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In today’s constantly in flux technology world, staying on the edge of innovation can be a challenge. Enterprise, service provider, and data center infrastructures have become one of the most important aspects of day-to-day business operation. A strong performing network helps supports top-line growth, which why the quality and reliability of a business' network optics remain at the forefront.

Establishing and maintaining a network of mission-critical importance means ensuring seamless deployment that delivers the full functionality of any system. At the forefront of fiber optic technology development, coding, testing & customization, ProLabs always has quality in mind when it comes to our transceivers so that we can deliver on our customer promises.

What are the most frequently reported quality issues from other third-party suppliers?

Based on studies, quality issues most frequently found are related to reliability, compatibility, and interoperability. Coding is reported as the biggest issue with optics reading as the wrong part and receiving messages of “unsupported data”. This can cause network delays and system reboots, taking up critical time and possibly needing a system engineer to triage.

We understand the importance of quality and take measured steps in our manufacturing and testing processes. Our optics are coded and tested in its intended environment so that it functions 100% the same as an OEM version. Compatibility is key to ensure a seamless connection with no downtime.

What happens when an optic fails?

When a part fails or when you experience incompatibility issues - time, money, and resources are spent to find a resolution. With many other suppliers, this means losing several days waiting for a reply, each time a reply is needed.

Even if the problem is identified, if the part is the issue (mis-shipped, defective, miscoded, or incompatible), you now add transit delays too. Each step of the way, you’re the one losing time, incurring financial costs, and missing opportunities.

We stand by our 99.98% reliability rating, but in the rare instance of a failure, we will ship a replacement part to you the same day as to minimize any operational delays.

What do you do differently to resolve optic failures?

Because we are globally based with headquarters in the U.S. and UK, we can respond far faster and more thoroughly to customers who are located worldwide. Whether it's a coding solution, a part correction, or something else, our expert team dives into the issue headfirst with you, resolving it to your satisfaction. We explore the issue with you from a technical perspective, standing behind our product and at your side until your new deployment is fully successful.

Our world-class customer support and technical teams are available 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. With your mission-critical projects at stake, our global field engineers can be deployed on-site to help you resolve any issues. We are real people committed to quality and exceptional customer service (should there be any issues with our products).

If you want the assurance of quality and interoperability, request a quote or contact us today.

San Diego, California, US, March 10, 2020 – ProLabs, a leading provider of optical connectivity solutions, has been presented with the Optical Transceivers and Transponders award at the 2020 Lightwave Innovation Reviews.

The prestigious accolade recognizes the company’s commitment to stay at the forefront of innovation in optical connectivity, providing unbeatable world-class quality and unrivaled interoperability. Designed to be certified with multiple vendors including Cisco, Juniper and Arista, the ProLabs portfolio of multi-coded optical transceivers provide the same performance quality as Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) brands while allowing for cost reductions of up to 70%.

“It is a real honor for us to receive an award in the Optical Transceivers and Transponders award category,” said Patrick Beard, Chief Technology Officer at ProLabs. “For more than 15 years, ProLabs has delivered optical connectivity solutions that provide our global customers with seamless network interoperability. With our multi-coded optical transceivers, customers can reduce their total cost of ownership by procuring an ‘all-in-one’ product to replace the need for many OEM parts. Customers can eliminate the need to keep excess inventory, subsequently saving on added operational costs.”

The Lightwave Innovation Reviews is the latest in a string of successes for ProLabs which has been shortlisted for several technology and customer service awards in recent weeks.

ProLabs prides itself on the quality of its products and goes above and beyond the industry standard to re-create the environment that the components will be used in. Every product is 100% tested in its in-house coding facility, alongside its Data Traveler System™ (DTS) which tracks each serial number and certifies that each part has completed the necessary steps ready for shipping, ensuring network performance can always be relied on.

Now in its seventh year, the Lightwave Innovation Reviews recognizes excellence in a product or technology applicable to optical networks, highlighting the ground-breaking contributions that vendors, like ProLabs, are making to the optical networking industry.

