going to be more and more advanced to promote the developments of 400G Ethernet and 400G applications.

Original Source: What’s the Current and Future Trend of 400G Ethernet?

Why Choose FS Optics for 400G Deployment?

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The increase in global data traffic has fostered the development of optical devices, which has led to data centers facing increasing challenges in cloud access, processing power, storage, and transmission bandwidth. Because of this, the 400G transceiver market is growing rapidly, and the choices of general optical modules are gradually diversifying. Customers also have many concerns when choosing optical products, so how do FS 400G transceivers solve these concerns to meet the needs, please read this article.

Concerns for Choosing 400G Transceivers

The choice of general 400G optical modules will face many problems. Customers usually struggle with how to choose good quality 400G optical modules and have some concerns, such as the choice of suppliers, the performance and compatibility of the optical module, etc.

General Transceivers or OEM Optics?

It is well known that general optical modules have cost advantages over their OEM counterparts and are provided on demand. In the rapidly growing 400G transceiver market, diversified suppliers have increased the difficulty of selecting general optical modules, and there also be some problems: incompatibility with existing equipment, prone to network delays leading to system restarts, or other unqualified after-sales services. Therefore, it is important to choose a supplier you trust.

400G Transceiver Quality Issues

The most common quality issues with 400G transceivers from general optical product suppliers are compatibility and reliability. Because ensuring compatibility means achieving high precision when coding optics to interoperate with OEM hardware, this problem is common among inexperienced suppliers. Failures caused by these quality issues can range from a lack of relevant functionality in equipment operation to catastrophic failures such as network, system reboots, or network outages. Whether the long-term performance of the optical module can remain as efficient as the first deployment is also a factor that customers need to consider. Otherwise, it will cause trouble later.

Consequences of Incorrect 400G Transceivers

OEM warranty is a recurring issue. There is a saying that using general products in their OEM hardware voids the warranty. But the optical module itself is unlikely to damage OEM equipment because 400G ethernet QSFP modules convert electrical data from devices into optical signals, which can prove that there is no input power from the optical port to damage the device.

At this point, the optical module will not function properly or appear to be incompatible with your equipment environment, and the IT manager needs to re-plan to take the necessary alternative strategies to resolve the failure. In this case, it takes a certain amount of time to communicate with optical product suppliers and arrange for engineers to conduct fault diagnosis. If a problem is diagnosed, the faulty product should be returned and a new product delivered for redeployment and equipment testing. Essentially, the resolution to these problems costs a lot of time and effort for IT managers, adding to the cost of wasted time.

Benefits of FS 400G Optical Modules

Compared with the existing optical module supplier market, FS optical modules have certain OEM equipment compatibility and reliability, can meet various transmission needs, and have high-quality after-sales service. At the same time, FS also has a one-stop procurement platform to support the procurement of a set of 400G optical products, which greatly improves your purchase efficiency and saves costs.

Transceiver Reliability

How FS ensures the reliability of its 400G optics? It is first reflected in their production process. FS 400G optical modules adopt the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) compatibility programming core capability, featuring interoperability with multiple suppliers. These transceivers provide high-quality optical connections at a lower cost and the same performance quality as the OEM brand. Also, the transceiver’s standardized features to OEM specifications ensure high component quality and suitability.

The second is the rigorous testing of the transceivers. FS optical modules are tested for compatibility on equipment by a professional technical team, as a way to eliminate errors and reduce the need for workarounds and system downtime. Even the equipment in use in your computer room can be tested to meet your expectations. This reduces the risk of network failures and ensures that the business remains up and running, providing uninterrupted service to customers. FS adheres to a 99.98% reliability rating, allowing you to enjoy quality products and services.

Multiple Choice and Trusted Services

FS can provide a variety of transceivers, and some may not be available from the OEM. FS has set up a global warehouse base with a large inventory of optical modules to connectivity needs of your network projects.

FS laboratory has an experienced team of professional technical experts and features perfect after-sales service. If you have any questions about the use of the product, you can directly contact the one-to-one sales representative to solve it. For example, if you want to know whether Juniper QSFP/OSFP works on Cisco platforms, FS will tell you based on specific lab tests and experience. Moreover, when you need to perform remote compatibility testing, the FS remote demo service can provide you with a better testing experience.

