News

19 November 2009

 

Finisar demos 120Gb/s CXP-to-QSFP active breakout cable

At this week’s SuperComputing 2009 (SC09) exhibition, Finisar Corp of Sunnyvale, CA, USA, which makes fiber-optic communications components and subsystems as well as network test & measurement systems, is giving the first public demonstration of a 120Gb/s CXP-to-QSFP active breakout cable.

The active optical cable contains a single CXP transceiver at one end and three 40Gb/s QSFP transceivers at the other end to provide maximum flexibility in high-performance computing and network infrastructure environments.

Finisar says that the multi-connector cable can provide high-density switches with connectivity to multiple top-of-rack switches and/or server nodes. Compliant with both CXP and QSFP specifications, the breakout cable provides a hot-pluggable, low-power, low-weight, and flexible solution for high-port-count network topologies.

In addition, Finisar is demonstrating an active 10Gb/s Ethernet copper cable, the latest member of the Laserwire cable family targeted at server connectivity applications. The cable is optimized for very short, low-cost, intra-rack links. It is designed to comply with the SFF-8461 specification through the use of SFP+ to Laserwire adapters.

Also on display will be Finisar’s extended family of high-performance active optical cables, which includes Quadwire (a 40Gb/s parallel cable for 40GbE and InfiniBand QDR) as well as C.wire (a 150Gb/s parallel cable for 100GbE and InfiniBand 12xQDR applications).

During SC09, Finisar is also demonstrating a new QSFP-to-Laserwire adapter, which will drive the convergence of multiple connector form factors in data-center applications, says the firm. The adapter can enable system manufacturers to design a single PCB layout for both 10G and 40G solutions.

Finisar demos Laserwire in QSFP-based Mellanox ConnectX-2 VPI adapter card

SuperComputing 2009 also sees the first public demonstration combining Finisar’s 10GbE Laserwire QSFP adapter with the ConnectX-2 Virtual Protocol Interconnect (VPI) adapter card of Sunnyvale-based Mellanox Technologies, delivering multi-protocol options on a single board.

The new QSFP adapter is part of Finisar’s Laserwire family, which it claims is the industry’s first serial active optical cable designed to accelerate and support 10Gb/s Ethernet server connectivity. Since Laserwire uses fiber-optic technology, it reduces the weight, density and power consumption of passive copper cable connections. The Laserwire family includes adapter modules for SFP+ and XFP, allowing plug-and-play with legacy equipment in existing data centers.

Mellanox’s ConnectX-2 VPI adapter card is said to provide fabric flexibility with InfiniBand and Ethernet connectivity, while expanding the performance potential of applications within data center, high-performance computing, and embedded environments. ConnectX-2 VPI's unified I/O technology provides a one-wire solution for any networking, clustering, storage, and management application with what is claimed to be an enhanced quality of service to deliver high application productivity.

ConnectX-2 VPI adapter devices will also drive dual-port LAN-on-motherboard designs based on the QSFP host connector utilizing lightweight Laserwire cables (via the QSFP adapter) for 10GbE and Quadwire cables for 40Gb/s InfiniBand QDR.

“By providing a Finisar QSFP-to-Laserwire adapter option into Mellanox’s ConnectX-2 VPI cards, we are able to jointly deliver a solution important to the evolution of next-generation high-speed server interconnects,” claims Jan Meise, Finisar’s director of strategic marketing.

The ConnectX-2 VPI adapter card’s combination of interconnect bandwidth and latency performance with I/O infrastructure agility provide a robust connectivity solution for data centers and high-performance, high-transactional computing environments, claims Bill Lee, Mellanox’s senior product marketing manager. “Coupled with Finisar’s active optical cable solutions for InfiniBand and Ethernet, ConnectX-2 VPI provides a single-adapter solution and enhances the ease of use for converged server interconnects.”

See related item:

Foxconn to make and sell Finisar’s Laserwire 10Gb/s serial interconnect

Search: Finisar

Visit: www.laserwire.org

Visit: www.finisar.com/cables

Visit: www.mellanox.com

Visit: http://sc09.supercomputing.org