The next frontier of coherent routing is here. Ciena’s Ivana Lemos introduces Ciena’s new 8192, the 800G technology advancements that made this possible, and what it means for the industry.
The title says it all: we’re excited to introduce our first 800GbE router, Ciena’s 8192. And, of course, it integrates Ciena’s newest pluggables—the WaveLogic 6 Nano (WL6n) 800Gb/s coherent pluggable transceivers—taking our coherent routing solution to the next level.
But before we dive in on all the 8192 has to offer, you may be wondering if it’s even the right time to consider 800G technology. Are all the puzzle pieces coming together? The answer is yes!
You know how it goes—AI is here, and new applications are emerging left and right, demanding more network capacity, especially in the metro. With upgrades happening faster than ever, the economic advantages of 800G interfaces and 800G-capable routers are becoming more apparent, and the power savings is compelling too. Plus, the industry ecosystem for 800G is quickly maturing.
Let’s take a closer look at these aspects while getting to know the 8192 better.
800G interfaces: Check!
We wrapped up 2024 with two milestones: the formalization of the 800 Gigabit Ethernet IEEE standard and the OIF’s 800ZR implementation agreement for 800G coherent pluggable optics.
Even before the ink has dried on the specifications, both technologies are moving quickly from standardization to commercialization. This suggests that 800G will likely have a shorter adoption lag compared to prior technologies.
Market intelligence estimates would agree. Dell’Oro’s analysis, for example, sees a strong ramp of 70% CAGR for 800GbE in service providers routers for the next five years, compared to 22% for 400GbE and 11% for 100GbE, respectively, in its Service Provider Router and Switch 5-year Forecast from January 2025.
800G routers: Check!
It’s not just about 800G interfaces—whether Ethernet or coherent. Next-generation routing silicon technology—with the latest 112G SerDes silicon specification—is also readily available. This is, in fact, what is used in the 8192.
Equally important, the 8192—a 14.4 Tb/s addition to our successful 8000 family—comes with newer QSFP112 cages, driving dense 400GbE, and flexible ports that allow you to support a mix of 400G and 800G QSFP-DD800 ports.
Figure 1: Ciena’s 8192 coherent router
800G economics: Check!
With 800G routers and 800G interfaces lining up, many are wondering about the economics. While this aspect is highly use case dependent, some general trends can be spotted.
For example, 800GbE continues to drive down the cost per Gbps as one 800GbE optic is trending as more cost-effective than two 400GbE optics.
Additionally, as routers become more dense, sustainability rises higher on the priority list. To address this, the 8192 is significantly more power-efficient than previous generations of the 8000 family, with an impressive 30% improvement in watts per gigabit.
800G flexibility: Check!
Even with 800G available, not every customer will need it right away. To this point, the 8192 is backward-compatible and provides options for 400GbE, 200GbE, and 100GbE, allowing for seamless scaling across multiple configurations. Make sure to check the product page for the details.
And, as mentioned, it integrates Ciena’s newest WL6n 800G as well as our field-proven WaveLogic 5 Nano 400G coherent pluggable transceivers which offer the industry's widest range of performance transmission modes to match our customers' specific needs.
800G ecosystem: Check!
As I am sure you will appreciate, the 800G ecosystem is alive and well. One clear sign of this is the strong partnerships and the number of participants we've seen in recent multi-vendor interoperability testing.
Of course, the underlying technologies of the 8192 were designed with this integration in mind. For example, the 8192 supports a wide range of the latest CMIS-compliant operating modes, including 800ZR and OpenROADM.
Many of these capabilities were put to the test during the recent OIF plugfest, where we successfully demonstrated interoperability.
And there’s more than 800GbE
The 8192 not only moves the needle on 800G speeds and power efficiency, but it also advances routing scaling capabilities from day one. It opens the door for highly scalable routing across a broad set of use cases, including high-capacity aggregation, high-capacity coherent routing, and security with wire-speed encryption.
All of these combined make it an attractive solution for service providers, enterprises, government agencies, and data center segments.
400G, 800G, and 1.6T coherent routing: Here now!
At Ciena, we are continuously advancing our Coherent Routing solution by bringing together the latest purpose-built routers, leading coherent optics and intelligent flexible photonics—all driven by a multi-layer network control suite that enables end-to-end visibility and insights across a multi-vendor environment.
With the introduction of the 8192 featuring WL6n support, you can now benefit from the latest 800ZR, 800G OpenROADM, and new ultra-long-haul 400G line rates coherent optic offerings, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve!
Ciena now has a lineup of seventeen purpose-built coherent routers to optimize multi-layer convergence—whether at 400G, 800G, or the industry’s-only 1.6T with the WaveRouter family. All of this is here for you now, enabling simple, scalable, and sustainable converged networking.
Figure 2: Ciena’s coherent router lineup
800G globe trotting
Interested in seeing the 8192 up close? The 8192 will be on display during the MPLS & SRv6 AI Net World Congress in Paris. The following week, we’ll power it up during OFC in San Francisco, giving you the chance to see it in action.
We look forward to discussing the advances you expect from us and that you can rely on. Hope to see you there!