Cisco delivers 100G over 3000 km without regeneration

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) says it has successfully demonstrated a coherent 100G DWDM technology with a reach exceeding 3,000 km, without the need for Raman amplification or signal regeneration. This distance is 50% further than any non-Raman alternative product on the market today, the company claims.

By eliminating the need for Raman amplification, regeneration, and dispersion compensation, carriers can add 100G services on top of existing infrastructures originally designed for 10G technology, providing better investment protection and simplifying network upgrades, the company says.

Cisco says its technology has been tested at a number of service providers and research networks, including US Signal. The performance of the 100G coherent system was also validated by the European Advanced Network Test Center, EANTC.

The 100G platform is based on the advanced signal processing technology from Cisco's acquisition of CoreOptics in 2010 (see "Cisco to acquire CoreOptics"). The technology has the ability to scale to 400-Gbps and ultimately up to 1-Tbps rates, the company claims. As a result, networks engineered to meet 100-Gbps requirements will be able to be upgraded to higher data rates without affecting existing network traffic.

Cisco says its 100G-capable ONS 15454 MSTP multiservice transport platform (MSTP) can support 42 100G wavelengths in a single bay, nearly three times the density of competing products. The ONS 15454 MSTP is a key component of what Cisco claims is the industry's most comprehensive 100G product portfolio, including the Cisco CRS-3 for the network core, the Cisco ASR 9000 Series for the network edge, and the Nexus 7000 for the data center.

Bill Gartner, vice president and general manager of Cisco's optical transport business unit, said, "Service providers around the globe see the need to prepare for the next-generation Internet and facilitate an increasing demand for video, collaboration, and distributed computing. These successful demonstrations are a testament to Cisco's commitment to leading the industry in optical technology, both at 100G and beyond."

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