A Look Back over 5 Years of WSS Evolution

It’s now just over 5 years since we started shipping our first LCoS-based Wavelength Selective Switch (WSS) to customers. At that time, the majority of shipments were for 1×4 WSS (the DWP 100) operating at 100 GHz channel spacing, with a smattering of 1×8 configurations, again operating at 100 GHz. The pace of evolution since then has been nothing short of incredible.

Firstly, there was a move to what, at the time, were high port-count devices (1×8, 1×9). As usual, this caused a number of manufacturing challenges but the robustness of the DWP platform meant that this could be achieved with minimal changes to the optical design.

Next came the introduction of Drop-and-Continue capability that allowed the broadcasting of a single signal to multiple nodes in a system. Whilst this has remained a niche capability, it has found its way into a number of systems in the metro/access space.

A much larger step was the move to 50 GHz channel spacing, again with 1×9 configurations – our DWP50 platform. At that time we started to offer WSS mixed 50/100 GHz channel plans (the precursor of Flexgrid™) based on the capabilities of the LCoS optical processor to switch between different channel types in software.

Whilst the move to high port count, 50 GHz channel spacing was happening in the core, the need for low-port-count devices re-emerged to support the network edge. To meet the demand for both high performance and small size we introduced the EWP platform in 2009, which provides 1×2 switching capability with 50 and 100 GHz channel support in a small-form-factor package.

In early 2010 we started talking about the ability to optimise channel bandwidth to better match the capacity of the signal it was carrying, from which came our Flexgrid™ product line, which was formally released at ECOC in September 2010. This allows the user to adjust the bandwidth of a channel anywhere from 37.5GHz up to 400 GHz in 12.5 GHz steps. Flexgrid has now become a key part of next generation DWDM networks and is part of the ITU G.694.1 standard and is supported on both our DWP50 and EWP50 product lines.

Watch Finisar’s Flexgrid Technology Video to learn more.

Finisar Australia Wins Prestigious Export Award

Finisar was recently recognized by the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) for outstanding export achievement by a manufacturer and received the prestigious 2011 Large Advanced Manufacturing Award. Over the past year, Finisar Australia’s exports increased 70 percent and Finisar was applauded for its global focus on key customers and ability to target products and services to the specific needs of businesses.

Together, the 75 finalist companies, including the 12 winning companies, have contributed $5.6 billion in export earnings to the Australian economy, and employed more than 10,000 people spanning across the industries of agribusiness, arts, education and training, energy, services and manufacturing.

Australia’s esteemed Trade Minister, Craig Emerson, hosted the event and acknowledged Finisar as a part of the wide array of high caliber companies that reflect the depth and diversity of the Australian economy.

Simon Poole, Director of New Business Ventures at Finisar Australia received the award and stated “We are honored to have had our efforts and successes recognized by Austrade and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A big thank you for the acknowledgement and support!” Watch Simon Poole’s acceptance speech here.

Is Light the New Heavy? A Traveling Light Report

This Finisar trip saw me beat my previous best around the world time by three full days, jetting from San Francisco to China to India and back home again the long way…glamorous as you might expect. In this posting I’ll share observations on two places, an old favorite of mine, Shanghai, and a new city on my travels, Bangalore, or rather Bengaluru as now renamed, in India.

On my first stop, I was once again amazed by the modernity of Shanghai’s transit options. This time, however, I was overwhelmed with the realization that there is an inestimable quantity of concrete that is the new infrastructure of the city. The highway leading away from the airport, for instance, is an elevated and well-groomed thoroughfare stretching many miles and often passing between tall apartment and office structures. This concrete roadway is supported along its entire length by massive concrete pillars. I want to be careful though not to paint a picture of ugliness – keep in mind that concrete was invented by the Romans and used most famously in the construction of the well-known Coliseum.

Empires have been built over time on innovations in transportation – some of the best examples are the Roman roads, the British canals, cooled produce transit in the US, and the Internet. The most inspiring to me, in the context of this trip, would be the heavy industry and its ability to manipulate gigantic concrete structures to form the new transit networks for the worlds growing industrialized centers of commerce.

