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South Cerney, UK, November 20 2017 – Leading provider of compatible optical networking infrastructure, ProLabs, has introduced its latest development to the world of transceivers with its new high-speed SFP- NBase-T transceiver.

Ideal for bi-directional communication over copper cable, the NBase-T transceiver module is a high-performance integrated duplex data link, with the ability to support 2.5G transfer speeds at cable lengths of up to 100M using Cat5e cabling and 5G using Cat 6 Cabling.

“More than 90% of structured cabling installed between 2003-2014 (approximately 70 billion meters) has been CAT5/6, with current technologies’ throughput on these cable types limited to 1Gbps. This will be a bottleneck to delivering bandwidth available from end points such as 802.11ac that have the capability to deliver greater than 1.3 Gbps with Wave 1 and greater than 2.3 Gbps with emerging Wave 2 products,” said Tony Lefebvre, VP Products & Marketing at ProLabs.

“Rather than incur the time and expense of replacing existing plant with CAT6A/7 or fiber, the NBase-T transceiver solution from ProLabs enables customers to use existing SFP+ port on their network equipment and connect over existing CAT5/6, delivering 2.5/5Gbps throughput. With the NBASE-T transceiver solution, customers can greatly increase their time-to-service and defer costly re-cabling.”

With the advent of 802.11ac with Wave 2 Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) products delivering greater than 2.3 Gbps, customers need to address the backhaul connectivity which in the case of CAT5/6 is limited to 1Gbps with current technologies. When replacing existing previous generation AP’s, the NBASE-T transceiver enables customers to keep their CAT5/6 infrastructure intact while delivering the throughput required by the newly added 802.11ac AP.

HD CCTV and high-performance computing also benefit from NBase-T’s greater throughput, allowing these and other bandwidth hungry applications to run at a higher rate over existing infrastructure, not only improving end user quality of experience but deferring costly cabling infrastructure replacement programs.

The IEEE-802.3bz/NBase-T transceiver is SFF-8431 and SF-8432 MSA compliant with low power consumption and EMI emissions. It also features MDI/MDIX crossover with unshielded and shielded cable support, multiple loopback modes for testing and troubleshooting, built-in cable monitoring and link diagnostic features, and robust die cast housing.

Gothenburg, Sweden. 18 September 2017: Tony Lefebvre, VP of Product Management & Marketing at optical transceiver specialist, ProLabs, today addressed why monitoring power consumption is integral to manage data centre environments.

Speaking at ECOC 2017, Mr Lefebvre warned that operators need to be extra vigilant as data rates increase beyond 10G to 100G.

“On a short-range optic, we are seeing typical power consumption on the transceivers go from 1W to greater than 3.5W maximum power consumption. While this efficiency per Gbps is impressive, the data centre manager is in a constant battle as they experience a greater than three times increase per link in power consumption,” he said. “The greater heat dissipation that this power consumption directly correlates with requires an increase in the cooling of the room to maintain a reasonable operating temperature and sizing backup power.”

Mr Lefebvre’s comments come as other major players in the industry realise the concern, as leaders such as Microsoft recently experimented with placing data centres under water to aid with the cooling.

“While silicon photonics solutions are being introduced into the market to combat this challenge, the mass scale deployment of this is years away, and we need an immediate solution,” he continued.

The 100G hybrid solution or Silicon Optical Bench (SiOB), from ProLabs offering is a free-space optical interconnect technology which utilises a silicon-based 45° micro-reflector to align the laser to the fibre medium, eliminating the need for the optical lens. This then reduces the optical path to less than 200 µm, leading to a 60% reduction in the optical power and resulting in less heat dissipation, and ultimately greater than 30% reduction in power consumption.

“In order for us to keep up in an ever-changing and rapidly evolving market, we need to stay one step ahead. With the demand for data rising, it is no secret that data centres consume a vast amount of energy, but we want to show our customers that we can help ensure that this consumption does not get out of control. If you think of the number of connections in a data centre, the resulting power savings and the effect that the SiOB will have on the need for less cooling is significant,” said Mr Lefebvre.

His comments come the same day that ProLabs unveiled its new logo and branding to the global market at ECOC.

“At ProLabs, we are constantly investing into research and development to make sure we are on top of the latest market trends and evolving with the industry. While our brand has evolved, our excellent customer service stays the same,” Mr Lefebvre concluded.

ProLabs offer an extensive range of optical and copper transceivers to fit the customer’s requirements. All transceivers are standards-based, compliant with the appropriate MSA (Multi-Source Agreement) and are interoperable with all major optical switching and transport platforms. Transceivers range from 100BASE-FX to 100Gb with duplex, simplex (BiDi) and WDM variants. Considering data rate, fibre utilization and network equipment options, ProLabs is your single source with over 8,000 transceivers to meet your network needs.

ProLabs’ High Density CWDM transceivers, ideal for node splitting, effectively double the amount of bandwidth, allowing an increase in the fiber by carrying multiple signals down an individual fiber connection, doubling the capacity of existing CWDM multiplexers and extending the life of existing CWDM equipment, so the customer does not have to invest in more fiber.

ECOC exhibition visitors can visit ProLabs at Booth 175 at ECOC 2017 this week in Gothenburg, Sweden.

ProLabs OM5 fiber patch cables are optimized for the growing needs of today’s data centers. OM5, or wide-band multimode fiber, is designed to accommodate bidirectional and wavelength division multiplexing technology utilized in data centers around the world.

OM5 is specially optimized to support bidirectional (40G-SR-BD and 400G-SR4.2) and wavelength division multiplexing (SWDM) technologies over multimode fiber by opening a wider spectral range to 840nm to 953nm. OM5 cable links offer longer supported distances for these technologies and OM5 patch cables are backward compatible with older OM4/OM3/etc. standards.

