Ethernet Alliance at OFC 2019

THE San Diego Convention Center held the 2019 Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC 2019) on March 3-7. Companies from the United States, Asia, and Europe came to market the latest technologies in network communications ranging from optical components and devices, test equipment, software, specialty fiber and 400GbE network hardware to real-world 5G communications. The future of networking was there to see and nested in the middle of the bestof-the-best in network technology was Ethernet Alliance.

Ethernet Alliance booth at OFC 2019

Ethernet Alliance is a global non-profit industry organization comprised of system and component vendors, industry experts, and university and government professionals. Members of Ethernet Alliance work together to expand Ethernet technologies. Principal members include Dell, Juniper, Spirent, Finisar, Intel and Cisco to name a few. At the OFC 2019 show, Ethernet Alliance presented an exhibit space which hosted racks of servers and switching components. Their booth was interconnected over fiber networks to other member exhibitors throughout the exhibit halls in a joint demonstration designed to showcase 400 Gbps networking. Members joining the collaboration were Xilinx, Cisco, Spirent, OIF, EXFO, Juniper and Finisar.

Jennifer Mewett (Event Manager for Ethernet Alliance) organized the connectivity between the members and the Ethernet Alliance booth. She rounded up the member’s varied needs and presented these to the Smart City Networks team in San Diego. From the beginning, it was clear this show would be anything but routine and require creative solutions and plenty of teamwork. With leadership from Donna Kacmarcik (Customer Sales & Service Manager) and Jason Bussie (Data Operations Professional), the San Diego team developed multiple plans to deliver the extremely high-speed fiber network needed for these cutting-edge developers.

Planning, pre-staging and ultimately teamwork was critical to the successful installation of this high-speed fiber network. The participating members of Ethernet Alliance were pleased with the 400 Gbps speeds they were able to demonstrate to show attendees. When asked about the work done by the Smart City Networks team in San Diego, Jennifer commented, “Awesome, incredible job! Couldn’t’ have done it without their expertise. Love their professionalism and friendly manner!” The San Diego team was equally excited about working with Ethernet Alliance and the successful outcome.

The Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition will return to San Diego in 2020, then off to San Francisco for 2021, returning to San Diego for 2022, 2023 and 2024. With the fast pace of advancing technology, the speed of optical networks will quickly increase to 800 Gbps, 1.6 Tbps and beyond and with that will come new needs that require new ideas and lots of teamwork. The Smart City Networks team in San Diego is looking forward to future OFC shows and is eager to meet these challenges.

Picture LEFT to RIGHT: Dave Estes of Spirent and Ethernet Alliance President Greg McSorley of Amphenol Corporation