"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."
- Benjamin Franklin
The road to 800G will undoubtedly have twists and turns, and as Ben Franklin’s advice states you may find yourself unprepared for the misconceptions along the way to 800G.
Common 800G Misconceptions
400G has not been widely adopted. I won’t need to worry about 800G for a long time.
While 400G optics and data rates have not yet been widely adopted and deployed in networks, this does not mean that the network core is not currently under stress as a result of the new normal of work-from-home and over-the-top streaming services.
The new normal requires service provider networks, data centers, and enterprises to expand their core infrastructure to accommodate increased consumption in residential service networks, VPNs, and WANs.
Many service providers we've spoken with are concerned that 400G pipes won't be enough to cover even modest network growth over the next one to two years.
My network equipment manufacturer will be ready for 800G before I’ll need it.
Two factors influencing the industry today indicate that you will need 800G before your network equipment manufacturer (NEM) is ready to offer it.
First off, the current supply chain and chip shortages have had a significant impact on NEM's ability to deliver existing products and develop next generational systems.
In addition to the crushing supply chain crisis, NEMs must deal with the pressure of bringing products to market quickly in a dynamic standards environment.
For example, the introduction of QSFP-DD modules, the Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) has evolved to the point where any given NEM today may be running version 3.0, 4.0, or even 5.0, depending on the platform or technology. Implementing CMIS presents NEMs with more challenges than legacy SFF management interfaces.
My fiber infrastructure will support 800G.
A standard for 850nm single lambda 100G over multi-mode fiber has yet to be ratified by the Ethernet Alliance and other standards bodies.
Without a single lambda multi-mode option, data centers, and other critical infrastructure sites will have to upgrade existing multi-mode fiber optic plant to support 800G.
Preparing for 800G
AddOn is prepared to be your 800G optics partner of choice. OSFP 2x400G transceivers will be available on the market by the end of 2022 and QSFP-DD 2x400G transceivers following early in 2023, ahead of the widescale availability of network equipment.
We are making the capital investment in optical test gear – scopes, traffic generators – and in network equipment to provide the testing and support that you expect from AddOn.
Regardless of the twists and turns in the road to 800G, AddOn will be ready for your 800G plans.