Infinera Expands GX Series of Optical Transport Solutions

Infinera has expanded the Groove (GX) Series of open, compact, and modular transport solutions.

The GX Series expansion leverages the power of sled-based architectures to bring the operational efficiency and accelerated innovation cycles of compact modular solutions to a broader customer base.

This evolution includes support for Infinera’s industry-leading sixth-generation Infinite Capacity Engine (ICE6) technology, carrier-grade features, high-density chassis, and a wide variety of advanced sled capabilities.

The result is a solution that is designed to enable network operators to leverage the open, efficient, and flexible aspects of compact modular solutions for a significantly broader set of network applications, enabling them to cost-effectively meet the insatiable bandwidth demands driven by 5G and cloud-based networking.

The expanded GX Series of compact modular solutions adds improved scalability and carrier-grade features to modern data center-style networking approaches with chassis options that streamline and accelerate large-scale deployments in a wide variety of data center and traditional service provider networks.

These features include NEBS Level 3 compliance, field-replaceable redundant controllers, both A/C and D/C power supplies, enhanced security, 300-millimeter (mm) and 600-mm ETSI-compliant shelf variants, and multi-chassis single-element configurations.

Additionally, the expansion adds a variety of new sled-based options:
•The ICE6-powered CHM6 sled – an industry-leading 2 x 800G transponder sled
•Flexible aggregation sleds – a suite of metro-optimized sleds for multi-service aggregation
•Advanced open line system sleds – including low- and high-degree ROADMs with colorless/directionless/contentionless add/drop architectures and low-cost FOADMs, enabling support for most networks

“With sales growth over 25% for the year, Compact Modular was the fastest growing segment of the optical hardware market in 2019,” said Scott Wilkinson, Lead Analyst at Cignal AI. “The new capabilities of Infinera’s GX Series facilitate the expansion of the Compact Modular market beyond ICPs to include traditional Service Providers as well.”

“These advances represent the continuation of Infinera’s vision to bring open, modular, cost-effective solutions to our customers,” said Glenn Laxdal, Infinera Senior Vice President, Product Management. “Infinera pioneered the compact modular transport platform with the Cloud Xpress for internet content providers, significantly advanced its compact modular portfolio with the industry’s first sled-based architecture with the GX G30, and is now leading the market once again with this evolution of the GX Series.”

The GX Series brings the power of compact modular innovation to all types of network operators, including internet content providers, communications service providers, cable/MSOs, subsea operators, and many others in a wide variety of applications.