China Telecom Guangzhou, Huawei test 400 Gigabit Ethernet transmission

China Telecom China Co., Ltd.'s Guangzhou Research Institute and Huawei have announced successful completion of transmission tests of 400 Gigabit Ethernet (400GbE). A joint R&D established in 2016 helped perform lab and field trials.

The partners note that specifications work within the IEEE for 400GbE is ongoing. Nevertheless, the team developed live-network service requirements, application scenarios, standards formulation, and technology R&D with the goal of driving the standardization and commercial use of medium-and-long distance 400GbE port technology.

The Guangzhou Research Institute and Huawei say the tests, performed in China Telecom's network and terminal key laboratory using test cases based on actual network applications, verified proper operation of such 400GbE port functions as line-speed forwarding, multi-service stacking, and fault reporting. The tests leveraged Huawei backbone routers across links of up to 10 km. The routers demonstrated zero packet loss in line-speed forwarding; multi-service stack tests showed that protocol-based forwarding was normal; bundled 400GbE and 100GbE ports could implement precise load balancing; and loopback and fault reporting functions were normal, the partners say.

"High-speed traffic growth has contributed to the rapid development of high-speed port technology," said Zhu Yongqing, IP technology research owner at China Telecom Guangzhou Research Institute. "In the final release of the 400GbE technology standard, China Telecom Guangzhou Research Institute and Huawei performed the world's first 400GbE port tests based on requirements of the live network, realizing a combination of network requirements and technical R&D. The test results reached expectations. In the future, we will cooperate with Huawei and other partners to promote development of the 400GbE industry and maturation of the supply chain, ultimately driving the development of China Telecom's network and the national broadband infrastructure."

The Guangzhou Research Institute and Huawei did not reveal when the tests took place. AT&T also has performed 400GbE transmission tests over a live network (see "AT&T completes 400GbE first phase trial, ready for OpenROADM phase" and "AT&T completes 400 Gigabit Ethernet trials using OpenROADM").

For related articles, visit the Network Design Topic Center.

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer's Guide.