New spec released for Small Form Factor Pluggable Double Density MSA

The Small Form Factor Pluggable Double Density (SFP-DD) Multi Source Agreement (MSA) Group released an updated specification for the SFP-DD pluggable interface. An initial version was released in September 2017. This update (version 1.1) reflects enhancements to the mechanicals and drawings of the high-speed, high-density SFP-DD electrical interface comprising a module and cage/connector system targeting support up to 3.5 W optical modules in an enterprise environment.

The SFP-DD MSA Group was formed last year to foster the development of next-generation SFP form factors used in DAC and AOC cabling, and optical transceivers. The electrical interface is designed to support two lanes that operate up to 25 Gbps NRZ or 56 Gbps PAM4 per lane modulation—providing aggregate bandwidth of 50 Gbps NRZ or 112 Gbps PAM4 with excellent signal integrity.

In combination, an SFP-DD server port and QSFP-DD switch ports can effectively double port density in network applications.

SFP-DD MSA founding members include Alibaba, Broadcom, Cisco, Dell EMC, Finisar, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Lumentum, Mellanox Technologies, Molex, and TE Connectivity.