4 Channel Parallel

High-Performance 40 and 56 Gbps Active Optical Cables

Enabling tomorrow's high-performance pomputers (HPC) and data-center clusters

Each 56 Gbps FDR EMCORE Connects Cable has four 14 Gbps lanes in each direction for an aggregate throughput of 56 Gbps bi-directional. Each 40 Gbps cable has four 10 Gbps lanes in each direction, for an aggregate throughput of 40 Gbps bi-directional. These 14 and 10 Gbps lanes support InfiniBand^® FDR and QDR data rates respectively, but will also run at lower data rates to support DDR, SDR and 40 Gb Ethernet QSFP electrical interfaces.

The EMCORE Connects Cables advantage

EMCORE Connects Cables offer the advantage of optical interconnects at an affordable price for high performance computing. They reduce the installation and maintenance costs of computer clusters, and enable the creation of very large clusters. They are ideal for building systems based on any architecture that requires long distances and multiple compute nodes in very dense configurations.

Product information

   Emcore Connects Cables Solutions
   Review the EMCORE Connects Cables product brief (PDF 618KB)
   Taking the Cost Out of Short Reach Interconnects (PDF 3.08 MB)
   Oak Ridge National Labs Infiniband^® Based Cable Comparison
   EMCORE Ramps Up Production of 56 Gbps FDR Active Optical Cables

Features and Benefits

Up to 100 meters at a Bit Error Rate of 10‾¹⁵	Copper cables just can't go the distance at high data rates. Typical 24 AWG copper cables can only go about 5 meters at 56 Gbps.
Low latency	Each electrical to optical or optical to electrical conversion takes only 275 picoseconds. Since there is a conversion at each end of the cable, the total conversion latency added is only 550 picoseconds.
84% less weight	A 10-meter EMCORE Connects Cable (180 grams) weighs 84% less than a comparable a 10-meter 24 AWG copper cable. (1,135 grams)
Better airflow with 83% less volume	A 10-meter EMCORE Connects Cable has 87% less volume, only 85.5 cm3. compared to a single 10-meter 24 AWG copper Infiniband^® cable which has a volume of 649.4 cm3. EMCORE Connects Cables may even reduce energy consumption, since less cooling is required when air circulates more effectively around servers.
Smaller bend radius, shorter connectors	The combination of the connector length and bend radius of EMCORE Connects Cables is shorter than the 24 AWG copper cables, and the optical cable is flexible, so its connector won’t stick out of a server like a lever that can be damaged, dislodged, or disconnected.
No Unintended ground loops and electromagnetic interference	There is no copper wire traveling the length of an EMCORE Connects Cable, so unintended ground loops are not possible. Similarly, the optical cable itself does not cause any measurable electromagnetic interference.

¹ Source: EMCORE internal testing, measurements, and calculations. Comparison data values gathered from typical passive copper cable.

Emcore Corporation, a world leader in compound semiconductor-based technologies, develops components and systems for the broadband, optical transport, space and terrestrial solar power markets.

4 Channel Parallel

Enabling tomorrow's high-performance pomputers (HPC) and data-center clusters

The EMCORE Connects Cables advantage

Product information

Features and Benefits