Bandwidth demands continue to grow exponentially and network operators consistently report the need to accelerate innovation cycles and reduce costs across targeted parts of their network infrastructures. One approach is to leverage open white box systems to drive further innovation and cost reductions. Over the past few years, hyperscale data center operators have applied this approach to the switching fabric inside their data centers, enabling the construction of switches with simpler feature sets designed for their data center network performance, scaling, cost, and power requirements. A similar approach is now underway for optical transport; however, as one moves lower down the layers, the functions transition from digital to analog. Converting and managing analog performance, plus virtualization and disaggregation at the optical layer, is complex and necessitates collaboration among all participants.
Join Madhu Krishnaswamy, Senior Director Product Line Management at Lumentum and Matthew Mitchell, Vice President Optical Systems Architecture at Infinera as they discuss these upcoming trends in optical disaggregation, joint open line system interoperability and other industry efforts aimed at ensuring successful implementation of this new paradigm.