Media Contact
Proactive International PR Ltd
prolabs@proactive-pr.com

Tustin, California, US November 5 - ProLabs, a global leader in optical networking and connectivity solutions, today announced its completion of the Network Equipment Building System (NEBS) compliance test through global industry leader in quality assurance testing, Intertek.

ProLabs SFP, XFP and QSFP transceivers have undergone NEBS testing criteria for standards GR-63-CORE and GR-1089-CORE. The compliance test involves testing the products in extremities to ensure that they can resist maximal temperature, vibration and humidity. The test also measures and validates improved space planning, simplified installation and increased energy efficiency.

“Through our longstanding commitment to US service providers, responsible for building and maintaining connectivity for our communities, it was important to invest in the most thorough and stringent testing methods that certify our products as safe and reliable,” said Patrick Beard, Chief Technology Officer at ProLabs. “This allows us to further drive partner and public confidence in our end to end network infrastructure solutions.”

NEBS compliance refers to the conformance of a network product to the requirements of the NEBS standard. Compliance to this standard indicates that a network product or telecommunications equipment performs at its optimum capacity.

NEBS is made up of levels that refer to different aspects of equipment management and increased operational requirements. NEBS level 1 allows for a broader range of scenarios and NEBS level 3 requires that the equipment meets the requirements of specific GR-63-CORE and GR-1089-CORE standards that anticipate long-term network needs. Telecom companies use these standards to evaluate the solvency of equipment systems for continual service.

The North American telecom industry requires component solution providers to be NEBS compliant in order to ensure network integrity, compatibility and safety. The combination of rapid network expansion and the experience of carriers in managing their infrastructure during extreme weather events is likely to only increase the demand for NEBS-compliant devices. As those standards continue to evolve, they will become more demanding.

In addition to being NEBS compliant, many of ProLabs’ product lines, including optical transceivers and high speed cabling, are also MSA, TAA, and RoHS compliant. All ProLabs' products are rigorously tested and coded in its global, state-of-the-art facilities to ensure the highest levels of performance with 100% application testing in end-use conditions.

Press release provided by Real Wire.

Media Contact
Proactive International PR Ltd
prolabs@proactive-pr.com

Hospitals cannot afford downtime; scaling their network infrastructure doesn't have to be complicated.

For the past decade countries like the United States and Great Britain have invested billions in network infrastructure technology to modernize data interoperability in the healthcare sector. In the U.S. the implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) is now ubiquitous, used in over 85% of hospitals nationwide. EHRs have the advantage of providing accurate and complete information about patients, enabling physicians access to a patient's current medication, allergies, and laboratory results in real-time.

As EHRs are stored in the healthcare provider's technical infrastructure, so are the massive amounts of data collected by connected medical and imaging devices. Now network operators race to expand processing power to withstand the astounding surge in patients and medical data, further exacerbated by the shift of care from offline to online using telehealth services to deliver care virtually during the COVID-19 crisis.

With telehealth, it is both the connection to high-speed reliable internet from service providers such as Verizon, and the ability to process the bandwidth and data application via the healthcare provider's core network. Clinics and hospitals face network bottlenecks as routine patient visits are replaced with online video calls. Regardless, hospitals critically need to keep running, as does their data centers and network equipment. Downtime can result in reduced care quality and efficiency, or an inaccessible EHR, at worst life and death circumstances.

Hospitals accelerating their network capabilities should close these gaps by building on infrastructure that is already in place. The key is to seek scalable and simple solutions as it can be disastrous to launch complex projects during moments of peak need.

Below we explore four excellent network/IT upgrades:

1. Easy server memory upgrades – Not to be overlooked, upgrading server memory is a quick and cost-effective solution to handle increased data and application response times. View all ProLabs’ Cisco® UCS server memory options.

