Acacia CIM 8, Microchip’s META-DX2 Ethernet PHY Family Interoperable

Microchip has collaborated with Acacia to showcase the fourth generation of interoperability between Acacia’s Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8) and Microchip’s META-DX2 Ethernet PHY family.

Higher bandwidth requirements between data centers are being driven by rising traffic and the newest data center architectures. System developers must ease the creation of a new generation of 1.2 Tbps (1.2T) transport solutions that support a variety of client configurations in order to meet this challenge. This necessitates the interoperability of coherent optical modules with terabit-scale Ethernet PHY devices in metro transport networks and Data Center Interconnect (DCI).

Microchip Technology reports that it has collaborated with Acacia to showcase the fourth generation of interoperability between Acacia’s Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8) and Microchip’s META-DX2 Ethernet PHY family.

Pluggable optics in DCI and transport networks can now be used with low power, bandwidth-optimized, scalable solutions thanks to the devices that both companies have made interoperable.

When combined, they enable high-capacity, multi-rate muxponders for optical transport platforms, which brings about three main benefits:

• Optimized DCI bandwidth: Using its exclusive Lambda Splitting functionality, the META-DX2 family splits 400 GbE or 800 GbE clients across several wavelengths that are powered by the CIM 8 modules. This is accomplished through the META-DX2+ PHY. In rate combinations like 3×800 GbE over 2×1.2 Tbps waves or 5×400 GbE over 2×1.0 Tbps waves, this maximizes the capacity between data centers.
• Reduced design risk: Together, Microchip and Acacia have successfully confirmed SerDes interoperation for Ethernet and OTN clients at up to 112G per lane, lowering the need for system qualification and design validation.
• Better support for full bandwidth, multi-rate operation: Full bandwidth connections between 100 GbE and 800 GbE client modules and CIM 8 modules are made possible by the META-DX2+ crosspoint and gearbox functions.

“This interoperability extends a long-established partnership with Acacia to help accelerate and optimize the build-out of cloud computing and AI-ready optical networks while reducing development risk for our customers,” said Maher Fahmi, vice president for Microchip’s communications business unit. “Our META-DX2 is the first solution of its kind to integrate 1.6T of encryption, port aggregation and Lambda Splitting into the most compact 112G PAM4 device in the market.”

“With Acacia’s CIM 8 coherent modules verified to interoperate with Microchip’s META-DX2 devices, we see this as a robust solution that reduces system time-to-market,” said Markus Weber, senior director DSP product line management of Acacia. “The compact size and power efficiency of our CIM 8 coherent modules were designed to help network operators deploy and scale the capacity of high-bandwidth DWDM connectivity between data centers and throughout transport networks.”