Huawei demonstrates a 7.2Tbps optical module
Huawei says it has demonstrated a 7.2-terabit near-packaged optics module at CIOE, even as the standards work around the technology is focused on 6.4Tbps.
Huawei has demonstrated what it says is the industry’s first 7.2-terabit near-packaged optics module, according to Pandaily’s report from the China International Optoelectronic Exposition in Shenzhen.1 The demonstration took place on 10 September.
Pandaily reports that the module ran live at 200 gigabits per lane across 36 channels.1 That combination produces the headline 7.2Tbps figure, although a live demonstration is not the same thing as a generally available product or a guarantee of sustained commercial deployment.
The more interesting wrinkle is the standards gap. While Huawei is showing 7.2Tbps, the international standards body working on the relevant specification is focusing on a 6.4Tbps capacity, according to the report.1 Companies can therefore demonstrate beyond the likely baseline before the ecosystem has agreed how products should interoperate.
Faster optical links are aimed at the connections inside increasingly demanding data-centre networks. They help move data between compute systems, but they also bring difficult questions around power, thermal management, packaging and compatibility. The source confirms Huawei’s demonstration; it does not establish pricing, volume production or customer deployment.
Our opinion
The bandwidth is impressive, but “demonstrated” is doing important work in this story. The useful milestone will be a standards-aligned module that operators can buy, deploy and cool without turning the data centre into a very expensive hairdryer.