UPDATE: Infinera Unveils the First Multi-Terabit Packet-Optical Transport Network Platform Based on 500 Gb/s Photonic Integrated Circuits

Infinera INFN unveiled today the DTN-X, the first multi-terabit packet-optical transport network platform based on groundbreaking 500 Gb/s Photonic Integrated Circuits, and designed for global service providers facing increasing demands for bandwidth driven by video, mobile and cloud-based services. The DTN-X is purpose-built to integrate switching with DWDM without trade-offs in capacity. The architecture of the DTN-X extends the ease of use and reliability of Infinera's successful DTN in a new multi-terabit platform that scales for the future, is simple to operate and efficiently reduces the number of elements in the network. Unabated growth in internet traffic is driving operators to upgrade their networks to 100 Gb/s and higher speed optical transmission. Infinera is introducing third-generation 500 Gb/s PICs that integrate more than 600 optical functions and deliver the world's first 500 Gb/s superchannels, providing a foundation for the DTN-X's superior scale, simplicity and efficiency. Infinera recently tested the fully functioning 500 Gb/s PICs on the production network of SEACOM, a leading pan-African telecommunications provider, demonstrating 500 Gb/s of coherent transmission over a distance of 1,732 km (Infinera and SEACOM Achieve First Ever 500 Gb/s Optical Network Trial in Africa Over a Distance of 1732 km) and earlier this year the company presented test results for a 1 Tb/s PIC (Infinera Presents on First-Ever Terabit PIC at OFC). Since most end-user services today are 10 Gb/s or less, global operators require integrated ITU G.709 Optical Transport Network switching to groom traffic onto larger 100 Gb/s and 500 Gb/s pipes to maximize network utilization. The DTN-X will deliver 5 Tb/s of non-blocking OTN switching in a single bay, and in subsequent releases will be upgradeable to resilient multi-bay configurations providing 100 Tb/s of non-blocking OTN and MPLS switching. Unlike competitive offerings where integrating DWDM with switching was an afterthought, the DTN-X is designed from the ground up to combine three unique technology building blocks – PICs, custom switching ASICs and intelligent GMPLS software – enabling the DTN-X platform to be flexibly configured with up to 5 Tb/s of DWDM or service interfaces in each bay, or any combination of the two, without any loss of capacity.