June, 2023 - GIGALIGHT

30Jun, 2023

GIGALIGHT Unveils Advanced 100G SFP56-DD LR1/ER1 Optical Modules, Leading the 5G Revolution with Enhanced Performance Based on 50G SFP56

Shenzhen, China, June 30, 2023 – With the rapid development and widespread adoption of 5G networks worldwide, the demand for high-speed data transmission is constantly increasing, driving the need for continuous innovation in optical communication technology. As a dedicated follower of 5G OPEN RAN technology, GIGALIGHT is thrilled to announce the release of its cutting-edge 100G SFP56-DD LR1 and 100G SFP56-DD ER1 optical modules.These advanced modules not only cater to the growing needs of 5G networks but also contribute to the development of faster and more reliable communication networks.

The 100G LR1 SFP56-DD optical module offers a maximum transmission distance of 20km, making it suitable for various applications such as data centers and communication networks. With an OMA sensitivity better than -10.93, it ensures stable transmission of high-quality signals even in complex and changing optical signal environments. This guarantees high-speed and reliable data transmission, providing users with an exceptional connectivity experience.

The 100G ER1 SFP56-DD optical module offers a maximum transmission distance of 30km, making it suitable for longer-distance data transmission requirements. With an OMA sensitivity better than -13.05, it has enhanced signal reception capabilities, ensuring stability and reliability in long-distance signal transmission. This enables more efficient and seamless data transmission, facilitating smooth and efficient communication.

The 100G SFP56-DDLR1/ER1 optical module series also boasts low power consumption, with power consumption kept below 3.5 watts, providing users with reliable energy cost savings. Additionally, with an average TDECQ value of only 2.6dB, it demonstrates outstanding stability and reliability in optical signal transmission.

GIGALIGHT Communication Technology Co., Ltd. offers a comprehensive product line that caters to the next generation of 5G networks. Among the advanced and mass-produced products are the following 5G fronthaul optical modules:

Product Name	Tx	Rx	Power Consumption	Distance
50G SFP56 LR1	1310nm EML	PIN	3W	10km
50G SFP56 BIDI LR1	1270/1310nm EML	PIN	3W	10km
50G SFP56 ER1	1310nm EML	APD	3W	40km
50G SFP56 BIDI ER1	1270/1310nm EML	APD	3W	40km
50G SFP56 DWDM1	C-band EML	APD	3W	6km

GIGALIGHT focuses on the development of compact packaging SFP56/SFP56-DD/SFP112 optical modules for 5G fronthaul. These optical modules not only increase port density but also deliver excellent performance to meet the requirements of various user scenarios.

About GIGALIGHT

As an open optical network device explorer, GIGALIGHT integrates the design, manufacturing, and sales of active and passive optical devices and subsystems. Its products mainly include optical modules, silicon photonics modules, liquid-cooled modules, passive optical components, active optical cables, direct attach copper cables, coherent optical communication modules, and OPEN DCI BOX subsystems. GIGALIGHT focuses on serving applications such as data centers, 5G transport networks, metropolitan wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transmission, and ultra-high-definition broadcasting and video. It is an innovative high-speed optical interconnect hardware solutions provider.

29Jun, 2023

Forecast for the Data Center Switch Market in 2023

This article presents the predictions of Sameh Boujelbene, an analyst at Dell’Oro Group, regarding the data center switch market in 2023.

Let’s begin by reviewing our previous predictions for 2022:

1. Data center switch market continuing thriving in 2022 if supply permits.

2. Service providers, excluding Google and Amazon, to accelerate the adoption of 200/400Gbps.

3. Google may adopt 800Gbps for the first time.

4. The diversity of silicon will become more apparent.

5. AI-driven workloads shaping data center network infrastructure.

About the first prediction, 2022 indeed proved to be a record-breaking year for data center switch sales as manufacturers demonstrated remarkable resilience in addressing supply challenges.

Regarding the second and third predictions, driven by continuous deployments by Google and Amazon, as well as accelerated adoption by Microsoft and Meta, shipments of 200/400Gbps nearly doubled in 2022. We also started reporting early deployments of 800Gbps by Google.

As for the fourth prediction, there is no doubt that supply constraints have expedited the demand for silicon diversity. New entrants to the commercial silicon market, such as Cisco, Intel (Barefoot), and Marvell (Innovium), have started securing orders from hyperscaler customers. Xsight Labs is another startup aiming to carve out a share of hyperscaler network spending.