Which brings me to Bengaluru…

I have never been to India and honestly I did not expect what I found in my short stay. I have often heard of the lack of infrastructure of many kinds, but what I found was an abundance of it. There are buildings, functional and beautiful, historic and modern spread across the town. It would be a major disservice if I didn’t also mention the warm welcome I received from everyone I met in business meetings, local restaurants, hotels and bars…and the food–I was an Indian food fan before this trip, I’m a bigger fan now thanks in part to the volume and variety I consumed over breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Of course, much of the current infrastructure is visibly in need of maintenance and repair and as in many cities with growing populations, there are very significant challenges in traffic management although there are few greater adrenalin rushes than making an unscheduled U-turn through two streams of traffic while navigating around a couple of cows – literally (see photos below)! I was also surprised to learn on the cab ride from the airport at 2:00am that the journey of 25 km with minimal traffic would take an hour. Here again is evidence of a modern heavy industry with the ongoing construction of an overhead city metro system and ultra-modern business campus’ with facilities to make Silicon Valley envious.

Aside from the presence of heavy industry in both cities and their respective marches into increasing prosperity on the global stage, the other thing that is common is their push to deploy national fiber-optic communication networks to support wireless backhaul and high bandwidth services to businesses, buildings and homes. The spread of this new infrastructure based on the transport of light, rather than people and goods is not so easy to see and appreciate…but it’s there. It’s everywhere.

It made me wonder if this “light industry” will have the same impact on the world as did its predecessor, the heavy industry. Will transparent strands of glass fiber transporting ever increasingly heavy payloads of light build a new Global Empire without boundaries or at least possibilities? Is Light the new Heavy?

The 16G Market Is Here!

The 16G market has arrived and we are happy to announce that Finisar is shipping lots of 16 Gb/s Fibre Channel transceivers. We have now shipped 16 Gb/s transceivers in volumes of multiple tens-of-thousands. Our portfolio includes both shortwave and longwave modules; these provide an important part of the core foundation of next-generation Storage Area Network (SAN) equipment for 100 meter and 10 km applications. With the achievement of this milestone, Finisar is well-positioned to continue to serve as the foremost supplier of transceivers for the SAN market.

Finisar’s 16 Gb/s Fibre Channel SFP+ transceiver modules provide superior value to customers:
• IC integration gives way to the industry’s highest performance module with the lowest power dissipation
• MSA-compliant while supporting special customization to enhance customer system value
• Total solution – Finisar is the only supplier offering both shortwave and longwave solutions in volume.

We have leveraged our experience in delivering 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel transceivers in high volume to develop and manufacture our 16 Gb/s transceivers. With in-house IC capabilities, high volume capacity, and vertical integration technology, Finisar offers customers the security of supply continuity by eliminating the single-source availability issues faced by its competitors.

As a long-time and valued customer, Brocade’s Lisa Loscavio, VP of Supply Chain Operations, commented:

“Finisar provides the high performance, power efficiency, and volume capacity we need to meet the rising demand of the market for next-generation SAN equipment. We look forward to continuing our relationship with this market leader.”

Thank you, Brocade, for your long-standing commitment to Finisar. We are proud to serve you and the 16G market.

Finisar’s Flexgrid™ wins National Engineering Award

Finisar Australia’s Flexgrid™ technology has won another award – a National Engineering Excellence Award from the Institute of Engineers Australia. Fresh from winning the coveted Bradfield Award for best engineering project from the Sydney division of the IEAust, Flexgrid™ was one of only 6 national awards presented this year. The award was received by Steve Winnall, Director of Product Engineering, at a black-tie awards dinner in front of 600 guests at Parliament House in Canberra last month.

To quote the judges: “With the exponential growth of data capacity on the internet, the demand for more flexible and efficient optical network services from telecoms carriers is ever increasing. Finisar has met this demand with its new Flexgrid technology. Flexgrid is a unique software enhancement which allows telecommunications carriers to deploy bandwidth, flexibly and dynamically in their networks. Well ahead of their global competitors, Finisar have overcome several engineering challenges and have now successfully launched Flexgrid to the market.”

A video of Steve’s acceptance speech can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPvnMeLIJdI

Finisar was also represented at the ceremony by Andrew Bartos, Steve Frisken and Simon Poole, who, along with Steve Winnall and the MC for the evening, Sally Dominguez from the New Inventors TV Show, are shown in the photo below.

Congratulations to all involved in the Flexgrid™ program – and thank you for your hard work and dedication which have made the project so successful.