ANRITSU CORPORATION has added 100ZR coherent optical transceiver evaluation to its portable Network Master Pro MT1040A/MT1000A testers, enabling comprehensive communication performance testing for the next-generation 100ZR standard (QSFP28) as part of network verification, installation, and maintenance.

As a next‑generation optical transmission standard, 100ZR reduces power consumption and lower costs to facilitate deployment of advanced data center interconnects (DCI) and access networks. Adding this new function streamlines quality verification for 100ZR optical transmission and supports construction of reliable networks.

Furthermore, the time-series visualization function, which is already available for 100G Ethernet and OTU4 testing, can now be used for 100ZR as well. Combining these tests allows detailed verification of the coherent transmission quality of 100ZR transceivers.

Development Background

The 100ZR/400ZR standard adopts coherent transmission technology in pluggable transceivers for optical networks. It is gaining attention as a technology that enables wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) with low power consumption and costs.

The 400ZR standard is preferred for DCI due to the high bandwidth required by the rapid spread of technologies such as generative AI and Cloud services. Conversely, 100G provides sufficient capacity for short-range communications like metropolitan area networks (MAN) in urban areas and access networks for enterprises and homes. Consequently, 100ZR adoption is anticipated due to its ability to integrate easily into existing 100G networks.

When deploying these coherent optical transceivers, it is essential to pre-verify interoperability with products from different vendors as well as transmission quality.

As a member of the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), an industry group promoting standardization of optical communications technology, Anritsu participated in the ECOC2025 Interoperability Demo in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September 2025. At this event, Anritsu demonstrated interoperability with 100ZR devices from multiple vendors.

The MT1040A/MT1000A builds on this track record by enabling evaluation of communication quality over time in test environments.

Product Overview

Network Master Pro MT1040A/MT1000A

The all-in-one portable MT1040A/MT1000A tester handles installation and maintenance of various communications networks as follows:

• MT1040A: Supports 10M to 400G with 400G FEC measurements, remote operation, automated and dual-port 400G testing.
• MT1000A: Supports 10M to 100G with remote operation, automated testing, GNSS-synchronized high‑precision measurements and on-site MAN and backhaul network testing.

Learn more about MT1040A

Learn more about MT1000A