{"id":51504,"date":"2013-08-01T23:23:38","date_gmt":"2013-08-02T03:23:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbach.net\/blog\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2021-08-03T17:23:04","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T21:23:04","slug":"alu-gets-31-tbps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/alu-gets-31-tbps\/","title":{"rendered":"ALU Gets 31 Tbps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ALU<\/a>David Meyer<\/a>\u00a0at GigaOM<\/em><\/a>\u00a0noted<\/a>\u00a0the latest tests by Alcatel-Lucent’s<\/a><\/strong> (ALU<\/a>) venerable Bell Labs<\/a><\/strong> division. The lab has figured out how to increase<\/strong> the bandwidth of submarine cables<\/strong> by a factor of three. They were able to move traffic at 31 Terabits per second (Tbps).<\/p>\n

\"Alcatel-Lucent<\/a>Alcatel-Lucent says<\/a> it has broken the record for the amount of data that can be pushed through submarine cables. They claim to have achieved 31 Terabits per second<\/strong> over a single fiber that\u2019s 4,474 miles<\/strong> long. For comparison, the Register<\/em><\/a> figured that the average 15 minute, low-res movie is about 100Mb in size. They calculate that the new cable could speed 40,632 flix across the Atlantic every second. That would be enough for 423 days and nights of non-stop video viewing – in just one second.<\/p>\n

\n

It is important to remember we\u2019re talking about a lab test. <\/strong>The test took place at ALU\u2019s Innovation City campus in Villarceaux<\/a> near Paris. The GigaOm<\/em> article notes that the researchers with Bell Labs squeezed almost 10 Tbps more out of the fiber than the 21.7Tbps that NEC<\/a> (6701<\/a>) and\u00a0Verizon<\/a> (VZ<\/a>) managed last year<\/a>. This is three times roomier than in today\u2019s most advanced commercial undersea cables.<\/p>\n

Transoceanic cable<\/h3>\n

\"transoceanic<\/a>The author points out that that\u2019s just one fiber and a transoceanic cable<\/a><\/strong> may have eight pairs of fibers. Again, this is a lot of capacity. However, it\u2019s also worth noting that Alcatel-Lucent\u2019s tests required a signal amplifier every 100km along the line.<\/p>\n

The article claims that ALU\u2019s Bell Labs division has done this type of research<\/a> since 1925 in New Jersey. This type of work is more critical to ALU than ever. In June 2013, Alcatel-Lucent announced its \u201cShift Plan\u201d<\/a>, which involves moving away from being a telecoms equipment generalist. They want to be a specialist in IP networking and mobile and fixed broadband access. Philippe Keryer, Alcatel-Lucent\u2019s chief strategy, and innovation officer said in a statement:<\/p>\n

Undersea fiber-optic transmission is integral to the digital economy, delivering vast amounts of video and data between countries, regions and continents. As our customers cope with increasing demand on their networks for data capacity and higher-speeds of transmission, our researchers are intensifying their application with tests like this to develop new technology solutions to transform global data networks.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Wavelength<\/a>Mr. Meyer explains the test used Bell Labs\u2019s technique for squeezing 200Gbps through a single data channel. It used 155 lasers, each one carrying 200Gbps at a different frequency. This represents an enhancement to the wavelength division multiplexing<\/strong> (WDM<\/a>) techniques that run at up to 100Gbps in today\u2019s commercially deployed cable.<\/p>\n

Normally such signals suffer from distortions and noise, which limit performance. But GigaOM<\/em> understands that Alcatel-Lucent was able to resolve this by using an enhanced version of WDM. The enhanced WDM works by splitting light up into different wavelengths so that it can carry more data.<\/p>\n

Long-haul high-speed networking<\/h3>\n

\"Increasing<\/a>The pace of development in the long-haul high-speed networking field is impressive. It\u2019s easy to see just how far we\u2019ve come. GigaOM<\/em> provided a quick look at some of the other recent developments in long-haul high-speed networking.<\/p>\n