2. Simple 10G access network upgrades – Despite years of investment, many health access network elements are still connected by 1G or lower connections. Going from 1G to 10G increases speed and efficiency. We offer a wide range of SFP+ transceivers including CWDM and DWDM fixed and tunable wavelengths.

3. Upgrades from edge to core – Telehealth and other health-related applications are driving upgrades at both the edge and network core. ProLabs’ broad portfolio of 25G SFP28, 100G, and even 400G transceivers are popular upgrades to keep up with rapidly increasing demands while limiting cost exposure.

4. Fiber patch cables to future-proof hospital networks – Maximize fiber infrastructure with the right cabling that can support high-speed bandwidth network applications. AddOn offers a wide assortment of single-mode, multi-mode, and MPO cables. Our test certified fiber patch cables are robustly constructed, ensuring circuit integrity and seamless connectivity. A wide assortment of single-mode, multi-mode, and MPO cables are available. View all fiber patch cable options.

Hospitals cannot afford downtime and accelerating their network infrastructure doesn't have to be complicated. ProLabs is the preferred partner to have in your corner - we're here to help!

Get started today.

Organizations of all sizes are turning to optical technology to solve the need for greater speed, longer distances, and more interconnections for their networks. Telco, Internet Content Providers, Cable, and Data Center operators are all chasing the rapid innovation in optical technology to build their networks and to ensure they have the bandwidth to meet the ever-increasing demand.

To address these market challenges, standards organizations are creating specifications to ensure interoperability. These groups are typically composed of technical employees from equipment vendors, telecommunication network owners, government regulators, and researchers. Standards bodies strive to create unique specifications that may incorporate the work of other standards organizations in order to create solutions with the widest possible market and avoid duplicate efforts, in this column we will highlight the key groups focused on optical devices and interfaces which are crucial for any vendor to work with as they define their optical strategies.

Multi-Source Agreement (MSA)
This is a type of standard developed by vendors outside a formal standards organization. There are many successful MSAs used throughout data networks and MSAs are being developed for coherent optical transceivers at 100G and greater data rates. Multi-source Agreements are typically developed for the following reasons:

1) They might bring a technology to market faster than a standards group.

2) There is not a standards organization working on the specific technology in question.

Vendors elect to contribute intellectual property to MSAs to help standardize and market a particular technology.

Major standards organizations in the optical space include:

Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
All of the physical and signaling standards for Ethernet are defined within the IEEE. The IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow. The IEEE is the trusted “voice” for computing, and technology information around the globe and it defines the Ethernet components and protocols that represent a major portion of the optical connectivity market.

Internal Telecommunications Union and American National Standards Institute (ITU-T / ANSI)
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) and Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET) were developed by the ITU-T and ANSI. The ITU-T is the main group driving ongoing work to develop standards for optical transmission used predominantly in the Telco market. Their work is also used in long-distance transmission in the Telco and Independent Communications Provider (ICP) markets.

Optical Interworking Forum (OIF)
This organization is responsible for developing optical Advanced Programming Interfaces (API) that enable the interoperability of optical components and software across multiple network layers. The Implementation Agreement for 400ZR coherent optical interfaces, published in April 2020, is an industry first for interoperability of coherent optics. Since then they have developed a series of Implementation Agreements for coherent optics

CableLabs
The Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) standards were developed by CableLabs, which is a consortia of cable companies that seek to create standards for the cable industry. They work on evolving and expanding optical specifications to bring greater optical capability and manageability to HFC networks. Their P2P(Peer-2-peer) coherent optical specification defines coherent 100G and 200G optical interfaces for use with DWDM in the access portion of HFC networks. In addition, CableLabs is defining a bidirectional, coherent single wavelength optic for use in fiber constrained environments. In their specifications, CableLabs sites several existing standards developed by both the ITU and the IEEE to ensure interoperability with other components, systems, and networks. Interoperability testing is coordinated by CableLabs and is open to any company that wants to test the physical layer (transceivers) to ensure alignment with their standards and interoperability with other vendors.

