Ciena widens leadership in high speed optics with innovative WaveLogic 3 technology

OFC/NFOEC 2012, LINTHICUM, USA: Ciena Corp. announced WaveLogic 3, the industry’s first software-programmable coherent technology that scales to 400 Gb/s. This new generation of the company’s family of silicon chips will enable service providers to accelerate the move to dynamic, software-defined Terabit networking while improving network economics.

Beyond scaling bandwidth and lowering costs, WaveLogic-powered networks can be programmed to quickly respond and adapt to changing requirements for capacity, reach and latency. The new technology that underpins Ciena’s WaveLogic 3 changes the game in optical networking by making the optical layer more intelligent and responsive to application needs—an increasingly critical requirement in today’s dynamic and cloud-centric networks.

* WaveLogic 3 adds unprecedented intelligence to networks with software-programmable technology that enables network operators to constantly monitor optical transmission performance, and rapidly respond to network demands. WaveLogic 3 will help optimize existing optical networks for a wide range of applications—including low latency—over metro, ultra-long haul or trans-Pacific submarine distances, at speeds that scale from 100 Gb/s to 400 Gb/s.

* Ciena’s new coherent optical processors help service providers extract more capacity out of existing fiber optic cables to facilitate transport of today’s increasingly bandwidth-hungry applications, improving network economics. WaveLogic 3 can carry multiple 100G payloads in metro and regional environments, doubling the capacity of current 100G networks. Using sophisticated transmitter processing, it can also deliver up to 30 percent capacity improvements in new flexible grid environments, providing customers with an efficient migration path to Terabit networking.

* Network operators can quickly turn up services as needs change, or even pre-deploy equipment powered by WaveLogic 3, to achieve optimized performance for different reach, capacity and latency requirements with minimal network disruption. This flexibility gives service providers a way to differentiate themselves to customers, and allows them to accelerate time to revenue while lowering the cost of transport.
The capacity and reach of Ciena’s WaveLogic 3, which will be deployed in the second half of 2012, is such that a single chipset could carry live Skype video chats from every household in San Francisco all the way to Tokyo, simultaneously.

Technology enhancements
Specific WaveLogic 3 design improvements include:

Industry-first transmit DSP—Ciena has integrated digital signal processing in the transmitter (Tx DSP) to deliver unprecedented service flexibility with sophisticated programmable modulation, including the industry’s first 16QAM,which is essential to delivering greater than 100 Gb/s speeds, and allows operators to adjust network settings to meet varying reach and capacity demands. Spectral shaping reduces network cost by improving system margin in metro environments, and pre-compensation allows service providers to run higher capacity services over older fiber links, maximizing network investment.

Soft FEC—Ciena’s new intelligent soft-decision forward error correction (soft FEC) algorithm significantly extends maximum service reach and enables practical deployment of higher capacity (>100G) systems. The Soft FEC in WaveLogic 3 is software-programmable, allowing operators to adjust for latency and reach, depending on application needs.

Next-generation DSP receiver—Ciena’s completely redesigned DSP receiver achieves 75 trillion operations per second—six times the processing power of WaveLogic 2. An advanced 32 nm CMOS process is used to provide the highest level of integration with lower power consumption Additional enhancements in PMD compensation ensure better performance in existing networks with non-optimal fiber conditions, allowing customers to extract more capacity out of their existing infrastructure rather than incurring the cost and complexity of laying new fiber.