It's no surprise that StrataLight Communications was involved. StrataLight was a spotlight player when the Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) CRS-1 core router first rolled out in 2004, providing the technology for the core router's 40-Gbit/s debut. (See StrataLight Powers Cisco's OC768.) This time, its 100-Gbit/s DWDM transponder chassis sat between the CRS-1 and the Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) network.
StrataLight didn't get mentioned in the press release, but everyone involved freely admits it was in the test.
Now, one reason Comcast liked the CRS-1 in the first place was the IP over DWDM concept, where Cisco plugs a DWDM interface directly into the router. That removes the need for a separate transponder like StrataLight's. (See Cisco's CRS-1 Goes Optical.)
(This doesn't mean StrataLight gets shut out; the company provides IP-over-DWDM interfaces to Cisco.)
It's being done at 10- and 40-Gbit/s. Why not 100-Gbit/s? Cisco isn't saying definitively that it's going to happen, but Kelly Ahuja, Cisco's VP in charge of core routers, acknowledges that it's likely.
Doesn't the CRS-1 only have 40-Gbit/s capacity per slot? It seems one of two things happened: Either the interface for this test used two slots, or Cisco's got an upgrade in its pocket. Cisco's response, via a spokesman: "It is not yet a commercial product so the number of slots or space has yet to be determined."
In a sense, it's moot. This was just a test, so the technology used isn't necessarily what will go commercial in 2010 or beyond. Cisco could have used a room-sized supercomputer if it wanted to.
Reiterating from the message board: It appears the CRS-1 did not output one 100-Gbit/s stream. Rather, it used multiple lane distribution (MLD) -- part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE)802.3ba standard for 40- and 100-Gbit/s Ethernet -- to split the stream into ten lanes of 10-Gbit/s apiece. StrataLight then fused them into a 100-Gbit/s flow on one wavelength, transmitted using a modulation scheme the company won't specify. (Feel free to speculate.)
Finally, StrataLight confirms something Light Reading has long suspected: The phrase "100-Gig" has irrational sex appeal. Witness the release of -- let's face it -- a dull mux/demux chip earlier this week. "I got more coverage on that than when we shipped 2,500 transponders," says Dave Sykes, StrataLight's VP of marketing.
Already replaced as CEO, John Chambers is fully detaching as he plans to step down as Cisco chairman, truly ending his time as the face and voice of the company.
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