Groups Focused on Network Management
All standards groups may define some degree of management for their specific technology, but none undertake the definition of managing all the optical technologies required to create a fully operational network. Therefore, optical management standards and specifications are developed by several groups. The MEF although originally focused on creating the standards for Ethernet services, has recently been creating specifications and Implementation Agreements to define service orchestration for data networking. A small portion of their work focuses on managing optical interfaces. In addition, there are open source tools like Ansible, Puppet, and Chef that can be used to enable some degree of optical interface management.

Conclusion
Developments are occurring rapidly in the areas of packaging, electrical, optical, and management of grey and DWDM coherent pluggable optical interfaces that support 100G and higher data rates. The pace of change and options available from vendors makes it difficult for end-users to know the best solutions for building optical links. At ProLabs this is our specialty. We bring you the insight to have confidence and peace of mind when making these decisions. We follow the standards in development, and we work with our suppliers on emerging technologies. Our worldwide experience with optical networks gives us the vision to understand all the trade-offs for each technology option. And then in consultation with our customers, we analyze their needs and create unique standards-based solutions that support their network requirements.

Simply follow the links below to see our full series of coherent articles:

• Coherent Optics: The Beginning of a Universal Approach
• Optic Impairments and Coherent Optics: Explained
• All You Need To Know About Coherent Detection Transceivers
• Key Transceiver Form Factors and Migration to Coherent Transmission

Contact us to find out more.

In the coming years, consumers will soon have to rely more on in-store networks for a seamless shopping experience.

Until recently, most retailers relied on copper internet to run operations, but this brought limitations to the networks' core. Successfully meeting the need to add more equipment, workstations, and security technology is only possible with a move to fiber optic technology. By choosing fiber, organizations benefit with improved reliability, speed, and security, all while achieving a lower total cost of ownership over time.

While many first associate speed with fiber optic internet, there are still plenty of other fiber network advantages over copper:

• Reliability - Reduced downtime means fewer headaches for your staff and your shoppers. Fiber optic transceivers and cables keep your network running reliably for around-the-clock access.
• Bandwidth - Increasing bandwidth supports larger quantities of simultaneous users and critical appliances/hardware (point of sale, kiosks, guest Wi-Fi, video security, etc.)
• Security - Any attempts to tap can cause the fibers to break, thus protecting the sensitive data of your business and customers.
• Cost - Daily operating costs in replacements and power consumption is significantly reduced over time with fiber, providing a lower total cost of ownership.

What are the most popular solutions to help maximize retails' network potential?

1. Media Converters – A conversion from electrical/copper/PoE signals to fiber/optical signals with media converters is a key step in building your new fiber network.
2. 1G/10G Transceivers ­­– 1G/10G fiber transceivers build a strong fiber network foundation, and improve network performance through elevated data rates and bandwidth headroom.
3. Multi-mode, Single mode, or Single Strand Fiber – Extend fiber links over greater distances while also future-proofing for 10G and higher data rates.
4. Scalable Fiber Infrastructure – Deploying fiber builds a scalable solution, as transceivers can be swapped out and upgraded without running additional fiber in many cases.

Contact our experts for essential retail network upgrades today.

A number of key South African universities have reported good progress with online learning for their students since the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the country’s lockdown situation. This is encouraging, as it means the wheels of learning are able to continue turning, but it also brings serious issues around data and bandwidth provision.

So says Marcel Fouché, networking and storage general manager at value-added distributor, Networks Unlimited Africa. He explains: “Before the pandemic, growing data consumption meant that the demand for bandwidth had already resulted in a race between consumers’ appetites and providers’ best efforts to supply it. Today, as the world moves ever more swiftly into remote working and learning, the implications for bandwidth are more critical than ever.

“University life, with its emphasis on teaching the young professionals of tomorrow as well as its critical focus on technology and medical research, plays a hugely important role in the quest to make sure that data provision is able to match demand.”

