• Technical Conference:  30 March – 03 April 2025
  • Exhibition: 01 – 03 April 2025
  • Moscone Center, San Francisco, California, USA

OFC Blog

Data Center Interconnect: Different Models for Different Businesses

By Lisa Huff, Discerning Analytics | Posted: 10 March 2016

Data centers have become the largest target client sector for equipment manufacturers and components suppliers over the past ten years. Yet many of these vendors still do not understand that when it comes to data centers, none are the same. And, while there are large categories of data centers, within them there can be considerable variation in networking needs. In fact, some of the largest data centers network asset acquisition trends have changed drastically in this time period.

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Lighting The Next Generation Data Center

By Casimer DeCusatis | Posted: 8 March 2016

With OFC 2016 just around the corner, you’re probably starting to select your favorite topics and plan your visit. I’ve been using the official OFC app on my Android phone to help keep track of the relevant sessions I’d like to see every day. One of this year’s hot topics will be the design of components and architectures for next generation data centers, which will be featured at the OFC Data Center Summit .  Speakers from IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and many others unite to bring you this exciting event, showcasing breakthrough technologies that are reshaping modern data centers. 
 

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Cloud Exchanges: Ready for Prime Time

By Casimer DeCusatis | Posted: 4 March 2016

Still wondering whether you should attend OFC 2016? There’s never been a more important time to stay in touch with the innovations that will be presented at OFC.

Cloud Computing and Optical Networking

Cloud computing is only one of the many ways that optical networking will continue to drive disruptive change across multiple industries.  Optical networking has become a key enabler for all types of cloud computing (public, private, and hybrid).  And the cloud has many far reaching business implications.  Consider the impact on software development, a field that you might not associate with optical communications at first glance.

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Majorca at MIT: Data Center Architectures Driving Developments in Components, Protocols and Software

By Casimer DeCusatis | Posted: 15 September 2015

As discussed in my previous blog from the Majorca at MIT microphotonics workshop, it’s clear that data center architectures have become a driving force behind photonic component development (as opposed to telecommunication applications).  The second day of this workshop highlighted recent developments in photonic components, protocols, and software, included several presentations from members of the Open Fabric Alliance.

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Servers and Routers: To Aggregate or Disaggregate?

By Casimer DeCusatis | Posted: 2 September 2015

One topic of note at the MIT Workshop on Photonics in Servers and Routers, commonly known as “Majorca at MIT” was the assertion made five years ago at the first Majorca meeting about network architectures migrating from the campus LAN into the data center, and then into boards and chips. 

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Majorca at MIT: Photonics in Servers and Routers – What a difference five years makes!

By Casimer DeCusatis | Posted: 18 August 2015

Casimer DeCusatis' special report from the MIT Workshop on Photonics in Servers and Routers, also known as Majorca at MIT. 

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Reality Check on 100G Metro Networks

By Casimer DeCausitus | Posted: 29 June 2015

One of the hot topics at this year’s OFC annual meeting was the impact of 100 Gbit/s data rates on metro and long haul networks.  OFC ran a panel discussion sponsored by the IEEE Photonics Society, IEEE Communications Society, and OSA to consider how current market dynamics, combined with shifting traffic patterns in the MAN and WAN, would impact ongoing efforts to grow 100G installations.  While some people have claimed 2015 may be the year that metro 100G takes off, others have questioned whether 100G really solves any meaningful problems in the MAN.

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Something Scary Happened on the Way to the Internet of Things

By By Casimer DeCusatis, Ph.D. | Posted: 27 April 2015

There was a lot of discussion at OFC last month about enabling the Internet of Things (IoT), a next generation interconnect technology that could profoundly change almost every aspect of our daily lives. Although the IoT is almost certainly over-hyped right now, at least according to a recent Gartner Group report, there’s a clear trend in the industry towards interconnecting massive numbers of devices on pervasive, wireless networks. I’ve always been an advocate for new technologies, and usually I can’t wait to try out “the next big thing”, but while I can’t wait for some of the new features promised by the IoT, I’m also starting to lose sleep thinking about how to manage and provide security for all those new networked devices.

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Most Memorable Moments from OFC

By Casimer DeCusatis, Ph.D. | Posted: 7 April 2015

I’m starting to think that enthusiasm for a conference seems to follow the Gartner Group hype cycle - a huge buildup leading up to the event, followed by the culture shock of returning to your day job, and later the realization that you learned a bunch of useful things after all. 

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Service Provider Summit at OFC

By Casimer DeCusatis, Ph.D. | Posted: 27 March 2015

As the OFC conference continues, today provided a unique opportunity to hear from some of the industry’s leaders in a slightly less formal setting where business and technology issues come together to create market value.  Of course I’m referring to the Service Provider Symposium, held on the 300,000 square foot exhibit floor at OFC.  

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The views expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC)  or its sponsors.