The Octal Small Form Factor Pluggable (OSFP) Multi Source Agreement (MSA) group has published its OSFP 4.0 Specification for 800G OSFP modules.
While the OSFP module was designed from the beginning to support 800G performance, the OSFP 4.0 specification adds support for dual 400G and octal 100G breakout modules with dual LC, dual Mini-LC, dual MPO and octal SN/MDC fiber connector options.
“At 800G, the number of use cases involving aggregation or breakouts are increasing,” said Andreas Bechtolsheim, OSFP MSA Chair. “Being able to use existing standard fiber connectors for these breakout ports is a key issue since it avoids the optical performance impact and cost of fiber adaptor cables, splitter cables or patch panels.”
“Cloud operators have deployed tens of millions of LC and MPO fiber connectors with existing optics transceivers,” said Sameh Boujelbene, Senior Director at Dell’Oro Group. “A smooth transition from single port to dual port 400G optics in the 800G form factor requires backward compatibility with this large installed base of fiber connectors.”
“The ability to do rolling networking upgrades in existing cloud data centers is essential since cloud data centers are always on,” said Alan Weckel, Founding Technology Analyst at the 650 Group. “As the Cloud grows in size, the majority of equipment installed goes into existing facilities, a very different dynamic compared to previous upgrade cycles. Being able to install new network switches without replacing millions of installed fiber connectors is one of the most important issues customers are facing as they transition to 800G optics form factor modules.”
“The OSFP 4.0 specification offers customers compatibility with existing fiber connectors and a broad choice of potential optical breakout options, which will likely become even more important with the upcoming early adoption of 800GbE data center switching starting next year,” said Seamus Crehan, President of Crehan Research.
With the 800G OSFP module specification completed, the OSFP MSA has sponsored a working group that is defining 200G/Lane electrical specifications to support 1600G OSFP modules. When this activity is completed, this development will be merged into a future OSFP 5.0 Specification.
“We have received strong interest from OSFP MSA members to start the 200G/Lane Electrical Signaling Group,” said Brian Kirk, Director of Engineering, Amphenol Corp. “Based on the work done so far, we are confident that the OSFP module will be able to support 200G electrical signaling speed per lane in a backward compatible fashion.”
“1600G-OSFP enables next-generation switch designs with up to 57.6T bandwidth per rack unit,” said Nathan Tracy, Technologist at TE Connectivity. “It is remarkable that the OSFP can support this level of bandwidth density in a pluggable form factor.”