Regarding the fifth prediction, we believe that we have only scratched the surface in terms of the innovation, disruption, and opportunities that AI workloads will bring to the market.

Now, as we enter 2023, most of the trends mentioned above will continue to be in focus as we further explore them. Additionally, I would like to emphasize other trends that were overshadowed in 2022 but we believe it’s time to regain their focus in 2023.

2023 will witness robust double-digit growth and record revenue.

Despite macroeconomic concerns and the challenging comparison to the previous year, data center switches are expected to achieve double-digit growth and reach unprecedented levels in 2023. Cloud segment, especially Hyperscaler, will drive this growth, while enterprise spending may slow down.

In addition to the spending differences among different customer segments, we also expect variations in market performance between the first and second halves of the year. In the first half of this year, we anticipate two factors driving revenue growth: the backlog from 2022 and an expected improvement in supply conditions, which will help fulfill the backlog orders. As for the second half of 2023, improvements in supply coupled with macroeconomic headwinds will break the panic buying behavior that has led to the outstanding growth rates observed in the market so far. Therefore, we expect orders to significantly slow down, followed by a deceleration in revenue as the majority of backlog orders are fulfilled in the first half of this year.

A. In 2023, shipments of 200/400Gbps are expected to double.

2023 will mark the third significant milestone in the adoption of 200/400Gbps. The first milestone was achieved when Google and Amazon adopted this technology as early as 2019/2020. The second milestone was reached with the deployments by Meta and Microsoft in 2021/2022. The third milestone is anticipated to be achieved in 2023 with the accelerated adoption by Chinese cloud service providers (SP) and other Tier 2/3 cloud SPs. The wider adoption of this technology by a broader range of customers, along with the ongoing deployments by hyperscalers, is expected to drive a near triple-digit growth in shipments of 200/400Gbps ports in 2023.

B. In 2023, service providers other than Google may begin deploying 800Gbps.

Google’s adoption of 800Gbps in 2022 was driven by the availability of switch systems based on 25.6T. With switch systems based on 51.2T expected to be commercially available (likely by the end of 2023), we anticipate other hyperscalers to adopt these switch systems in the form of 64-port (800Gbps port) configurations. However, this prediction depends on the time when bulk availability of 800Gbps optical devices is achieved.

C. SONiC is about to enter its golden age.

Over the past few years, we have witnessed increasing industry interest in the SONiC ecosystem. However, this interest has been hindered by ongoing challenges primarily related to supportability aspects. Compared to hyperscalers, Tier 2/3 cloud service providers and enterprises may have limited financial and engineering resources to manage projects like SONiC throughout their lifecycle.

At present, multiple existing players have proposed solutions to address the supportability issues, and with the further rise of new startups like Aviz Networks and Hedgehog, we expect the adoption rate of SONiC to increase in the coming years. We currently estimate that by 2026, nearly 10% of switches deployed in enterprise networks will be running SONiC.

D. AI-driven workloads will take center stage in customer spending and ecosystem investments.

This trend is not uncommon in 2023 and is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. Dell’Oro Group predicts that by 2026, half of server spending will be allocated to acceleration compute nodes for AI/ML applications. However, AI/ML workloads have a unique set of requirements in terms of latency, bandwidth, and power consumption, to name a few. We anticipate that AI/ML workloads will drive significant innovation across various domains: servers, storage, networking, and physical infrastructure. Meeting these demands will require innovation at both the system and component levels. These innovations will be pushed to the market by existing suppliers, but more importantly, by new entrants who are expected to secure significant funding. As industry analysts, we are excited to see what new products and network topologies will be introduced in 2023.

21Jun, 2023

GIGALIGHT Redefines 200G Data Centers With Introducing New PAM4 DML-based 200G QSFP56 DR4/FR4 Optical Module

Shenzhen, China, June 21, 2023 – In terms of cost-effectiveness and long-term viability, 200G data centers continue to reign supreme. The advantages of low power consumption and effective technical solutions make them particularly appealing for underdeveloped countries or enterprise-level data centers. As the open optical network devices explorer, GIGALIGHT is dedicated to the development of cost-friendly data center technologies. In line with this vision, GIGALIGHT recently unveiled a 200G QSFP56 DR4/FR4 data center optical module based on the PAM4 DML platform, further solidifying and highlighting the advantages of 200G in certain data center domains.

