Infinera and Windstream Wholesale claimed an industry first as they successfully demonstrated 400GbE client-side services with commercially available ultra-efficient 400GbE-LR8 QSFP-DD compact pluggable interfaces.
The trial used Infinera’s commercially available 2x 600G Wavelength muxponder on its Groove (GX) G30 Compact Modular Platform with the CHM-2T sled, which enabled the customer-facing 400GbE service to be transmitted using a single-carrier 600G wavelength.
This achievement enhances Windstream’s ability to meet the ever-expanding bandwidth needs of its largest customers and solidify its position as an industry leader in wholesale services.
Pluggables are a significant trend across the optical space as web-scale companies, service providers and data center operators look to deploy some 400G gear this year and even more next year.
The trial served as a barometer for Windstream's ability to keep pace with the expanding bandwidth needs of its largest customers, which includes providing faster connections to their data centers and other locations. Windstream is working with customers for the initial deployment of the end-to-end 400G Wave service.
Windstream Wholesale’s optical infrastructure was designed to support high-speed optical services using state-of-the-art flex grid spectrum and flexible colorless-directionless-contentionless (CDC) architecture. Flex grid, which is often paired with CDC, allows service providers to optimize the allocation of spectrum on long-haul fiber based on the required speed and reach of each wavelength. All of which enables Windstream to tap into cost-effective 400G today, with 600G and 800G wavelengths available down the road.
"Our customers’ bandwidth requirements are growing rapidly, and Windstream is increasing network capacity to meet this demand," said Buddy Bayer, chief network officer at Windstream, in a statement.
"Infinera’s GX G30 Compact Modular Platform provides an ultra-efficient transport solution enabling us to offer 400GbE services to support our customers’ high-bandwidth needs.
"The use of LR8 clients with a single mode fiber interface and a 10-kilometer reach provides an extremely cost-effective solution by enabling us to extend these services directly to our customers’ premises."