ProLabs, a global leader in optical networking infrastructure, is rising to this challenge for universities, as well as other vertical sectors. The company, whose solutions are distributed in sub-Saharan Africa by Networks Unlimited Africa, notes: “Universities are adjusting to the influx of e-learning and tele-education in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are complex and varying digital infrastructure components that need to function properly to support the day-to-day operations of a university, from enrolment to payment to online coursework to library and databases, research, Web applications for learning, and more[1].”

From a local perspective, the following three universities – to name just a few – have reported a solid online learning response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

The University of Cape Town will move the rest of its academic year online as a result of the pandemic.

The University of Johannesburg says attendance of its online classes during the lockdown has been better than physical attendance for the same period last year.

The University of Pretoria discloses that the vast majority of its lecturers and students managed to move relatively seamlessly into remote teaching and learning[2].

According to ProLabs, universities – as key centers of learning – need to adapt right now to changes in the following scenarios:

• Security: Both students and lecturers are accessing university networks from outside the on-premises network, which exposes potential security gaps.
• Increased reliance on cloud communication and collaboration platforms: Universities need to develop new student engagement platforms to provide robust learning opportunities, including virtual campus visits, new student orientation, and virtual lecture rooms.
• Operational intelligence: With the current need to engage in contact tracing in a bid to prevent and control future outbreaks of the virus, university infrastructures will also need to support operational intelligence models through multiple learning modalities that could include video, mobile device data, and applications.

ProLabs clarifies that some of the universities it has worked with have asked questions such as:

• How to create state-of-the-art networks for their future needs;
• How to save money without sacrificing quality; and
• How to support an environment with multiple platforms and vendors?

“ProLabs is outstandingly competent to provide answers to these and other questions that higher learning institutions may have,” explains Fouché.

“For example, its transceivers range from 1G to 400G, while its other options support an institution’s growth and infrastructure transitions, including the integration of new technology with aging equipment, and also address the challenge of network inter-operability by providing cables that are compatible with multiple platforms and vendors. In short, all the bases are covered to allow universities to concentrate on their core mission of teaching the professionals of tomorrow to the best of their ability, even in today’s currently trying times,” he concludes.

About ProLabs

ProLabs is a leading provider of optical networking infrastructure solutions. For over two decades, it has delivered optical connectivity solutions that give customers freedom, choice, and seamless interoperability. It serves a diverse range of industries including enterprises, governments, and the largest worldwide service providers.

By championing higher standards for technology, products, and service, ProLabs is changing the mindset of data center and network operators the world over. It supplies solutions that are 100% compatible in form and functionality across 100 OEM manufacturers, covering more than 20,000 systems and platforms.

Media Contact
Robin Fairchild
Robin.Fairchild@prolabs.com

Introduction to 25G Ethernet

25G Ethernet is passing 40G Ethernet as the go-to solution for faster, more efficient networks. The 25G standard was the first to be introduced at inception with the smallest form factor pluggable module, the SFP / SFP+. They never needed to be reduced in size as technology advanced, and are backwards compatible with SFP switch ports.

The single lane 25G architecture enabled re-use of the proven 1G and 10G SFP form factor pluggable modules for either copper or fiber links. The optical module for 25G Ethernet is referred to as SFP28 because it has one lane that runs at 28Gbps. The QSFP28 (Q stands for quad) and supports 100G of throughput. It has 4 lanes of 25G each that can be used for a 100G connection between a single server port and a single switch port. The design of 40G Ethernet is not space, power or cost-effective for wide scale data center deployment when compared to 25G designs.

Applications
Today, the drivers of 25G Ethernet are data center interconnect for servers, storage and switches as well as 5G front and midhaul applications. The SFP28 optical module is the foundation for 25G and comes in standard unidirectional design, for separate transmit signal (Tx) fiber and corresponding receiver (Rx) strands as well as BiDi designs where a single strand carries both the TX and RX signal. This makes 25G available for Point-to-Point and Point-to-Multipoint networks where fiber may be constrained. They can be used as gray optics or within PON or optical Ethernet networks using DWDM or CWDM. There are also 25G optical modules that support the extended temperature ranges needed for industrial applications.

