ECI to unveil core network OTN/packet switches

Optical transport systems vendor ECI says it plans to use the Next Generation Optical Networking conference in Nice, France, June 22-25, to introduce the Apollo OPT 9900 series of Optical Transport Network (OTN) and packet switches. The company promises the new OTN/packet switches will be the densest, most energy efficient platforms available for use in core networks and submarine cable landing stations.

The Apollo OPT 9900 series will debut in two varieties. The OPT 9932 will feature a hybrid OTN/packet switching capacity of 16 Tbps, while the smaller OPT 9914 will have a 5.6-Tbps hybrid switching fabric. Both will support coherent transmission at 100G, 200G, and 400G rates; the platforms also will be ready for 1-Tbps transmission, ECI asserts.

The platforms will support a variety of multiservice client ports up to 100G. Reliability will be ensured via ASON/WSON GMPLS restoration. ECI also said the platforms will support the lowest power consumption per bit of any such systems, but did not quote a figure.

Additional features include integral OSNR-based calibration for alien wavelength support and use of the company's LightSoft network management suite and LightApps software-defined networking (SDN) network and service automation suite.

The OPT 9900 uses a cell-based switching architecture to support OTN and packet switching. However, the company plans to offer the system initially for clients focused on OTN applications. ECI says that packet switching will be added in a future release. The systems' IO cards are software upgradable to support this additional packet switching capability when it is available, ECI says.

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