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OIF Advances Interoperability at OFC 2025 with Live Demos, Expert Insights and Cross-Industry Collaboration

35 members will demonstrate the future of optical and electrical networking for AI, cloud and disaggregated architectures

OIF Advances Interoperability at OFC 2025 with Live Demos, Expert Insights and Cross-Industry Collaboration

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
leah@wilkinson.associates
703-907-0010

As network demands grow more complex, OIF is set to showcase interoperability breakthroughs with live demonstrations and expert discussions at OFC 2025 in San Francisco, April 1-3.

With participation from 35 member companies, OIF’s interoperability demos at OFC in booth 5745 will showcase seamless multi-vendor integration driving high-performance networking, energy efficiency and AI infrastructure. Highlights include the latest 800G technology in the pluggable coherent optics demonstration; a live Common Electrical I/O (CEI)-448G, 224G and 112G demo advancing next-gen data center connectivity; Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) plug-and-play interoperability; and cutting-edge Energy Efficient Interfaces (EEI) and co-packaging solutions for AI compute and external laser integration.

OIF will also lead and participate in expert panels on AI networking, optical interconnects, scalable architectures and what’s beyond 200 Gb/s signaling.

“OIF’s live interoperability demonstrations at OFC 2025 are the result of months of dedicated collaboration among our member companies, reflecting the immense effort required to bring these cutting-edge technologies to life in a real-world, multi-vendor environment,” said Jeff Hutchins, OIF Physical & Link Layer (PLL) Working Group EEI Vice Chair and Secretary/Treasurer (Ranovus). “Interoperability isn’t just a goal—it’s a necessity for scaling next-generation networks. These demos provide the industry with a firsthand look at the progress being made to ensure seamless integration across coherent optics, electrical interfaces, next generation EEI, ELSFP, CMIS and beyond.”

Live Interoperability Demonstrations

With AI, cloud expansion and disaggregated architectures reshaping connectivity, OIF’s demo in Booth 5745 will provide an in-depth look at the technologies that will define the next decade of networking:

  • 800ZR, 400ZR and Multi-Span Optics – Optical Breakthroughs: Better Than Before
    The pluggable coherent optics demonstration will showcase progress in the latest advancements in pluggable coherent optics interoperability, offering a comprehensive view of their capabilities and applications. The single-span demo highlights include even more 800ZR multivendor DSP interop as well as OIF’s foundational 400ZR application. Multi-span connections include OpenZR+, 100ZR and 800G OpenROADM (PCS) over multiple networks, including booth-to-booth collaborations with the Ethernet Alliance and OpenROADM MSA.
  • CEI-448G, 224G and 112G – Driving Innovation and Collaboration for Future-Oriented Data Centers
    OIF is uniting interoperability and innovation at the electrical interface with a suite of 224Gbps and 112Gbps CEI multi-vendor demonstrations spanning a variety of applications, enabling next-generation electrical and optical connectivity. OIF’s live 448G demo will highlight the opportunities and challenges of hyperscalers to scale AI networks as it continues to build upon its previous CEI-224G demonstrations, which include a growing diversity of link types from Very Short Reach (VSR) to Long Reach (LR) and Linear interfaces. A joint demonstration with the EEI track will display the breadth and depth of retimed, half-retimed (RTLR) and Unretimed (Linear) pluggable optics with interoperability from multiple vendors over various link types.
  • CMIS – Enabling Multi-Vendor Interop
    OIF members will demonstrate physical layer management interoperability, enabled by CMIS, across diverse network equipment and pluggable modules including transceivers and cables. The demonstration includes the CMIS industry-standard management interface for a common network control platform, showing interoperability among different plug types, switches/routers and test-measurement equipment, all from different vendors and all operating using the CMIS family of specification documents.
  • EEI and Co-Packaging – Revolutionizing Connectivity
    OIF members will present both live and conceptual demonstrations of next-generation EEI solutions for AI compute, along with live External Laser Small Form-Factor Pluggable (ELSFP) demos highlighting advancements in external laser sources critical for co-packaged architectures.

OIF members participating in the demo include Accelight Technologies, Inc., Adtran, Alphawave Semi, Anritsu Corporation, AOI, Astera Labs, Cadence Design Systems, Inc., CICT/Accelink, Ciena, Cisco, Coherent Corp., Eoptolink Technology, EXFO, HGGenuine, Hisense, Infinera (now part of Nokia), Juniper Networks, Keysight Technologies, Lessengers, MACOM Technology Solutions, Marvell, Molex, MultiLane, Nubis Communications, Inc., O-Net Technologies, Precision Optical Technologies, Inc., Samtec, Semtech, Senko Advanced Components, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Synopsys, Inc, TE Connectivity, TeraHop US, US Conec and Wilder Technologies.

OIF at OFC 2025: Show Floor Program Panels

In addition to its live in-booth demonstrations, OIF will lead and participate in expert panel sessions featuring discussions on coherent optics, AI-driven networking and what’s beyond 200 Gb/s signaling:

For more details about OIF at OFC 2025, please visit: https://www.oiforum.com/meetings-events/oif-ofc-2025/.

About OIF

OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. With more than 25 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 150+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF on LinkedIn, on X at @OIForum, on Bluesky and at https://www.oiforum.com/.