400G transceivers

Cost-effectiveness

When you choose optical products for your 400G project, 400G optical transceivers may not be the only thing you require, network devices, optical cables and corresponding accessories, such as switches, wiring, or other accessories are also needed. Of course, when applying these components, you also need to consider their loss and fit. To better solve this problem, the FS 400G product series supports one-stop procurement to help you solve your deployment problems and make the products perfectly fit your needs, which can improve your procurement efficiency and save manpower and material costs. In addition, with its professional capabilities, FS can complete the testing, collection, distribution, acceptance, after-sales, and other work of the products you need, which is convenient for your equipment maintenance and management.

A one-stop procurement approach can reduce a company’s overall cost of investment (COI). For example, replacing 9 individual SKUs with one SKU at a simple price can simplify the procurement, inventory, and operational issues of optical modules. This reduces the time spent on multiple 400G optical module suppliers, and a high-quality supplier like FS can spend valuable time in other more important places, you can save up to 70% of the cost.

FS 400G product family

Explore FS 400G Optics Solutions

Facing the diverse general optic product supplier market, you should choose a supplier you trust, which will have a huge influence on your business. FS can be one of your best options as a general optical product supplier. With a professional technical team, global warehousing capabilities, remote demo services, and 400G transceivers with the same OEM performance, FS can ensure your high-performance network, optimize your operational efficiency, and minimize waste of time, effort, and budget.

Article Source:

https://community.fs.com/news/why-choose-fs-optics-for-400g-deployment.html

Related Articles:

https://community.fs.com/blog/faqs-about-fs-400g-transceivers.html
https://community.fs.com/blog/infographic-types-of-400g-transceivers.html

How to Build Affordable 10G Network for Small and Midsize Business?

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With the fast development of today’s networking field, many people tend to build 10G network in small and midsize business for their growing network needs. Then, why they choose 10G network? How to build an affordable one? If you want to build such a network, what things you should know? Don’t worry. Let’s find all the answers in the following text.

Necessity of 10G network

Actually, the necessity of 10G network is quite simple to understand. As time goes on, there will be more traffic and applications running on your existing networks and they will keep growing. At that time, the common used Gigabit network will no longer satisfy the urgent needs for higher networking speeds and larger network construction.

How to Build An Affordable 10G Network?

To build a 10G network, there are several indispensable components you need, such as 10GbE switch (10G core switch and access switch with 10G uplinks), 10G SFP+ modules, fiber cables, severs and storage devices, etc.

10G network layout

To build an affordable 10G network for small and midsize business (SMB), let’s take fiber cabling solution as an example.

Fiber Cabling Solution for 10G Network

Under such circumstance, the server or storage has 10G SFP+ port. And it is suitable for applications matching with a 10G fiber switch as the core switch. You can connect all the devices with the steps below:

Step 1: Connect Server Or Storage to A Core Switch

For connection between server (or storage) and a core switch, you can insert a 10G transceiver module connecting with one end of a LC cable into the server or storage, and then connect the other end of the LC cable with the core switch.

Here, the transceiver we use is 10G SFP+ module provided by FS.COM. It can reach a maximum cable distance of 300m over OM3 multimode fiber (MMF).

The LC cable we use is LC UPC to LC UPC duplex OM3 MMF, which has less attenuation when bent or twisted compared with traditional optical fiber cables and will make the installation and maintenance of the fiber optic cables more efficient.

What’s more, the core switch we use is FS S5850-48S2Q4C. This network switch is a 48-port 10Gb SFP+ L2/L3 carrier grade switch with 6 hybrid 40G/100G uplink ports. It is a high performance top of rack (ToR) or leaf switch to meet the next generation metro, data center and enterprise network requirements.

Step 2: Connect the Core Switch With An Access Switch

Next, you need to connect the core switch with an access switch. Just like step 1, insert a 10G transceiver module connecting with one end of a LC cable into the core switch, and then connect the other end of the LC cable with the access switch.

Here, we use FS Gigabit Ethernet switch with 10G SFP+ uplink as the access switch. This is a fanless switch, which is suitable for quilt requirement in SMB network. In addition, it has 24 10/100/1000BASE-T ports and 4 10Gb SFP+ ports for uplinks.

And the LC cable and 10G transceiver we use are the same as the products used in step 1.

Step 3: Connect Your Access Switch to Computers

After the previous two steps, you can use Cat5 or Cat5e cable (here we use Cat5e) to connect your access switch with computers or other devices you need to use. Just remember that you have to connect the 10/100/1000BASE-T ports rather than the 10Gb SFP+ ports.

