100G Lambda Multi-​​Source Agreement

The 100G lambda multi-​​source agree­ment (MSA) is a stan­dard­ized agree­ment between com­pa­nies and orga­ni­za­tions to develop and adopt a common set of spec­i­fi­ca­tions for optical com­po­nents, mod­ules, and sub­sys­tems that sup­port 100 Gigabit Eth­ernet (GbE) trans­mis­sion rates. The agree­ment is designed to pro­mote inter­op­er­ability and reduce costs asso­ci­ated with devel­oping and pro­ducing high-​​speed optical net­working equipment.

The 100G lambda MSA was estab­lished in 2012 by a group of industry leaders including Cisco, Fin­isar, Huawei, Juniper Net­works, and Oclaro. The MSA‘s ini­tial goal was to pro­vide industry par­tic­i­pants with a common set of spec­i­fi­ca­tions for 100 GbE optical inter­con­nects, aimed at sup­porting the industry‘s tran­si­tion to higher data rates.

Today, the 100G lambda MSA covers a range of prod­ucts, including trans­ceivers, active optical cables (AOCs), direct attach cables (DACs), and optical back­planes. The agree­ment covers a variety of form fac­tors, including CFP, QSFP28, QSFP+ and OSFP.

The 100G lambda MSA has been instru­mental in pro­moting inter­op­er­ability and reducing costs of optical net­working equip­ment. By estab­lishing a common set of spec­i­fi­ca­tions, equip­ment man­u­fac­turers can avoid the need for custom devel­op­ment and testing, ulti­mately reducing costs and speeding up the time to market. Addi­tion­ally, the agree­ment fos­ters com­pe­ti­tion and inno­va­tion, as stan­dard­iza­tion encour­ages new entrants into the market.

Another ben­efit of the 100G lambda MSA is its ability to sup­port both single-​​mode and multi-​​mode fiber, allowing for flex­i­bility in design and deploy­ment. The agree­ment calls for using the 1310nm wave­length for single-​​mode trans­mis­sion and the 850nm wave­length for multi-​​mode transmission.

In recent years, the 100G lambda MSA has been updated to include 200G and 400G trans­mis­sion capa­bil­i­ties. This expan­sion is crit­ical to sup­port the increasing demand for higher band­widths and more robust net­work infrastructures.

As the net­working industry con­tinues to evolve, it is expected that the 100G lambda MSA will con­tinue to play a sig­nif­i­cant role in pro­moting inter­op­er­ability, reducing costs, and fos­tering inno­va­tion. By embracing stan­dard­iza­tion, the industry can max­i­mize effi­ciency and bring new and improved net­working prod­ucts to market more quickly.