Rochester-based Precision OT has broken new ground today with the unveiling of a new line of 400G optical transceivers in the QSFP-DD form factor. Supporting 400G network transmission for distances between 100m and 10km, the new products will help network operators add capacity in a smaller footprint.
Market Drivers for 400G Transceivers
Why 400G, you might ask. Didn’t the IEEE just approve the 200G standard 2 years ago? Wasn’t the 400G standard just approved in 2017? True, but thanks to the unabated growth in global internet traffic, data center providers, MSOs and other network operators are racing once again to get ahead of end-user demands.
According to Network World, the world will be generating 5 zettabytes of IP traffic per year by 2022. With 5G rollouts gaining steam and network users eager to embrace 4K video streaming, IoT, AI and a host of other bandwidth-intensive services, the market for 400G transceivers is heating up. Ovum recently provided data on projected revenues from 100G, 200G and 400G transceivers from 2018 to 2024.
As you can see, whereas 100G revenues dominate through 2021, 400G transceivers rapidly acquire an ever-increasing share of the market, becoming the leading product by 2024. Though 200G always remains in the mix, it sees considerably less growth than 400G optics.
The simple answer? MSOs and data center operators know they need to upgrade, but they are looking to do so in a manner that minimizes space and power requirements while resulting in cost savings and more long-term capacity. The potential lifecycle of 400G transceivers outdoes that of either 100G or 200G.
Precision OT’s Take on 400G Transceivers
According to Precision OT, the path to enabling 400G networks lies in single lambda 100G networking.
“Optical transceivers, especially 400G-capable ones, are the key component in enabling more traffic to flow across today’s networks. Single lambda 100G will be one of the most cost-effective ways for MSOs and data centers to deal with future bandwidth demands, because a single 100G line can reduce the costs of a typical 4x25G architecture by at least 40%. In this way, the use of four lines of 100G and PAM4 modulation can enable the 400G data rates our customers need to ensure they are ready for the future. For us, at Precision OT, it is about creating networking solutions that grow over time and accommodate increased demand cost-effectively, with both flexibility and agility.” –Chris Page, CTO of Precision OT
Precision OT is offering 4 different 400G transceiver variants in the QSFP-DD form factor. They are intended to support the continued growth of network traffic while being backwards compatible with existing QSFP optics.
To learn more about Precision OT, visit precisionot.com. See the new line of 400G transceivers here. They also have a handy white paper titled “The Rise of 200/400G in Data Center Topologies,” which you can download here.
