Classification and Application of AOC (Active Optical Cable)

With the gradual development and application of 5G, the rapid application of the internet and smart terminals has led to an explosive growth in global data volume, significantly promoting the development of high-performance supercomputing centers and data center markets centered around high-speed routers, supercomputing, and storage. These applications increasingly demand high speed and high bandwidth for information, which clearly raises higher requirements for transmission links. Under these circumstances, AOC (active optical cables) have emerged in this application environment.

Understanding AOC (Active Optical Cable)

AOC (active optical cable), in essence, are products composed of optical transceiver modules at both ends and an optical fiber jumper in the middle. From this definition, it can be seen that AOC is an innovative composite product. The optical transceivers at both ends, which are commonly used optical modules in data centers, serve to complete the photoelectric conversion and the transmission and reception of optical signals, while the optical cable in the middle, which is the most commonly used optical fiber jumper in cabling systems, acts as the transmission medium for optical signals.

Categories of AOC (Active Optical Cable)

10G SFP+ AOC (Active Optical Cable)

The 10G SFP+ AOC housing features an EMI-resistant metallic shell and supports hot-swappable SFP+ packaging, with highly reliable 850nm VCSEL lasers and PIN receivers. Compared to traditional copper cables, it can transmit up to a distance of 300 meters, overcoming the bandwidth limitations of traditional copper cables.

25G SFP28 AOC (Active Optical Cable)

25G SFP28 AOC (active optical cable) is suitable for 25G and 10G Ethernet, high-capacity I/O with SFP+ interfaces, data centers, and inter-rack connections, offering up to 25Gbps throughput. Its size and weight are half and a quarter of 25G high-speed cables, respectively, making it more lightweight. It does not require equipment upgrades, offers better transmission performance and error rates, and is widely used in high-performance computing, data centers, and storage area networks.

40G QSFP+ AOC (Active Optical Cable)

40G QSFP+ AOC utilizes a four-channel full-duplex active optical cable, with each channel supporting a transmission rate of up to 11.3Gbit/s. Using multimode fiber and high-performance VCSEL light sources, it has no insertion or return loss compared to 40G optical modules in short-distance network transmissions. Its material and maintenance costs are relatively low, helping users save more costs. It is primarily used in cloud computing systems and data center rooms.

100G QSFP28 AOC (Active Optical Cable)

100G QSFP28 AOC, like 40G QSFP+ AOC, uses a four-channel full-duplex active optical cable. The 100G QSFP28 AOC (active optical cable) offers 100 Gbps bandwidth and uses an 850nm wavelength multimode fiber system. It consists of two optical transceivers and an optical fiber jumper, with each end being a 100G optical module receiver, enabling one-to-one transmission. It is primarily used in data centers, high-performance computing, and storage area networks and is compatible with major brand servers and switches.

Applications of AOC (Active Optical Cables)

The market for AOC (active optical cables) is continuously expanding. From initial high-performance computers, it has now spread to traditional data centers with multiple protocols, becoming increasingly widely applied. It not only connects multiple machines to the host but also finds extensive applications in cloud computing, large data centers, high-speed data transmission, digital signage, and other fields. It ensures high-speed data transmission and leverages its advantages of long transmission distances and good transmission performance to play a more significant role in various fields.