Transmode introduces industry's all-pluggable packet-optical metro 100G solution supporting coherent optics

To address the specific challenges of the metro network environment, Transmode's new Metro 100G Solution includes three highly flexible plug-in units for the widely deployed TM-Series. The range of new units includes a 100G Transponder, a 100G Muxponder and a 220G Layer 2 Ethernet Muxponder (EMXP). The new EMXP is part of the company's popular family of EMXP units that support Ethernet switching in the Native Packet Optical 2.0 architecture with a common Ethernet feature set from 1G or 10G CPE access nodes to a 100G core network.

Sten Nordell, Transmode's Chief Technology Officer, said, "This is a significant development milestone for Transmode and we are delighted to be bringing this kind of new solution to the industry. Not only is quick implementation of the new coherent CFP units important but extending their use to both Layer 1 and Layer 2 applications is greatly significant. The Metro P-OTS market is the fastest growing segment of the optical networking industry and one that Transmode already serves well. We are the largest vendor of Metro Edge P-OTS in EMEA and we support customers across the globe with highly sophisticated packet-optical networks. We can now extend these to 100G while also extending our existing TM-2000 based Layer 1 100G capabilities deeper into metro networks."

The range of new units become available from Q2 this year. They bring better economics to metro 100G applications as well as greater flexibility now and as 100G CFP technology evolves, and simplified sparing and operations. Furthermore, the use of new coherent CFPs greatly reduces power consumption and increases solution density. For example, the new 100G Transponder only draws as low as 75W including optics and all three units are dual slot units allowing up to 8 units to be supported in the TM-3000 chassis (11u).

The new units support complete flexibility on all 100G CFP ports enabling operation with shorter reach SR-10, LR-10 or LR-4 optics or longer reach Coherent 100G CFP units that can support applications up to 800km. The units can be deployed in existing TM-Series networks and can be deployed in networks supporting any lower speed wavelengths such as 2.5G, 10G, 40G or other protocol specific rates such as 16G Fibre Channel.
Rick Talbot, Principal Analyst at Current Analysis, commented, "As applications that call for metro 100G transport, such as data center interconnection and interconnection of core routers, increase, and the overall traffic within metros rises unabated, operators continue to look for more cost-effective 100G metro solutions. Transmode's 100G solution not only addresses 100G costs, but its 100G pluggable technology provides flexibility to support the various 100G transmission formats being deployed for metro and regional applications."

The 100G Transponder and 100G Muxponder use OTN transport and multiplexing to transport 100G or 10x 10G services across optical networks including Transmode's ROADM based Flexible Optical Networks. The new Ethernet Muxponder, the EMXP 220 IIe, supports the same suite of Ethernet and MPLS-TP software as the rest of the EMXP family. The unit has 12x 10G ports and one 100G and a central 220G switch giving wire-speed switching. Each port contains optional OTN transport capabilities meaning the unit is effectively 13 transponders and a transport optimized switch in a single 2 slot unit.

Transmode's EMXP family combines the best of the optical and Ethernet worlds including MEF Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (CE2.0) services, MPLS-TP and OTN transport. The EMXP family provides industry-leading transport performance with ultra-low latency and zero jitter to ensure high service performance and scalability. The family now supports 1G, 10G and 100G Ethernet capabilities and spans applications from the customer premise to the core network.