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PRESS RELEASE

23 March 2015

Contact:

Victoria McDonald
Corporate Communications
+1 (408) 542-4261
press@finisar.com

Finisar Announces Technology Roadmap for Next Generation Multimode Fiber (MMF) Interfaces

New Products to Support 300 meters over Duplex MMF Address the Vast Majority of Data Center Needs

SUNNYVALE, CA, March 23, 2015– Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) today announced details of
the company’s technology roadmap for next generation Multimode Fiber (MMF) interfaces.
This includes a new suite of products capable of links as long as 300 meters at 40 Gb/s and 100
Gb/s. Multimode Fiber leverages VCSEL-based technology, which represents the lowest power,
lowest cost and highest density interconnect technology available in the industry. MMF is the
most common optical interconnect between systems (i.e. servers, network switches and routers),
and Finisar’s investment in the technology will help ensure that Multimode Fiber continues to be
the most cost-effective interconnect for all but the largest data centers.
 
According to research firm Gartner1, 94% of all datacenters sites built in 2014 were smaller than
250,000 square feet, and this percentage is not expected to change through 2018. A 300 meter
optical link is sufficient for even the longest distances inside a 250,000 square foot datacenter.
This Finisar MMF technology roadmap will support current and next generation requirements for
the vast majority of data centers at cost points typical of traditional VCSEL-based solutions.

To support this roadmap, Finisar and industry partners are committed to driving major
advancements in multimode technology, designed to enable higher bandwidth, longer reach and
reduced infrastructure cost for both enterprise and data center applications. Finisar’s multimode
technology roadmap is based, in part on four key themes:
 
1. Support of Installed Base: Support for 40GbE, 100GbE and beyond on the existing
installed MMF fiber plant;
2. Shortwave WDM (SWDM): The ability to multiplex multiple lanes onto a single fiber to
reduce the fiber count and enable duplex-LC interfaces for 40GbE, 100GbE, and beyond;
3. Lane rates >25 Gb/s: Developing and standardizing technology that enables multimode
VCSELs to operate at 50 Gb/s and beyond, to enable future generations of both singlelane
and multiple lane optical interfaces; and
4. Wideband MMF: Support for the definition and standardization of wideband multimode
fiber to enable WDM transmission over links that are greater than 300m.

Products Demonstrations at OFC
To support this roadmap, Finisar will be demonstrating various implementations of its MMF
technology roadmap at booth #1403 at this week’s Optical Fiber Communications Conference
(OFC) from March 24th to 26th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Based on Finisar’s
SWDM VCSEL technology, these demonstrations include:
 
• A 40 Gb/s SWDM4™ transceiver in a QSFP+ form factor, capable of 300m on duplex
OM3 MMF. At less than 1.5W power consumption, this device enables a simple
upgrade path for data centers that have deployed duplex MMF for 10 Gb/s applications.
• A 100 Gb/s SWDM4™ technology demonstration of 70m transmission over duplex OM3
MMF and 100m over OM4 MMF, and with a roadmap to 300m using OM4 MMF.

“Finisar is committed to the most cost-effective technologies for our enterprise and data center
customers, and we are investing more in VCSEL-based products than ever before,” said Rafik
Ward, Vice President of Marketing at Finisar. “Through these investments, we expect to build a
pipeline of new high-speed products that ensures MMF continues to be the most cost-effective
deployment decision for data centers for years to come.”

About Finisar
Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR) is a global technology leader for fiber optic subsystems and
components that enable high-speed voice, video and data communications for telecommunications,
networking, storage, wireless, and cable TV applications. For 25 years, Finisar has provided critical optics
technologies to system manufacturers to meet the increasing demands for network bandwidth and storage.
Finisar is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA with R&D, manufacturing sites, and sales offices
worldwide. For additional information, visit www.finisar.com. Stay up to date with Finisar by reading the
Lightspeed blog and connecting with us on Twitter, Facebook, and the YouTube Finisar Channel.
 
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