Partnership Spotlight:

Polatis-JDSU Distribution Agreement for Optical Switches

Since March 2005, JDSU and Polatis have partnered in a worldwide sales distribution agreement (see original release), with the intent to address a rapidly growing opportunity for switching in various test & instrumentation markets. This agreement brought together the Polatis family of optical cross-connect switches with the JDSU portfolio of test equipment and its network of re-sellers, direct sales, and distribution channels. This partnership provides a compelling value for engineers in test applications – optimized test & automation solutions – through the combination of the highest performance optical switches, JDSU’s broad family of optical test equipment, all delivered through the JDSU sales and support infrastructure that engineers know and trust.

Fueled by growth in several key optical sectors, the development, manufacturing, and deployment of equipment will result in the re-emergence of switching as a critical factor in today’s test environments. The pressures to reduce cost throughout the product lifecycle are increasing the need for smart and cost-effective test strategies. And, the implementation of switching into test has never been more attractive – low-cost non-blocking switches, with value-added functionality such as VOA and power monitoring, increase the ROI 5x-10x from only a few years ago.

Some of the applications where customers are deploying switches include:

• Manufacturing test: automation of test sets for passive components, actives, and modules
• Systems test labs: fast reconfiguration of networks of optical transport & data equipment for acceptance testing, qualification & SVT
• Test equipment servers: sharing test equipment from a controlled, centralized resource pool
• PON/FTTx lab test: equipment interoperability and emulating spans for video super-trunks and PON distribution networks

JDSU is distributing the full line of Polatis high performance Instrumentation Line of optical switches. This includes the OST line of rack-mounted switches, the OSM line of switch module products, the OSB line of cPCi and LXI backplane card products, and the HPA high port count asymmetric switches. Variants include both single mode and multimode fiber products.

As part of the partnership, both companies are committed to delivering the features and configurations that customers need. In a recent example, the strong positive feedback on the value of optical test integration has resulted in the introduction of the new VST product. Feedback from JDSU & Polatis customers has identified the following attributes as the most critical for doing their job:

• All-optical signal path: unlike the regeneration that occurs in OEO switches, the transparent nature of OOO guarantees no uncertainty in the fidelity of the signal.
• Ultra-low insertion loss: the average path loss of only 0.5 dB minimizes any impact on the test baseline
• Multiple features in single product: integrating VOA and power monitor functionality

Dave Lewis, CEO of Polatis, comments on the success of the partnership. “In just 8 months, it is clear the partnership has been very successful for both companies. Both parties are now committed to examining ways we can further expand & build upon the customer and application base. With the recent expansion of the JDSU test equipment group, we’ve seen a tremendous expansion of opportunity“.

“The Polatis-JDSU optical switch solution is one of the best available to the market - in terms of performance, flexibility and cost-effectiveness,” said Matthew Adams, Product Line Manager, Fiber Optic Test. “Our aim is enable customers to reduce costs by wrapping optical switching into their traditional test purchases. With renewed focus on ramping capacity and minimizing capital costs, switching is regaining ground as a critical factor in today’s test environments.”

JDSU has 20 years experience in the optical switching space and is a leading supplier, distributing to North America, Europe, and Asia, with headquarters in San Jose, CA. For more information, please visit www.jdsu.com.