Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) has complemented its initial Waveserver data center interconnect offerings (see "Ciena Waveserver targets data center interconnect" and "Ciena adds long-haul version of Waveserver data center interconnect platform") with a higher-capacity platform. The Waveserver Ai leverages the company's WaveLogic Ai chipset to offer a total system capacity of 2.4 Tbps in a 1RU package.
The chassis accommodates three pluggable Waveserver modules; each module offers a pair of programmable ports that can accommodate such transmission rates as 100, 200, 300, and 400 Gbps, thanks to the WaveLogic Ai engine. As revealed when Ciena first announced the WaveLogic Ai, these transmission rates are reach-dependent, confirmed Helen Xenos, director of portfolio marketing at the company. The Waveserver Ai therefore will support transmission of single-carrier 400 Gbps for approximately 300 km, 300 Gbps for 1,000 km, 200 Gbps for 3,000 km, and 100 Gbps for 7,000 km.
Customers therefore can use a single platform to support a variety of network reach applications, from metro access to long haul. While Ciena hasn't shipped the platform for trials yet (it's slated for general availability in the second quarter of this year), Xenos said she anticipates that some customers will use the full 400 Gbps capabilities at some point this year. She also expects some network operators to operate the system at 200 Gbps and 300 Gbps.
On the client side, the system initially will support 100-Gbps QSFP28 optical transceivers. Xenos said that support of other interfaces and transmission rates will follow, but declined to say when.
Target customers include webscale content providers and multitenant data center operators. They will be able to leverage open APIs and management interfaces to integrate the Waveserver Ai into their network infrastructure and management processes.
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