Products
Price
Features
From US$16.00
Supports 8 Gbit/s Fibre Channel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and Optical Transport Network standard OTU2.
From US$1.4 to 5.3 for 1m
OM3 10Gb 50/125 multimode fiber
US$5,699.00
48 x 10Gb + 2 x 40Gb + 4 x 100Gb ports; Non-blocking bandwidth up to 960Gbps
US$279.00
24 x 100/1000BASE-T + 4 x 10GB SFP+ ports; Switching capacity up to 128Gbps
Start from US$0.82 for 6in
Shielded (STP) or Unshielded (UTP) Cat5e Ethernet network patch cable (24/26AWG, 100MHz, RJ45 connector)

Conclusion

From all the above, you may get clearer about how to build affordable 10G network for small and midsize business with 10GbE switch, fiber cables, Ethernet cables, etc. As long as you use the right way, you can not only build an affordable 10G network but also a powerful network for future network reconstruction.

Related Articles:

How to Build a 10G Home Fiber Network?

How to Build 10GbE Network for Small and Mid-Sized Business?

Network OS Systems for Bare Metal Switch

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As you may know that a network switch with no network operating system (NOS) is referred to as a bare metal switch. Unlike a white box switch with vendor’s own or 3rd party already loaded NOS, a bare metal switch allows you to load a network OS according to your own will. After installing the NOS, these two types of switches are normally regarded as the same. Then, how to choose network OS systems for bare metal switches? Listed below are three popular choices, namely Cumulus Linux, IP Infusion OcNOS™ and Pica8 PICOS.

Option 1: Network OS Cumulus Networks Cumulus Linux

Cumulus Linux is a powerful open network OS designed by Cumulus Networks to help build and operate large data center networks. Therefore, the Cumulus Linux is a perfect match for a data center switch which operates in bigger networks such as enterprise, data center and metro Ethernet scenarios. It is a true Linux distribution with a hardware abstraction layer that runs on a variety of commodity hardware. Cumulus Linux uses automated tools to manage the network infrastructure and hopes to automate the configuration of network switches with these existing tools.

Cumulus Linux network OS

Additionally, Cumulus Linux offers economical scalability and choice flexibility to run multiple network paths without the need for multiple switches. The main features of Cumulus Linux lie in the following aspects:

  • Economical Scalability: Customers can get increased operational efficiency with commodity hardware and a standardized Linux stack.
  • Built for the Automation Age: This Debian-based Linux distribution offers a completely open architecture and is designed for easy automation.
  • Standardized Toolsets: It allows open source and commercial Linux applications to run natively. You can use your own automation or other tools to improve efficiency and multiply the number of switches per operator.
  • 70+ Hardware Platforms for Choice: You can choose compatible hardware based on your needs and your budget flexibly.

Cumulus Linux enables modern data center architectures while providing a transition path for traditional data center architectures. It supports layer 2, layer 3 and overlay architectures. This open architectural approach enables a wide range of solutions such as Clos, L3 network, L2 network, campus expansion, out of band management, etc.

Cumulus Linux architecture

Option 2: Network OS IP Infusion OcNOS™

OcNOS™ is designed to address the needs of public, private or hybrid cloud networks. It offers Carrier-grade network OS for bare metal switches. It includes many advanced capabilities such as extensive switching and routing protocol support, MPLS, SDN, etc.

In addition to providing industry standard CLI, OcNOS™ supports all standard MIBs , other standard operation and management tools as well. The main features are:

  • Support Multiple Deployments: The several abstraction layers allow seamless portability across diverse network hardware.
  • Modular Software Design: This design can make it customized, built and packaged with minimal software features to reduce CapEx and device footprint.
  • Wide Interoperation: With CLI and SNMP management, the the OcNOS-based network node is easy to operate and interoperate with another vendor node.
  • Support for disruptive networking technologies: It enables SDN support through OpenFlow and can provide custom programmable network operations.

Option 3: Network OS Pica8 PICOS

The PICOS is also an open Linux-based network OS built on the robust Debian Linux environment for bare metal switches. It supports all major L2 and L3 switching. What’s more, it can leverage a vast array of standard Linux tools and supports IPv4 and IPv6 static routing as well.

In addition to the basic features mentioned above, the PICOS supports other functions depending on its two different editions. For PICOS enterprise edition, it supports CrossFlow dual control plane technology for improved OpenFlow integration, scale, and management. For PICOS SDN edition, it uses OpenFlow to control MPLS, GRE, NVGRE or VXLAN tunnels, delivering on the promise of open programmability.

Conclusion

From all the above, you may have a general understanding of the three main network OS systems. You can choose a proper one according to your actual needs. For example, if you need a Debian-based Linux distribution NOS with Clos solution for a 40GB switch, Cumulus Linux is a wise choice.

