Approved Networks: Quality Third Party Optics
Approved Networks is an industry-leading company that specializes in the testing, programming, and distribution of third-party optics.
They provide products for some top corporate entities, government agencies, and data centers worldwide.
About Approved Networks
Approved Networks is an industry authority on enterprise-class networking products for smart data centers. Their technical expertise allows them to deliver first-to-market solutions consistently in optical networking environments. The company supports over 3,000 clients in 30 different countries from their Los Angeles headquarters.
Their core competencies include direct attach cables, transceivers, cable management equipment, and fiber cabling. By partnering with some of the largest contract manufacturers, Approved Networks provides their clients with cost-effective and high-quality solutions in contrast to the prohibitive prices usually associated with networking products.
Approved Networks Works For
Procurement
Approved Networks do not produce their own optical transceivers. However, they choose to partner with the top-level network of contract manufacturers. The expert companies they partner with feature high-volume production and scalable facilities on four continents with logistics and sales offices worldwide. They select and audit each contract manufacturer based on their form factor production to guarantee a continued supply to their clients and ensure strict adherence to the MSA specifications.
On-site auditing and validation for their contract manufacturing facilities include:
Raw Materials:
- TOSA/ROSA
- Connector
- NVRAM
- Latching Mechanism
- PCB
- Leads
Finished Transceivers:
- Optical Waveform/Mask Test Scope/DCA
- BER Analysis
- Mask Analysis/Opt Power/ER Analysis – TX signal
- Sensitivity Analysis – RX signal
- E/O, Attenuation, and Power (single and multi-channel)
- Wavelength and Spectral Analysis
- Optical Spectrum Test
After verifying the product qualifications, the company’s supply chain engineers work to seamlessly keep the product flow in line with their clients’ volume needs.
Programming
Approved Networks provides companies with the key to an opening in a closed market. While OEMs continuously produce more complex algorithms and transceivers that lock many customers out of savings across their network environment, Approved Networks is here to help.
OEMs participate in a competitive environment and often rely on optical transceivers for their primary source of profit. The company’s engineering team has experience spanning over 35 years and re-engineering EEPROM algorithms and specializes in isolating upgrade paths to guarantee compliance within their intended system.
Approved Networks is the premier programming solution in the optics industry, and the company currently provides technical assistance to almost every major OEM and the market. Their technical expertise is recognized in the industry; they have private label program customers in over 12 countries.
Approved Networks’ First-to-Market Achievements Include:
- Winter 2012 – SFP+ ZR Fully operational in Nexus Platform (Nexus supported up to an LR distance at time)
- Fall 2013 – SFP+ BIDI Adtran, Arista, Cisco, Calix, and Juniper
- Winter 2013 – QSFP IR4 Single-mode MTP Connector – 1Km
- January 2014 – QSFP+ LR4 Single-mode MTP Connector – 10Km
- July 2014 – CFP LR4 ZTE, ECI Platform, Platforms being added to weekly
- December 2015 – Custom Cable Ordering Project complete for RJ45, Jumper, Breakout, and Trunk cables.
- April 2015 – 100GB QSFP28 – Arista SR4, IR4
- January 2016 – Complete configurable Fiber Tap product line introduced for data centers
- March 2016 – 100GB QSFP ER4
- September 2016 – 25GB SFP28 copper cables – OEM compatible 1-5 meter
- November 2016 – 100GB CFP4 – LR4
- January 2017 – 100GB QSFP28 ER4
- March 2017 – 25GB SFP28 SR
Testing
The company’s test lab helps the apartment save money without having to sacrifice liability and quality. With new standards for fiber channel, high-speed Ethernet, OTN, and SONET, there’s a need for increasingly stringent testing. For years, Fortune 500 data centers and telecom companies have worked with Approved Networks and their lab to ensure all optics are compliant within their environment.
The company tests its optics at every point along the production line, from auditing manufacturing facilities to advanced platform, functional, and network testing upon arrival.
Approved Networks’ testing includes:
- Transceiver Performance Testing
- Ethernet Testing
- eCPRI Testing
- Fiber Channel Testing
- SDH/SONET Testing
Quality
Approved Networks play the active role of invalidating and qualifying all of their components and finished goods before beginning programming on their optics. They guarantee compliance and compatibility by ensuring their transceivers are coded in a way that meets the specific requirements of servers, routers, and switches where they will be installed. Their engineers then test the optics with commonly used operating systems and applications.
Because transceiver performance varies between manufacturers, their quality standards call for the qualification of every new solution. The result is thousands of hours of network emulation. Since 2002, Approved Networks husband down for high-quality optical products, aiding in their growth in the data center industry. They understand the important role that connectivity and optics play and networking, and their team takes every necessary step to guarantee reliable optics.
- Reliability: the company has the lowest return rate in the industry.
- Compliance: they program and test their products for guaranteed compatibility and back up their processes with a lifetime warranty.
- Expedience: Approved Networks offers tested optical solutions for thousands of servers, routers, and switches in stock at competitive prices.
- Stability: they are the largest third-party optics provider and are known in the industry for their established, quality solutions.
- Expertise: the company’s experienced technical engineering staff contributes to developing first-to-market products and customized solutions to help their clients build the best-performing networks worldwide.
Approved Networks’ Products and Services
Approved Networks has a reputation for product quality through their technical engineering and testing. Over the past decade, their networking product line has grown to a fully compliant and 100% compatible testing and certification facility for third-party optics used in data center solutions.
The company’s product line includes:
- Optical Transceivers
- Direct Attach Cables
- Network Cabling
- High-Density Cable Management
- Fiber TAPs
Their products are backed by their extensive portfolio of proprietary hardware and software. They serve four primary international markets:
- Datacenter
- Telecom
- Fortune 1000
- Government
Progress and reliability are the cornerstones of their product strategy. They use those values to maintain close relationships with contract manufacturers and their clients. Approved Networks is committed to retaining their reliability and striving to further industry standards with each new development. All of their products are tested in-system, certified to operate and data center environments, and come with a lifetime warranty.