Credo announced its new 800G HiWire LP CLOS Active Electrical Cable (AEC) for distributed, disaggregated chassis (DDCs) used in hyperscale infrastructure.
The new 8 x 112G per lane copper cable interconnect is the first member of Credo’s 800G AEC family.
At just 32AWG, 800G AECs are about as thick as standard Cat6e cabling. This narrower gauge reduces cabling volume by up to 75% versus passive copper DACs. LP CLOS AECs are available in lengths up to 2.5m. Credo’s new AECs consume half as much power as optical cabling solutions and feature superior reliability with up to 100 million hours of Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF).
The LP CLOS AEC 800 PAM4 cables come in QSFP-DD800 (Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable Multi-Source Agreement Group) and OSFP (Octal Small Form Factor Pluggable) types. Integrated Credo retimers enable the cable to achieve high performance without needing additional external components, simplifying the design and lowering system cost and power. The new 800G AECs are identified by their distinctive HiWire purple color sheath.
Credo is sampling the LP CLOS AEC 800 now with general availability expected in early 2022.
Credo says that at 400G and higher, AECs offer greater signal integrity and break through the physical weight, bend radius, and range limits of passive copper Direct Attached Cables (DACs).
“Credo sees 800G as the point where passive DACs hit the wall – they are far too thick and rigid for many customer applications and impose a high cost and engineering burden on switch manufacturers,” said Don Barnetson, Vice President of Product at Credo. “Credo’s new 800G LP CLOS AECs route like Cat6 cables and offer up to 100 times better reliability and half the power of optical cabling solutions. The future of connectivity is clearly purple.”
https://www.credosemi.com/credo-hiwire-lp-clos-aec-active-electrical-cable