The new 200G QSFP56 DR4/FR4 module utilizes PAM4 modulation technology and DML lasers to deliver high-speed transmission and exceptional performance. Two versions are available, allowing for selection based on the mid-short distance transmission within the data center. Both the DR4 and FR4 modules have a power consumption of less than 6W, resulting in reduced energy consumption and operational costs. The FR4 module exhibits superior receive sensitivity OMA compared to the DR4 module (by 1dBm), with excellent performance parameters including high OMA sensitivity (<-9dBm). This makes it adaptable to various application scenarios, providing high-quality signal transmission and maintaining a good eye diagram quality under PAM4 modulation.

With the continuous growth of network data and the diversification of application demands, data centers indeed require higher bandwidth and greater scalability. Under the premise of meeting broadband requirements and application needs, the 200G data center demonstrates clear advantages compared to both the 100G and 400G data centers. It is crucial to have an objective understanding of the true meaning of “advantages” and not simply chase after the evaluation based solely on “technological advancements.”

For a comprehensive return on investment in a 400G data center, the only viable path is to adopt a silicon photonics technology platform. As for the emerging star, the 800G data center, it also requires a clear definition of its application scope. It is crucial to understand that 800G represents a diversified data center.

GIGALIGHT has always been committed to providing customers with high-performance, highly reliable, and more cost-effective optical communication solutions. With a rich product line of 200G solutions, including QSFP-DD and QSFP56, the introduction of the upgraded 200G QSFP56 DR4/FR4 optical module offers more cost-effective choices for building high-speed, green data centers.

About GIGALIGHT

As an open optical network device explorer, GIGALIGHT integrates the design, manufacturing, and sales of active and passive optical devices and subsystems. Its products mainly include optical modules, silicon photonics modules, liquid-cooled modules, passive optical components, active optical cables, direct attach copper cables, coherent optical communication modules, and OPEN DCI BOX subsystems. GIGALIGHT focuses on serving applications such as data centers, 5G transport networks, metropolitan wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transmission, and ultra-high-definition broadcasting and video. It is an innovative high-speed optical interconnect hardware solutions provider.

19Jun, 2023

GIGALIGHT Unveils New Products and Demonstrates Silicon Photonics at Japan FOE Exhibition

Shenzhen, China, June 19, 2023 – From June 28th to 30th, GIGALIGHT will be showcasing an exciting range of new products and demonstrating silicon photonics technology at the Japan FOE Exhibition.
FOE Exhibition is one of Asia’s most influential optical communication exhibitions, gathering top global optical communication companies and professionals. We are honored to participate in this grand event and showcase the latest optical communication solutions at booth 14-40.

As a company dedicated to technological innovation and product excellence, we will present products in various fields and diverse application scenarios such as data centers, metropolitan telecommunications, industrial access and transmission, and high-definition video.

Specifically, our data center interconnect modules and cable series include high-speed multi-mode optical modules and AOCs, high-speed single-mode optical modules, direct attach copper cables (DAC), MPO cabling, and next-generation data center silicon photonics solutions. They are designed for short-distance connections within data centers, providing reliable transmission performance while ensuring efficient operation, reliability, higher bandwidth, and lower power consumption for data centers, thus contributing to smarter and more sustainable operating environments.

The metro DWDM module series offers 25G/50G/100G rate modules with outstanding performance and reliability. They provide high-speed, high-bandwidth transmission capabilities for metropolitan optical networks, meeting the growing data demands. Compared to traditional optical modules, our metro DWDM modules feature richer packaging options like SFP-DD and lower power consumption while delivering excellent transmission performance.

The XG(S) PON Combo PON modules support multiple PON standards, including XG-PON, XGS-PON, and Combo PON. These modules offer high integration and flexibility, delivering high-speed, high-quality broadband connections for optical access networks, meeting the needs of different operators and enterprises.

Our industrial Ethernet switch series provides cost-effective solutions for Ethernet connectivity in industrial environments. The products feature high reliability, stability, durability, industrial temperature range, high-speed transmission, and simple management. They are suitable for various industries such as manufacturing, energy, transportation, construction and infrastructure, mining and metallurgy, as well as military and defense, providing reliable network connectivity and communication solutions.

