Ciena has unveiled WaveLogic Ai, a programmable coherent modem that aims to serve as a foundational enabling technology for a self-driving network.
WaveLogic Ai sets new performance benchmarks designed to improve transport network economics and flexibility across a broad set of network applications.
In metro and DCI applications, it drives 400G single carrier transmission with power and density metrics. In regional and long-haul networks, WaveLogic Ai establishes 200G and 300G as the new reference line rates for backbone transmission, doubling capacity and dramatically lowering cost per bit. In submarine networks, it provides maximum capacity with ultimate reach at distances up to 14,000 kilometers.
WaveLogic Ai offers enhanced intelligence for new levels of visibility into the network that enables autonomous decisions to further improve network performance.
Through open interfaces, it monitors and gathers critical networking data, including embedded real-time link measurements, to make intelligent capacity decisions in real time. For instance, WaveLogic Ai helps determine the optimal capacity for any path across the network and can tune to different capacity levels from 100G to 400G in 50G increments.
WaveLogic Ai uses an advanced 400G-optimized technology engine with a higher baud rate to drive twice the capacity per channel, three times the distance at the equivalent capacity, and four times the service density at less than half the power. This scalability supports 400GE and flexible client services to best match service throughput to flexible line capacity.
WaveLogic Ai is designed to calculate and then make available massive amounts of optical networking performance data through open interfaces that can be mined to build on-demand, programmable networks.
To better match capacity to system margin, WaveLogic Ai provides unprecedented tweakability via open software interfaces that help drive automated and intelligent decisions to reduce operational expense and avoid manual errors.
WaveLogic Ai provides access to real-time link monitoring information, thereby giving operators new levels of network visibility and the ability to accurately engineer the network for optimal capacity and maximum efficiency.
The company says WaveLogic Ai will be available in the second quarter of 2017.