The Arrival of 64G Fibre Channel and How You Can Test It

The industry’s latest version of Fibre Channel, or FC, has recently doubled from 32G to 64G, a welcome enhancement to meet capacity demands. Despite experiencing a dip in deployments in recent years, FC is still quite popular because it is particularly well-suited for mission-critical applications that require high performance, security, and low latency. It is widely used in enterprise storage applications, for which it was purpose built, scientific research, and now financial services. Like any new technology, one of the challenges of putting 64G FC to use in the field is the ability to test it. But first, why are FC devotees so enthused about the doubling of its maximum line-rate?

64GFC builds on the strengths of previous generations of FC technology and offers several advantages over other storage networking technologies such as iSCSI and InfiniBand, including its applicability over long distances, and the aforementioned low latency. In addition, 64G FC offers several improvements, including enhanced security features and support for larger networks. It is backward-compatible with previous generations of FC technology, which means that 64G FC circuits can be integrated into existing FC networks.

Financial institutions and high-frequency trading companies in particular require high-performance, highly secure networks, making FC mission-critical to these companies. And frequently testing the transmission health of FC circuits is crucial for the following reasons:

• High-speed data transfer: Financial institutions and high-frequency trading companies often require high-speed data transfer for real-time trading and risk management activities. Any issues with the FC circuits could result in lost trading opportunities or delayed decision-making, which could have significant financial consequences.
• Regulatory compliance: Financial institutions and high-frequency trading companies are subject to stringent regulatory requirements, and the testing of FC circuits is necessary to ensure that these institutions comply with regulations such as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation NMS (National Market System) and the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).
• Network security: The testing of FC circuits is crucial for ensuring network security, as any vulnerabilities in the network could be exploited by cybercriminals to gain access to sensitive financial information or disrupt trading activities.
• Business continuity: Testing of FC circuits is critical for ensuring business continuity in the event of a network outage or failure. Financial institutions and high-frequency trading companies cannot afford to have their network infrastructure fail, and testing helps to identify potential points of failure and ensure that appropriate redundancy measures are in place.

As important as it is to test 64GFC circuits, the challenge is that it is so new it is almost impossible to find test gear. VIAVI helps service providers address that challenge with the OneAdvisor 800 Transport and OneAdvisor 1000, which both feature 64GFC together with additional test rates such as 400GigE, 200GigE, 100GigE down to 1GigE. The new challenges posed by 64GFC stem from the key fact that it requires PAM4 technology, which leads to the need for TTS (Transmitter Training Sequence) and LSN (Link Speed Negotiation). These procedures enable the switching between NRZ and PAM4 on the electrical bus that connects to the SFP56 optics.  In addition, 64GFC requires the usage of Forward Error Correction (FEC) in the form of RS (544,514) to correct the errors that will be received on a 64GFC interface.  In addition, both OneAdvisors provide flow control with credit control and fabric login to interwork with Fibre Channel fabrics.  It is also possible to test pluggable optics on OneAdvisor 800 or 1000.

In summary, the testing of FC circuits used by financial institutions, scientific research organizations, and others, is essential for ensuring that the networks are operating efficiently, securely, and in compliance with regulatory requirements, and that any potential points of failure are identified and addressed before they can impact business operations. To learn more about how VIAVI can help, read our brochure on Fibre Channel testing.