40 GbE/100 GbE MPO Connector Marketplace Predictions

A report from ElectroniCast Consultants, forecasting the North American consumption of MPO fiber-optic connectors used in 40 GbE and 100 GbE communication links, says 12-fiber multimode MPO connectors will dominate the North American 40 GbE/100 GbE MPO connector marketplace in 2012.

However, 12-fiber, single-mode MPO connector consumption value will increase at the fastest pace of 141 percent annually through 2016.

The background: In 2006, the IEEE 802.3 working group formed the Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG), which found that the growth in bandwidth for network aggregation applications was outpacing the capabilities of networks employing link aggregation with 10 Gigabit Ethernet. (The standard was announced in July 2007 and was ratified on June 17, 2010).

Such applications as video, virtualization (cloud computing), switching/routing and convergence are driving the need for bandwidth expansion. “We continue on the path of gradually developing of growth (and change) from 1G to 10G to 40G and 100G,” the consultancy notes. “For data center (DC) environments operating at 40 GbE or 100 GbE, fiber-optic cabling is generally recommended because its reach supports a wider range of deployment configurations compared to copper solutions.”

It adds, “The capability to choose increased speed will enable networks to play with the 10 GbE resources to the access layer allowing 40 GbE/100 GbE to handle traffic at the aggregation and core layers.”

According to the report, the 10 GbE movement into the data centers will continue; however, “future-proofing” is continuing with an accent (40G/100G), driven by broadband expansion demands, especially in network productivity and opex costs.

June 6, 2012

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