Mid-Atlantic Crossroads, Fujitsu Test 800 Gbps Network
Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX) and Fujitsu Network Communications have partnered on a field test that has transmitted data from Baltimore, MD to McLean, VA at 800 gigabits per second.
The goal of the trial was to achieve 400 Gbps rates across the MAX network "alongside existing 10 Gbps and 100 Gbps channels," according to a news release. Once that benchmark was completed, the partners attempted, and successfully completed, an error-free transmission at 800 Gbps.
"This record-speed transmission was made possible by using the Fujitsu FlashWave 9500 Packet Optical Networking Platform (Packet ONP) to transmit data with a 25 percent improvement in channel spacing over conventional dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM)," according to information released by the partners. "These condensed channels are a result of flexible grid utilization and are combined with advanced modulation techniques including dual-polarization quadrature phase shift keying (DP-QPSK) and dual-polarization 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (DP-16QAM) to greatly increase network utilization without requiring any physical adjustments to the MAX network infrastructure. The end result is a super-channel that allows more than 2.5 times increase in bandwidth in the same amount of spectral width as current DWDM technologies."
"This field trial provided a significant opportunity for MAX and Fujitsu to collaborate on a leading technological advancement in the optical networking field," said Tripti Sinha, executive director of MAX, in a prepared statement. "The achievement of such a fast networking speed will not only benefit MAX participants, but it will also set the standard for the future of advanced networking, helping to unlock previously unavailable resources for researchers across the world."
MAX provides high-performance network infrasturcture for the academic, business, government, research and scientific communities in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. More information is available at maxgigapop.net.
About the Author
Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].