Related Articles:

How to Select Transceivers for White Box Switch?

Network OS Comparison: Open Source OS or Proprietary OS

100G CFP Modules Power and Connectors Comparison

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In today’s market, only several vendors can provide 100G CFP modules, such as Cisco, Juniper, Brocade and Huawei. In this blog, I will compare the Cisco CFP modules and the Juniper CFP modules, and analyze the power and connectors of these modules.

100GBASE-SR10 CFP Modules
Both Cisco CFP-100G-SR10 and Juniper CFP-100GBASE-SR10 CFP module supports link lengths of 100 meters and 150 meters respectively on laser-optimized OM3 and OM4 multifiber cables. It primarily enables high-bandwidth 100-gigabit links over 24-fiber ribbon cables terminated with MPO/MTP-24 connectors. It can also be used in 10 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet mode along with ribbon to duplex fiber breakout cables for connectivity to ten 10GBASE-SR optical interfaces.

100GBASE-SR10 CFP Modules

100GBASE-LR4 CFP Modules
Both Cisco CFP-100G-LR4 and Juniper CFP-GEN2-100GBASE-LR4 CFP module supports a link length of 10 kilometers on standard duplex single-mode fiber (SMF, G.652). However, the connectors of Cisco CFP-100G-LR4 are duplex SC, and the connectors of Juniper CFP-GEN2-100GBASE-LR4 are duplex LC. 100 Gigabit Ethernet signal is carried over four wavelengths. Multiplexing and demultiplexing of the four wavelengths are managed within the device.

100GBASE-LR4 CFP Modules

100GBASE-ER4 CFP Modules
Both Cisco CFP-100G-ER4 and Juniper CFP-GEN2-CGE-ER4 CFP module can support link lengths up to 40 kilometers on standard duplex single-mode fiber (SMF, G.652). Like the 100GBASE-LR4 CFP modules, the connectors of Cisco CFP-100G-ER4 are duplex SC, and the connectors of Juniper CFP-GEN2-CGE-ER4 are duplex LC. Multiplexing and demultiplexing of the four wavelengths are managed within the device. The 100GBASE-ER4 CFP module meets the IEEE 802.3ba requirements for 100GBASE-ER4 performance and also supports Digital Optical Monitoring (DOM) of the transmit-and-receive optical signal levels.

Tx/Rx Power of Cisco and Juniper 100G CFP Modules
Minimum and maximum Tx/Rx Power of Cisco and Juniper 100G CFP Modules are displayed in the table below. We can see that there is no significant difference between Tx/Rx Power of Cisco and Juniper CFP modules.

P/N Connector Transmit Power Receive Power Wavelength
Cisco CFP-100G-SR10 OM3 100 m; OM4 150 m 24F-MPO/MTP min: -7.6 dBm
ma: -1.0 dBm
min: -9.5 dBm
max: 2.4 dBm
Ten lanes, 840 to 850 nm
Juniper CFP-100GBASE-SR10 OM3 100 m; OM4 150 m 24F-MPO/MTP min: -7.6 dBm
max: 2.4 dBm
min: -9.5 dBm
max: 2.4 dBm
840 through 860 nm
Cisco CFP-100G-LR4 10km duplpx SC min: -4.3 dBm
max: 4.5 dBm
min: -10.6 dBm
max: 4.5 dBm
Four lanes, 1295.6 nm, 1300.1 nm, 1304.6 nm, and 1309.1 nm
Juniper CFP-GEN2-100GBASE-LR4 10km duplpx LC min: -4.3 dBm
max: 4.5 dBm
min: -10.5 dBm
max: 4.5 dBm
1294.53 through 1296.59 nm
1299.02 through 1301.09 nm
1303.54 through 1305.63 nm
1308.09 through 1310.19 nm
Cisco CFP-100G-ER4 40km duplpx SC min: -2.9 dBm
max: 2.9 dBm
min: –20.9 dBm
max: 4.5 dBm
Same as CFP-100G-LR4
Juniper CFP-GEN2-CGE-ER4 40km duplpx LC min: -2.9 dBm
max: 2.9 dBm
min: –20.9 dBm
max: 4.5 dBm
Same as CFP-GEN2-100GBASE-LR4

As a leading and professional manufacturer and supplier of fiber optic subsystems and components. Fiberstore offers various 100G CFP modules which are ideal solutions for your 100GbE network. Our 100G transceivers are with high compatibility that can be compatible with many major brands. For more information, please contact us over sales@fs.com.

Related Article: CFP Transceiver Module Overview: CFP, CFP2, CFP4 & CFP8