The T1600 gets graced with what appears to be the first 100-Gbit/s interface on a router, and Verizon seems happy about it

Craig Matsumoto, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

June 8, 2009

3 Min Read
Juniper Claims 100-Gig First

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) is announcing what it claims will be the first available 100-Gbit/s Ethernet interface for a router, targeting the kinds of requirements Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) has been talking about.

In fact, Verizon features prominently Juniper's press release: The carrier has been pining for a more efficient -- and cheaper -- way to deal with the multiple 10-Gbit/s Ethernet lines that populate its network. (See LR Live: Verizon Plots 100 GigE RFP and Verizon's Wellbrock: 100G Is Needed.)

Verizon has "a strong desire to bring 100-Gbit/s technology into the network primarily to simplify the topologies," says Luc Ceuppens, senior director of marketing at Juniper. "They have a lot of 10 Gbit/s now and can eliminate a lot of those links."

Juniper's 100-Gbit/s interface is going on the T1600 core router and is housed in a standard CFP module. It's intended, not for metro or long-haul reaches, but for the box-to-box connections within a data center or central office.

The T1600 can run 100 Gbit/s per slot without oversubscription, and its switch fabric has the capacity to operate without oversubscription even if all eight slots run 100-Gbit/s interfaces, Ceuppens says.

Last year, Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) announced a demo of a 100-Gbit/s interface for its CRS-1 core router. (See Comcast, Cisco Test 100-Gig.)

Juniper might be faster to market, though, as it expects the T1600's 100-Gbit/s ports to go into customer trials later this year.

Verizon is targeting a 2010 deployment for 100-Gbit/s technology.

Companies including Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN) and Nortel Networks Ltd. have begun toying with the idea of pure 100-Gbit/s feeds. But carriers are saying they really need a 100-Gbit/s wavelength as a carrying vehicle for multiple 10-Gbit/s feeds, Ceuppens says. "They need to eliminate some of the inefficiencies of link aggregation." (See Ciena Sending 100GE Live and Nortel Shows Single-Slice 100GE.)

Of course, some vendors still like the link aggregation approach, especially for transmitting data across longer distances. Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BRCD), now the owner of Foundry Network, talks about packing 32 10-Gbit/s Ethernet links onto one fiber. (See Foundry LAGs Ahead and Brocade Takes Aim at Cisco (& Juniper).)

The cost of the 100-Gbit/s link is going to be "just under" that of ten 10-Gbit/s links at first, Ceuppens says. How quickly that price drops will depend on component availability. Still, that's an improvement over 40-Gbit/s Ethernet, where the price remains higher than that of four 10-Gbit/s links, he says.

— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Craig Matsumoto

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Yes, THAT Craig Matsumoto – who used to be at Light Reading from 2002 until 2013 and then went away and did other stuff and now HE'S BACK! As Editor-in-Chief. Go Craig!!

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