INTERCONNECTS
Gore Demonstrates Next Generation Active Copper Interconnects
W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) demonstrated next-generation GORE Extended Reach Cable Assemblies. The assemblies are tailored to enable future High-Performance Computers (HPC) to scale in size and function. The new “active” cables deliver extended reach over thinner, lighter copper cabling for HPC systems, Enterprise Server and Storage applications. In collaboration with Quellan Inc., Gore hosted demonstrations of “active,” GORE Extended Reach Cable Assemblies conforming to industry standard QSFP (4-channel) and SFP+ (2-channel) form-factors and operating at 10Gbps/channel over a 10-meter span of AWG28 copper cable. These new cables are designed to address numerous next generation protocols such as InfiniBand Quad Data Rate (QDR), 40GbE, 10GbE and 8G Fibre Channel. The family of new products is constructed with Gore’s Advanced Cable Technology and integrates Quellan Q:ACTIVE silicon technology. The complementary effects of the combined technologies reduce link jitter, crosstalk and other signal impairments. These new products will enable a 1RU switch populated with 32 QSFP ports to transport up to 1.280 Tbps of data within future clusters. GORE Extended Reach Cable Assemblies promise to offer link distances of greater than 20m, reduce bundle mass in crowded cable plenums while consuming 5 times less power than fiber optic technology. 
Gore’s first generation of active cable products, GORE Extended Reach DDR InfiniBand Cable assemblies now in volume production, have been deployed on multiple top 5 HPC systems appearing on the TOP 500 list. "The introduction of this low power signal conditioning technology has allowed us to deploy the next generation of higher speed interconnects without impacting conventional cluster architectures,” commented Ed Turkel, manager of product marketing, high-performance computing, HP. Building on this foundation, Gore and Quellan have demonstrated the ability to extend this same low-power, copper technology to meet the exponential growth in data rates required by tomorrow’s data center. “We’re convinced that low-power, active copper technology is best suited to meet the evolution cycle of data center interconnects, which is currently accelerating at the rate of Moore’s Law. To keep this vision alive and economical, you need to employ low-risk components and established supply chains capable of incremental evolution. Quellan’s low-power CMOS silicon coupled with Gore’s array of advanced cable options and global manufacturing infrastructure does just that,” stated Eric Gaver, global business leader for Gore’s high data rate cabling products. “We’re excited to have a copper based interconnect roadmap that’s well aligned with the data center vision.” "We’re delighted to be a key enabling ingredient in Gore’s growing Extended Reach cable portfolio,” said Tony Stelliga, Quellan’s Chairman and CEO. "We have an exciting array of low-power, Q:ACTIVE devices available and in development to support the rapidly evolving data center vision with Gore. Our analog, CMOS technology is particularly well suited to the removal of link impairments while consuming the least amount of power and offering the lowest signal latency available in the industry.”
Gore’s first generation of active cable products, GORE Extended Reach DDR InfiniBand Cable assemblies now in volume production, have been deployed on multiple top 5 HPC systems appearing on the TOP 500 list. "The introduction of this low power signal conditioning technology has allowed us to deploy the next generation of higher speed interconnects without impacting conventional cluster architectures,” commented Ed Turkel, manager of product marketing, high-performance computing, HP. Building on this foundation, Gore and Quellan have demonstrated the ability to extend this same low-power, copper technology to meet the exponential growth in data rates required by tomorrow’s data center. “We’re convinced that low-power, active copper technology is best suited to meet the evolution cycle of data center interconnects, which is currently accelerating at the rate of Moore’s Law. To keep this vision alive and economical, you need to employ low-risk components and established supply chains capable of incremental evolution. Quellan’s low-power CMOS silicon coupled with Gore’s array of advanced cable options and global manufacturing infrastructure does just that,” stated Eric Gaver, global business leader for Gore’s high data rate cabling products. “We’re excited to have a copper based interconnect roadmap that’s well aligned with the data center vision.” "We’re delighted to be a key enabling ingredient in Gore’s growing Extended Reach cable portfolio,” said Tony Stelliga, Quellan’s Chairman and CEO. "We have an exciting array of low-power, Q:ACTIVE devices available and in development to support the rapidly evolving data center vision with Gore. Our analog, CMOS technology is particularly well suited to the removal of link impairments while consuming the least amount of power and offering the lowest signal latency available in the industry.”