We sincerely invite industry colleagues to visit the GIGALIGHT booth (14-40) to experience our advanced technology and solutions. Our technical team will provide live demonstrations and solution consultations during the exhibition, sharing the latest trends and innovative applications in optical communication technology. Let’s exchange ideas and create the future of optical communication together!

About GIGALIGHT

As an open optical network device explorer, GIGALIGHT integrates the design, manufacturing, and sales of active and passive optical devices and subsystems. Its products mainly include optical modules, silicon photonics modules, liquid-cooled modules, passive optical components, active optical cables, direct attach copper cables, coherent optical communication modules, and OPEN DCI BOX subsystems. GIGALIGHT focuses on serving applications such as data centers, 5G transport networks, metropolitan wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transmission, and ultra-high-definition broadcasting and video. It is an innovative high-speed optical interconnect hardware solutions provider.

16Jun, 2023

Why HPC use IB network?

“Do not make the network be one bottleneck for the computing efficiency of multi-node parallel .”

Why HPC use IB network? This statement is actually inexact, and the question should be: Why HPC use RDMA?

When multi-node parallel in High-Performance Computing (HPC) cluster, a computing network is required for the real-time communication between kernels along with large-bandwidth and low latency. While the data of traditional communication method-Ethernet TCP/IP needs to be transmitted to the operating system kernel, then copied from kernel to target computer’s memory, driving high latency and occupying CPU computing resources.

RDMA (Remote Directly Memory Access) can directly transfer data from one computer’s memory to another one without the operating system kernel, this method can avoid its disturbance, lessen latency and CPU usage.

Now communications protocol supporting RDMA includes,
InfiniBand (IB): The new communications protocol that supports RDMA from the very beginning. Since it’s a new network technology, the supporting NICs and switches thus need to be provided.

ROMA converged Ethernet(RoCE): RDMA over Ethernet, allows executing RDMA communications protocol through Ethernet, which enables RDMA usage based on standardized Ethernet infrastructure (switch) except that network card needs to be special NIC supporting RoCE.

Internet Wide Area RDMA Protocol (iWARP): RDMA over TCP, allows executing RDMA communications protocol through Ethernet, which enables RDMA usage based on standardized Ethernet infrastructure(switch) except that network card needs to be special NIC supporting iWARP.

These three mainstream RDMA technologies, they can be divided into two camps. One is InfiniBand (IB) technology, and the other is Ethernet-based technologies that support RDMA, such as RoCE and iWARP. Among them, InfiniBand and RoCE are highly endorsed technologies by the InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA), benefiting from their robust support and industry advocacy. Mellanox Technologies, an Israeli company, has emerged as a pioneer in this domain and was acquired by NVIDIA for $6.8 billion in April 2020. While IEEE/IETF are strongly supported by iWARP, mainly being promoted by Chelsio company.

High-performance computing needs processing massive data and computing, thus efficient communication technology is required for rapid data transmission and low-latency computing. Undoubtedly, that’s the most suitable application scenario for the IB network. It can be said that the IB network is designed for HPC.

9Jun, 2023

Empowering AI Computing Power – GIGALIGHT Won Annual CFCF Product Innovation Award

Shenzhen, China, June 9, 2023 – On the evening of June 7th, the award ceremony for CFCF2023 China Fiber Connect Forum took place at Wyndham Suzhou Hotel, and GIGALIGHT’s 800G QSFP-DD DAC received the “Annual Product Innovation Award.”

As a socially responsible leader in the optical communication industry, GIGALIGHT places great importance on talent development and is dedicated to driving the growth and innovation of the industry. We have been actively supporting the growth of university students and have sponsored the “CFCF Outstanding Student Paper” for three years in a row. Our aim is to inspire more young individuals to join the optical communication field and provide them with a platform to showcase their talents and unleash their creativity.

About GIGALIGHT

As an open optical network device explorer, GIGALIGHT integrates the design, manufacturing, and sales of active and passive optical devices and subsystems. Its products mainly include optical modules, silicon photonics modules, liquid-cooled modules, passive optical components, active optical cables, direct attach copper cables, coherent optical communication modules, and OPEN DCI BOX subsystems. GIGALIGHT focuses on serving applications such as data centers, 5G transport networks, metropolitan wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transmission, and ultra-high-definition broadcasting and video. It is an innovative high-speed optical interconnect hardware solutions provider.