The Future of Fiber Optic Technology Development in Data Centers

In typical network applications, fiber optic cabling will be the only network connection capable of supporting data rates above 50Gb/s. This can be proven by referring to the most advanced 50Gb/s network switches. These new high-speed switches typically include a 50Gb/s dedicated integrated circuit (ASIC) designed to support 256-50Gb/s switch ports. For these ports, it is advantageous to aggregate 8-50Gb/s ASIC I/O ports to generate 1-400Gb/s fiber switch ports. Aggregation reduces the number of switch ports from 256-50Gb/s to 32-400Gb/s ports with a size of 1RU.

These high-speed and high port density network switches have a significant impact on network connectivity. Firstly, when used as server switches, they require branch wiring to physically separate 8-50Gb/s server ports from 400Gb/s switch ports. The branching wiring will include an MPO connector at one end, fanout to 8 server duplex fiber pairs. The second result is that the 256-50Gb/s server will occupy 4 to 8 network frames. The coverage range required to support 256 servers exceeds the maximum coverage range for copper cable connections. Therefore, multimode fiber will eventually replace copper as it becomes the most cost-effective solution for port branching server connections.

The role of fiber optic and wiring manufacturers in the future

The role of cable manufacturers is to adapt to new customer requirements in terms of density, bandwidth, latency, and overall dimensions. Obviously, the demand for enterprise data centers varies for ultra large scales. Cables with a larger number of fibers and a smaller main buffer diameter will find more applications. The use of twisted ribbon cables is a method that allows operators to install them faster. Cables with more precise fiber length requirements not only save costs for customers, but also facilitate installation. For some fintech clients, there is already a demand for balanced optical length cables, whether it is from standard leaders or government or financial institutions.

Bandwidth and bandwidth characterization are still crucial for multimode fiber applications. Industry institutions and manufacturers are collaborating to develop standards to develop more accurate methods for characterizing the actual performance of optical fibers. For example, in TIA, people reassess the meaning and value of VCSEL weights, which is crucial for estimating fiber bandwidth. In IEEE802.3, the limitations of multi wavelength transmission and new link models for PAM-4 are being studied.

The basic part of any optical cable is the connector. The influence of connectors is crucial. Poor connectors not only affect the system by introducing low noise, but more importantly, by reducing bandwidth capability. Noise or bandwidth loss may be several times higher than loss. Therefore, people actively participate in all standards to ensure that the qualified specifications of optical fibers and connectors are consistent with system performance.