40G interconnection has made a great contribution to meet the increasing throughput and bandwidth requirements, of which 40G QSFP+ AOC is an excellent solution with the advantages of lighter weight, smaller bending radius and heat dissipation. Therefore, 40G QSFP+ AOC is favored by customers. Today ETU-Link will introduce the 40G AOC active optical cable and the matching scheme with the switch.

40G QSFP+ AOC cable:

Both ends of 40G QSFP+ AOC are usually equipped with QSFP+ connector, which connects the optical cables at both ends through a section of optical cable. 40G QSFP+ AOC also has branch optical cable, which has QSFP+ connector at one end and multiple SFP+ connectors or LC duplex connectors at the other end.

Comparison between 40G AOC cable and 40G optical module:

v Transmission distance:

40G QSFP+ optical module can support longer transmission distance than 40G QSFP+ AOC. For 40G transmission, if the distance is less than 100m, 40G QSFP+ AOC and 40G QSFP+ optical module have the same performance. When the transmission distance is greater than 100m, the performance of 40G QSFP+ AOC will be limited, and 40G QSFP+ optical module will have better performance.

v Reliability:

40G QSFP+ optical module is connected with optical cable through MPO connector, while 40G QSFP+ AOC has no insertion loss and return loss, which is less affected by repeated insertion and insertion during use, further ensuring its reliability.

v Installation and maintenance:

In case of failure, 40G QSFP+ AOC active optical cable can be replaced directly. 40G QSFP+ optical module needs to test MPO connector and patch cord to find out the problem. Therefore, 40G QSFP+ AOC active optical cable is simpler and faster in installation and maintenance.

v Digital diagnostic monitoring（DDM）:

The 40G QSFP+ optical module has DDM function, but the 40G QSFP+ AOC on the market has no real-time monitoring function.

v Cost:

At present, the market price of 40G QSFP+ AOC is generally lower than that of 40G QSFP+ optical module, and after 40G QSFP+ AOC is used, no additional optical fiber jumper is required, and the cleaning problem of optical connector can also be avoided.

40G QSFP+ AOC cable product parameters:

40G AOC cable and switch solution:

As shown in the figure below, the 40G QSFP+ to 4 × SFP+ active branch cable can connect two 40G switches to realize the network transmission between the optical module and the switch. The 40G QSFP+ AOC active optical cable is stable and reliable, easy to install and maintain, and the interconnection cost will be lower. It is recommended to use 40G QSFP+ AOC to realize 40G interconnection in data center.

The main application area of AOC is data center. In addition, the application of AOC in HPC, consumer electronics and HDMI is also expanding. The application of AOC in data center in the future will focus on high-speed transmission. There are various lengths of AOC cable can be optioned of ETU-Link, which is compatible with Cisco, Huawei, Huasan and other brands, or customized according to your application requirements. The modules at both ends of the cable can be customized to compatible with different brands.