Advantages

Networks designed with 25G Ethernet optics are more efficient for greenfield networks or for upgrading existing networks, advantages include:

• Lower power consumption than connectivity using 40G
• Higher switch face plate density
• Greater throughput
• Lower cost per bit transmitted
• Efficient migration to 100G server connections
• Reuse of existing server to switch cabling

Cable Infrastructure

An important part of the 25G compatibility story includes the cables that connect the optics. Reuse of existing data center cable infrastructure saves CapEx and enables straightforward upgrade from 10G and 40G connections. Cables for 25G have been specified by the IEEE and multi-source agreements for top-of-rack and end-of-row applications. The most commonly deployed are the twinax copper direct attach cable with a reach of 5 meters and the active optical cable that reaches 100 meters.

25G Benefits
The ecosystem for 25G includes optical modules, cables, switch ports and NICs. Careful definition by standards bodies means 25G is lower-power and backwards compatible with existing data center infrastructure while seamlessly matching 100G and higher architectures. There are currently 25G optical modules for most existing and upcoming applications and network architectures. ProLabs specializes in 25G solutions for customers building new networks or upgrading existing installations.

ProLabs new 25G transceivers build bridges for 5G at any distance.

Contact us to find out more.

Data center operators need more storage, computing power, and higher bandwidth to connect more devices. On top of these needs, they have a requirement to reduce the time it takes to get data to and from their customers.

The result of these forces is the development of the edge data center, sometimes referred to as edge computing. To some degree, data center operators have reached the limits of what can be done in large, centralized locations. Therefore, operators are creating new architectures for their data centers and edge data centers are the result. Minimizing latency of data to and from the customer and the core network are key drivers along with the following customer requirements as they:

• Are closer in proximity to the end users.
• Are smaller than traditional data centers.
• Run a more limited set of applications required for the local user community.
• Share operational overhead as a distributed node of larger data center organizations.
• Cache frequently used content.

These new architectures deliver three fundamental requirements among others, faster processing speed, lower latency, and increased bandwidth. These mandates require edge data centers to be built upon optical networks of two types:

1. The local optical network within the data center and the right transceivers, cables and racks for connecting servers to switches and storage.

2. The high-speed optical links, typically Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM), that connect the edge data center to the customer and to other service providers.

The types of transceivers required for these two functions are very different and each is a technical domain within itself. ProLabs has the technical expertise, transceivers, DAC and AOC cables, plus related equipment to supply any need within the data center and for long reach WDM links.

Using optical networks to build the right architecture for servers, switches and storage within the building as well as the high-speed connections to the core network provides the foundation that edge data centers need to deliver the latest applications. Some of these applications include:

• Real time – examples are AR/VR, IoT, connected cars, telemedicine.
• Data collection/analytics/AI – data from thousands of points is collected and analyzed.
• Compliance – copyright enforcement, geofencing, fulfilling local data privacy laws.
• Network function virtualization – moving applications from local appliances to the cloud.

ProLabs specializes in understanding how the optical network delivers value for edge network operators. Whether it is coherent optics for backbone links or 10G to 400G transceivers for within the data center, ProLabs is your one-stop-shop for quality tested gear for cutting edge data center operators.

Simply contact us to find out more.

What are impairments and why do they matter?

When link distances and data rates increase, the physical limitations of light transmission over optical fiber cable becomes an inhibiting factor. These limitations are called impairments and become significant at longer distance and higher data rates.

How have impairments have been compensated to date?

The digital signal processor (DSP) chip within the coherent optic is the key to solving these complex problems. Because impairments are the result of the physics (the interaction of glass and light) they can be modeled with mathematical formulas. The DSP can mathematically compensate and adjust the transmission and reception of light in a few ways that mitigate impairments and thereby increase link reach and data rate.

