Luxtera, a start-up based in Carlsbad, California, introduced its 40 Gigabit optical active cable (OAC) for High Performance Computing InfiniBand and 40G proprietary rack to rack interconnect applications. The new “Blazar” CMOS Photonics product, which combines the benefits of optical modules and copper cables, connects to a system via a QSFP MSA-compliant connector cage. The electrical interface is SFP+ compliant which enables it to support data rates of one to 10.5 gigabits per transport lane for a total throughput of up to 42 gigabits per second. Blazar utilizes single mode fiber, which is lower cost and higher performance than multimode fiber, further reducing interconnect costs while extending reach to 300 meters without the need for additional electronic dispersion compensation (EDC) electronics traditionally associated with VCSEL based optical modules.
The product supports Quad Data Rate (QDR) and an extended reach of up to 300 meters. Luxtera said this enables InfiniBand to become a ubiquitous datacenter interconnect for a wide range of applications that demand higher capacity and performance.
Luxtera plans to offer its Blazar OAC in multiple cable lengths from one to 300 meters. Luxtera will begin sampling Blazar in Q4 2007, with production quantities available in 2008.
http://www.luxtera.com
