Definitions:

Data Center Interconnect:

Data Center Intraconnect:
Cloud Providers, Data Centers, and Internet Exchanges have extreme requirements in terms of network capacity and redundancy. Terabits, rather than gigabits per second, translate into a need for multiple short range 100G+ connections, with a compatibility requirement for constantly evolving best of breed switches and routers. Cloud computing, Big Data, IoT, Social and Web2.0 continue to accelerate and drive an insatiable need for unlimited bandwidth. There is a clear need to increase the speed of the interconnect pipes within data centers over short reach data center optical connectivity and to deliver low cost, high-speed 50/100/200/400/800G interconnects supported by smaller form factor modules.
To keep costs down, the DCI optical networking equipment should be open, scalable, and optimized for simplicity, small footprint, low power consumption and lowest possible latency. Compact Modular DWDM optical platforms were initially designed for point-to-point data center interconnect (DCI), but have now evolved to “sled”-based architectures, where each type of sled can support multi-service (Fibre Channel, 10G, Ethernet), Ethernet-only (10 GbE/40 GbE/100 GbE), or pure photonic functions like amplifiers and ROADMs. Further, this category has now expanded to include optical transceivers designed in accordance with the OIF 400ZR IA, which are expected to have a significant impact on data center interconnect (DCI), data center intra-connect and metro access applications going forward.
Compact modular and pluggable optical platforms account for 30% of total North American optical hardware shipments in the first quarter of 2019, with an anticipated 28% CAGR worldwide between now and 2023, because they offer:
- Modular pay-as-you-grow architecture
- Mix-and-match modular flexibility
- Lower operating costs
- Openness and programmability
- Simplified turn-up and lifecycle management

Figure 1: Compact modular pay-as-you-grow architecture