Over the decades many technologies have been developed to compensate for impairments, these include:

• Dispersion compensation filters
• Dispersion shifted fiber
• Amplifiers
• Attenuation devices
• Other tools that require significant time and expense to integrate into networks

Coherent optics can eliminate much of this equipment and can help to reduce these issues by solving these impairments with software algorithms in the DSP.

Dispersion

There are several dispersion issues on optical networks including:

• Chromatic dispersion (CD)
• Phase mode dispersion (PMD)
• Polarization-Dependent Loss (PDL)

Dispersion arises because the shape of the light wave spreads as it travels along the fiber. In addition, wavelengths of different frequencies travel at slightly different speeds. Both effects make it difficult for the receiving optic to differentiate where signals stop and start. Since these characteristics are consistent, mathematical formulas in the DSP can be used to compensate for them. This is more efficient than compensation with the physical devices used in prior generations of optical equipment.

Attenuation

This is probably one of the easiest impairments to understand because it is consistent with our everyday experience of light. Attenuation is the progressive dimming of light as it travels through the fiber. This is like a flashlight that brightly illuminates the area immediately in front of it but farther away the illumination is much weaker. At a certain distance in the fiber light is too weak for the receiver to detect it. The opposite effect can also occur. If the light is too bright, then the receiver cannot distinguish between on and off signals. This can happen when the laser light source is too close to the receiver.

Optical Signal to Noise Ratio

There is always noise present in a link. It can arise from or be affected by the characteristics of the optical module electronics, the fiber itself and even environmental conditions. The optical signal must always be significantly stronger than the noise or again the receiver cannot detect the information being transmitted. This is like static on a radio broadcast. At a certain point the broadcast becomes ineffective due to amount of noise (static) that is mixed with the music.

FEC and Programmability

The presence of a DSP dedicated to optical transmission enables other benefits for coherent transmission. Forward Error Correction (FEC) is a method of detecting bit error rates (BER) in an optical signal without a reverse path signal for comparison. FEC can enable some correction to transmission errors and therefore it: 1) helps guarantee signal integrity and 2) can enable greater signal distances. FEC works by injecting redundant bits into the data stream at transmission and analyzing the redundant bits at the receiving end. Algorithms are used to compare the bits and determine if the data can be corrected or must be re-transmitted.

Conclusion

The presence of a DSP in a coherent transceiver helps overcome impairments. Software, that can be controlled remotely or set to default parameters, is able to adjust the amplitude, phase and polarization characteristics to meet the application need or match the limitations of the optical fiber.

CD, PMD and PDL can all be detected and corrected within the DSP. Attenuation and the Optical to Signal Noise Ratio (OSNR) are also enabled for compensation via the DSP. This enables better signal integrity at higher bit rates over longer distances. Doing this processing in the DSP eliminates significant work in link planning and link budgeting for optical networks. At ProLabs we understand how to use coherent technology to reduce capex and opex costs for access, edge, metro and long-haul optical links. Today, up to 400G can be transmitted on fiber that could not support 10G using the older direct detect technology.

This means that coherent optical transceivers can be used for a wide variety of network applications. At the 2019 Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Conference Andrew Schmitt Directing Analyst with Cignal AI predicted that by 2022 or 2023, the "modularization" of coherent technology will begin to cannibalize the optical hardware market.

At ProLabs we understand the changes taking place in this market and how coherent technology can be applied to network problems. Cost efficiencies gained with coherent optics enables lower cost, high performance optical links. As the functionality increases and the cost decreases coherent optics are displacing other transceiver solutions and other optical equipment and gaining popularity for more link applications. Our experts are on the forefront of these developments.

Simply follow the links below to see our full series of coherent articles:

• Coherent Optics: The Beginning of a Universal Approach
  
• All You Need To Know About Coherent Detection Transceivers
• Key Transceiver Form Factors and Migration to Coherent Transmission
• Everything You Need To Know About Industry Standards

Contact us to find out more.