[c-nsp] DWDM for X2 optics

[Richard A Steenbergen]

On Tue, Sep 18, 2007 at 04:28:59PM -0500, mack wrote:
> Does anyone know if or when Cisco will offer X2 optics with DWDM?
> The 3560-E and 3750-E as well as 6708-10GE have X2 optics but
> Cisco is only saying they are not currently available in DWDM.
> If this is to be the new form factor for Cisco I can't see them not 
> offering DWDM.
> Does anyone have the scoop?

X2 is not a popular format, therefore don't expect the complete range of 
exotic optics available for XENPAK any time soon (DWDM, 80km/ZR, WAN PHY, 
etc). Outside of a handful of Cisco products (which are all fairly new, 
and don't account for a significant amount of the 10G market), and a 
handful of HP switches, nobody significant is using X2. Remember that 
Cisco doesn't actually have any real involvement in the production of 
optics, they're just reselling commodity optics for a 500000000000% 
markup, so just because Cisco decided to adopt an unpopular technology 
doesn't mean that the market will be flooded with those optics.

Investing in X2 technology at this point in the game is a pretty terrible 
idea anyways. It's pretty much the worst of all worlds, no critical mass, 
no exotic optics, significantly more expensive than the commodity optics 
available for XENPAK/XFP, all of the technology limitations of XENPAK 
(huge markup for WAN PHY), no real density advantage, no cost advantage, 
and a big pain in sparing. Save yourself the headache, just say no to X2. 

-- 
Richard A Steenbergen <ras at e-gerbil.net>       http://www.e-gerbil.net/ras
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