Acacia adds two modules to 400G QSFP-DD coherent pluggable optical transceiver portfolio

Acacia, now part of Cisco, has announced a pair of new 400G QSFP-DD coherent pluggable optical transceivers. The new optical modules, both based on Acacia’s Greylock 7-nm digital signal processor (DSP), include the Bright 400ZR+ and a coherent 400G ER1 device.
Customers with filtered (AWG-based DWDM) point-to-point applications have already expressed interest in 400ZR and Open ZR+ modules, Acacia points out. The Bright 400ZR+ QSFP-DD targets ROADM line systems, including those using colorless multiplexing. The module offers greater than 0-dBm transmit optical power and what Acacia asserts is “a high transmit OSNR.” The Bright 400ZR+ QSFP-DD module also supports OTN framing.
“Colt has successfully deployed 400G ZR+ on our IQ Network packet router backbone,” commented Danny Pinto, associate director, packet networks engineering at Colt in connection with the Bright 400G ZR+. “High-launch-power 400G ZR+ optics would be an important step change for IPoDWDM [Internet Protocol over Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing] deployments. This would enable IPoDWDM uses cases in meeting optical requirements of ROADM-based optical solutions and brownfield deployments.”
Meanwhile, the 400G ER1 QSFP-DD coherent pluggable optical transceiver offers client multiplexing, interoperability based on both OIF and OpenZR+ protocols, and reach to 40 km over unamplified links. Acacia foresees the ER1 400G module finding use in access, campus, and 5G networks.
Greylock success
The Greylock DSP has proven a winner for Acacia, according to Tom Williams, the company's vice president of marketing. The device has accounted for more than 50,000 port shipments, the vast majority within modules but some as a standalone device, Williams said. The company shipped more than 20,000 during Cisco’s most recent second fiscal quarter ending January 29, 2022. Most shipments target metro data center interconnect, although some service providers are looking at other applications (see, for example, “Windstream Wholesale runs 400G ZR+ transmission more than 1000 km in live network”).
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