Nokia, Keysight show readiness of 800GE for network operators

Nokia and Keysight Technologies collaborated to demonstrate the first public 800GE test, validating the readiness of next-generation optics for service providers and network operators.

With the move to the 800GE pluggable optics on front panel ports, interconnect and link reliability requires a new round of validation cycles to support carrier-class environments. 

These high-speed interfaces create a unique challenge as new 800GE capable silicon devices, optical transceivers and high bandwidth Ethernet speeds must be accurately tested.

“The move to 800GE presents service providers and vendors in the supply chain with new challenges to validate chips, optical transceivers, or networking equipment port electronics,” said Ram Periakaruppan, VP and general manager, Keysight’s Network Test and Security Solutions group. 

The readiness testing was conducted at Nokia’s private SReXperts customer event in Madrid in June 2022, and included Keysight’s AresONE 800GE Layer 1-3 800GE line rate test platform and the Nokia 7750 Service Routing platform. 

“The unique combination of the Keysight AresONE 800GE test system and Nokia’s 7750 Service Router addresses the interoperability challenges in 112Gbps electrical lane signaling and supports the service provider community to accelerate validation of carrier-class 800GE devices and network infrastructure in a multi-service environment,” said Periakaruppan.

The AresONE was used to test and qualify Nokia’s FP5 network processor silicon along with 800GE pluggable optics. Specific Nokia platforms used in the validation were the FP5 based 7750 SR-1x-48D supporting 48 ports of 800GE and the 7750 SR-1se supporting 36 ports of 800GE.

Nokia’s FP5 silicon delivers 112G SerDes which enables 800GE support in hardware. FP5 enables networks to efficiently scale capacity and concurrently IP subscriber services while maintaining integrity, providing advanced protection against escalating network security threats, and lowering power consumption. 

Nokia is the first vendor to ship high-density 800GE systems this year with platforms supporting a range of 36 x 800GE in compact fixed platforms to 432 ports of 800GE in the flagship 7750 SR-14s.

Ken Kutzler, VP of IP Routing Hardware at Nokia, said the FP5 silicon is the first network processor silicon for high-performance routing to meet the demands of the 800GE network upgrade cycle. 

“The combination of Keysight’s AresONE 800GE with Nokia’s FP5 and 7750 SR platform meets both the performance and verification needs of our 800GE IP routing interfaces,” said Kutzler.