OIF 800ZR Interoperability Study White Paper

This white paper details the methodology and findings from an interoperability study of 800ZR transceivers conducted during the OFC 2025 plugfest. The study involved eight different transceivers connected in a matrix of transmitter-to-receiver combinations, utilizing a noise-loaded link to assess interoperability penalties among suppliers. The performance of individual transceivers was evaluated using various traffic configurations, including 1x800GE, 2x400GE, and 8x100GE over a shortened optical line system with a DWDM 150 GHz fixed channel grid. The paper outlines the test setups, which included optical network equipment from multiple vendors, and describes the procedures for measuring the required optical signal-to-noise ratio (rOSNR) as a performance metric. The results aim to provide network operators with insights into the 800ZR application, following established test methods previously applied to the OIF-400ZR application. The document presents detailed test data, including rOSNR thresholds, and compares performance across different transceiver modules.