Avago debuts first 16 Gigabit fibre channel transceiver for storage networking

SAN JOSE, USA & SINGAPORE: Avago Technologies announced production availability of a 16 Gigabit Fibre Channel transceiver with industry-standard signaling rates up to 14.025 GBd.

The new AFBR-57F5PZ SFP+ transceivers support high-speed serial links over multimode optical fiber with double the data throughput of existing 8 Gigabit Fibre Channel modules. The modules address 16 Gigabit Fibre Channel switches, routers, host bus adapters, RAID controllers, tape drives and video switching, as well as inter-switch and inter-chassis aggregated links.

The Avago AFBR-57F5PZ SFP+ transceiver reduces the number of ports required for inter-switch connectivity by a factor of two compared to existing 8 Gigabit Fibre Channel solutions and operates at essentially the same power level. The SFP+ module’s transmitter and receiver can operate at different data rates, as is often required during Fibre Channel speed negotiation. The module maintains compatibility with legacy 8 Gigabit and 4 Gigabit Fibre Channel devices, simplifying design migration.

“Our new 16 Gigabit Fibre Channel SFP+ module continues the Avago tradition of setting new performance standards and bringing innovative form-factors to market first,” said Victor Krutul, director of marketing for the Fiber Optics Products Division at Avago. “Avago has worked closely with our top customers to develop solutions with the bandwidth and port-density they require, which has helped us to establish a position as the market’s leading Fibre Channel optical supplier in the storage networking segment.”

The AFBR-57F5PZ transceiver incorporates the unparalleled reliability of Avago 850-nm Vertical-Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) technology and PIN detector technology. This combination ensures that the multi-rate SFP+ module is compliant with FC-PI-5 and 16G/8G/4G Fibre Channel specifications. The module will respond to both rate select pin and control bit inputs, which simplifies Fibre Channel host auto-negotiation algorithms, layout and software.