To the Top) How will the new standards for 40 Gb and 100 Gb Ethernet affect my installed base of optical fiber?
Although the IEEE 802.3ba standards for 40 Gb and 100 Gb Ethernet are still being formulated, several optical fiber types have already been targeted for use in these standards. Not surprisingly, single mode fiber is being considered for lengths up to 40 fkm using 10 parallel single mode fiber channels running at 10 Gb/s each. For multimode fiber, the only types in consideration are laser-optimized 50 micron OM3 or the soon-to-be-standardized OM4 fiber with minimum 850 nm Effective Modal Bandwidths of 2000 and 4700 MHz-km, respectively. Currently, both fibers are used for 10 GbE serial applications for up to 300 and 550 meters, respectively. Unfortunately, no consideration is being given to 62.5 micron multimode fiber at any wavelength and for any length. If you have 62.5 micron fiber installed in your data center, Superior Essex TeraGain 50 micron 10G/300 or 10G/550 should be considered for any upgrade or new installation.
