Q&A BROADCOM LINEAR PLUGGABLE OPTICS
Yes. DSPs will continue to offer more advanced signal processing capabilities than those available in
What we see is a spectrum of connectivity technologies, with different power, performance and
only go so far, as their length is limited to 2 meters in the IEEE standard. However, the latest generation of Broadcom Ethernet ASICs supports passive cables up to 5 meters. Beyond that, optical cables are required. LPOs represent a mid-way technology, as they are not as good as passive copper cables, but significantly better than conventional optics in terms of power, reliability and cost. Given their sizable benefits and absence of any major shortcomings, we expect to see widespread adoption of LPOs over the coming years.
LH
LH
Switch and NIC ASICs. Cables exceeding a certain length will continue to require DSPs to achieve an acceptable Bit Error Rate.
cost merits. The LPO technology fills a gap between passive copper cables and retimed optics. Other technologies such as co-packaged optics (CPO) offer even lower power and cost than LPO. Power, reliability and cost are three major technical challenges impacting the deployment of AI networks. Passive copper cables offer by far the best technology over short distances, as they draw almost no power, are several orders of magnitude more reliable than active cables and are unbeatable from a cost point of view. But passive copper cables
How is the MSA group progressing LPO and what is the future roadmap?
PD
PDV The LPO MSA work is under NDA and only limited information is made available to the public. The MSA focuses on optimising LPO-LPO links. Free from the compatibility constraints with non-LPO transceivers, the MSA’s aim is to offer the lowest cost and power for a given performance level. Future work in the MSA will include standards for LRO. (Linear Receive Optics = half-retimed optics). Is Broadcom working on a particular aspect of the MSA? Broadcom is a founder and active contributor working on all aspects of the MSA. Peter Del Vecchio, who manages the Tomahawk product line, is co-chair. Karl Muth, a senior engineer in Broadcom’s switch business units, is editor for the specification.
Thank you.
PD
Do you think LPO is a small step or a quantum leap in pluggable transceiver technology?
Laurent Hendrichs Senior Product Line Manager of high-speed Ethernet adapters
Pete Del Vecchio Data Centre Switch Product Line Manager at Broadcom
PD
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ISSUE 38 | Q3 2024
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