Multimode Fiber Standards – Maximum Fiber Link Distances

OM5 support for bidirectional and WDM transceiver technologies

ProLabs OM5 patch cables are available in standard lengths from 1m to 50m and in standard connectors configurations including:

• LC to LC
• LC to SC
• LC to CS
• LC to MPO-12
• LC to MPO-16

Visit our product portfolio of patch cables for more.

The New iTemp range (-40°C to +85°C) of WDM Transceivers ensure the performance over temperature throughout the life of the network.

ProLabs WDM transceivers are the perfect solution to enable greater flexibility from fiber infrastructures. Due to their wavelength stabilising technology, the new range of transceivers can endure temperatures as low as -40°C to as high as +85°C which enable them to perform even in the most demanding environments.

Most commercial temperature rated (0°C to 70°C) products can resist some fluctuations in temperature at initial deployment; however, high and low temperature cycles over time can cause instability in WDM circuits, causing the wavelengths to drift off of the centre wavelength, potentially causing network interruptions. Wavelength stabilisation technologies prevent instability, therefore ensuring trouble free operations over the life of a network.

CWDM and DWDM transmission allow service providers the ability to utilize existing infrastructure to drive fiber optics deeper into the network, closer to the customer. In addition, ProLabs new iTemp WDM transceivers now offer service providers the ability to deploy worry-free WDM services outside the climate controlled locations, closer to the customer.

“ProLabs customers are in the midst of a remarkable network transformation”. Ray Hagen, Product Manager at ProLabs commented “We listened to the needs of our customers to deploy WDM services in environments not historically hospitable for WDM technologies. We are pleased to have worked together to solve this issue and ensure stable and trouble free environments in their network”.

Cirencester, 5 June 2018 – Optical transceiver specialist, ProLabs, is pleased to announce the appointment of Matt McCormick to CEO of Halo Technology, a group recently formed after the forces of ProLabs and AddOn came together in mid-2017.

Joining AddOn in 2005 as a sales associate, McCormick gained invaluable expert knowledge in the generation and development of products and education in the market and proved to be a major asset to the AddOn team. Moving up the ranks to VP of Sales in 2011, his knowledge of the industry, products and impact the business had on the continued interest and development of optical transceivers was unparalleled. As VP of Sales, McCormick was responsible for the continued promotion and development of the company’s high-quality solution portfolio, ensuring it was at the forefront of technology trends and developments and overseeing global sales.

Striving to create a goal-oriented team environment, McCormick pioneered the optical transceiver business for AddOn, which directly lead to the reshaping of the business from re-seller of other network accessories to the current business model. He also developed the white label service offering and continues to drive the initiative.

Now the biggest provider of optical transceivers in the market today, Halo hopes to change the current mindset of customers when they are looking for connectivity solutions as well as challenging OEM (Original equipment manufacturer) dominance in the market.

“Our goal and aspirations for ProLabs is to make our mark on the optical connectivity industry by challenging the mindset of customers when it comes to the compatibles market. In doing this, we aim to bridge the current gap between OEM and mid-tier retailers and to continue to provide our loyal customers with world-class connectivity solutions,” McCormick said. “Through our technical intelligence, sector specialists and expertise, we are on our way to being the recognised provider of compatible products that surpass quality and speed standards of the market.”

Not only specialising in compatible transceivers, ProLabs are working hard to provide future-proof complete solutions from 100mb to 100G and offer a number of network interconnect and active network solutions.

“ProLabs is an ambitious industry challenger and I am looking forward to spearheading our global compatible connectivity mission. Ultimately, our products are tried, tested and ahead of the curve thanks to our on site, state-of-the-art facilities. Compatibility is our middle name but it’s not our end-game, and with the support of the Halo group, our presence is only set to expand,” added McCormick.

What impact will this have on your existing network?
 

5G technology is scheduled to be released in 2018, or early 2019, but in reality, we are still two, maybe three years away from a large scale rollout as Telecom providers run trials and prepare their networks to cope with the huge increase in demand for communication. The growing need for higher speeds and instant, reliable services are all leading to pressure on providers to improve their networks and services. As data consumption increases, the various network segments, and the interfaces between them need to increase in capacity to serve this traffic.

Fundamentally, the right network foundation will need to be laid in order to deploy 5G, but there are technologies available which are ideal for providing both the fibre access and data rates required for 5G fronthaul and backhaul.

How can ProLabs support your 5G network needs?

EON – NSV – OTDR: Coming Soon

• Optical time-domain reflectometer
• Quickly locates faults and issues in optical fibre networks, allowing reactive troubleshooting of any performance issues within the fibres.
• More information coming soon……

Passive Optical Network (PON)

• Efficient usage of fibres
• Good reach
• Cost effective;
  • Lower power
  • High density
• Dominant FTTH technology;
  • As 5G needs fibre everywhere, it’s a logical expansion of the FTTH network to provide Fibre to the Cell over the same infrastructure.

100G Connectivity

• 100G solutions can support by increasing bandwidth, minimising aggregation and significantly improving overall efficiency.

Single Fibre

• Bi-Directional;

Double the bandwidth on existing fibres at relatively low cost.

• HD CWDM;

Double circuit capacity over existing CWDM infrastructure, reducing time and expense.

• Fibre to the Home – EPON & GPON, Ethernet
• Carrier Ethernet/Fibre to the Building – CWDM & DWDM – 1G & 10G, SFP, SFP+
• Wireless Backhaul – 1G & 10G CWDM & DWDM
• Fibre to the Node – CWDM & DWDM, 1G, 2.5G, 10G SFP, SFP+ XFP
• Core network 40G/100G

Click the button below to read our latest blog on this topic by Raymond Hagen - America's Product Manager