Standards update Reducing Optical Power Consumption

Summary

This session highlights the efforts of the OIF and LPO MSA in tackling challenges within the network industry, focusing on energy efficiency and power consumption. The OIF's projects, such as co-packaging and the linear optical interface (LPO), aim to optimize electrical specifications for lower power usage. The LPO MSA addresses latency and power reduction through innovations in optical links. Industry experts discuss ongoing research, collaboration among major companies, and the importance of robust specifications to meet growing market demands, with a focus on future advancements like 200G optical standards and enhanced diagnostics.

Takeaways

• 😀 The OIF (Optical Internetworking Forum) represents over 150 companies, including hyperscale operators and component providers, working together to address network challenges.
• 😀 The OIF is focused on reducing power consumption in networks through energy-efficient interfaces and optimizing electrical specifications for lower power.
• 😀 Key projects include co-packaging, which brings optics closer to the switch to reduce energy consumption, and 224 Gbit electrical interface projects.
• 😀 The OIF has completed surveys with network operators to define performance requirements for different network fabrics, such as front-end, backend scale-up, and scale-out fabrics.
• 😀 The LPO (Low Power Optical) project focuses on creating low power, low latency optical links to optimize power usage in modern networks.
• 😀 The RTL/R (Retimed Linear Receive) project aims to improve link robustness while reducing power consumption in different channel conditions.
• 😀 The OIF is working on the Compute Optics Interface (COI) project to develop optical links for GPU-to-GPU communication within racks, addressing protocol challenges.
• 😀 Carl from Broadcom presents the LPO MSA (Multisource Agreement), which focuses on optimizing power and latency in optical links, starting with a 100 Gbit/s per lane standard.
• 😀 The LPO MSA leverages advancements in photonics and electronics to reduce power consumption while maintaining link quality, with a strong emphasis on system robustness.
• 😀 The OIF invites industry participation and collaboration, providing open access to published specifications and white papers to further energy-efficient network development.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the OIF's efforts as discussed in the transcript?

The main focus of the OIF's efforts is to address challenges in networking, specifically energy efficiency, and to meet market demands. This includes developing new projects for power consumption reduction, optimizing optical interfaces, and collaborating across companies and research entities to advance new standards.

What does the OIF stand for, and how many companies are involved in it?

OIF stands for Optical Internetworking Forum, and it represents over 150 companies from various sectors, including hyperscale operators, component providers, and academics.

What are the key areas of activity within the OIF as mentioned in the presentation?

The key areas of activity within the OIF highlighted in the presentation are energy-efficient interfaces, compute optics interfaces, and electrical projects related to power consumption and link robustness.

What is the Co-Packaging project, and how does it contribute to energy efficiency?

The Co-Packaging project focuses on reducing energy consumption by bringing optics closer to the switch. Although it hasn't yet reached mass production, it has established a first step, allowing the industry to experiment with and learn from the technology to improve energy efficiency.

What are the benefits of the LPO (Low Power Optical) project mentioned in the presentation?

The LPO project aims to reduce power consumption and latency while maintaining link robustness. By extending the electrical reach and optimizing the system for low power, it provides a new, more efficient way to handle optical communications, which is critical for hyperscale networks.

How does the OIF ensure its work aligns with market needs?

The OIF aligns its work with market needs by conducting surveys and gathering input from network operators on their performance requirements. These inputs are then used to guide and shape the various ongoing projects, ensuring that they address real-world challenges in networking and energy consumption.

What is the significance of the Compute Optics Interface (COI) project?

The Compute Optics Interface (COI) project is crucial for enabling optical links within a PCIe protocol, addressing the challenges that arise from protocol compatibility and power efficiency. It aims to solve the issues of using optics in PCIe, which was originally designed for electrical channels.

What is the role of Carl's presentation in the discussion?

Carl's presentation focuses on the LPO MSA (Low Power Optical Multisource Agreement), a project aimed at optimizing low-power optical links. He discusses the specific goals of reducing power consumption, minimizing latency, and extending the reach of optical links while ensuring they remain reliable and robust.

What challenges does the LPO MSA project aim to address in the networking industry?

The LPO MSA project aims to address the lack of dedicated standards for low-power optical links. It focuses on overcoming limitations in current systems, such as power consumption and latency, while achieving high link reliability and robustness, especially at 100G and potentially 200G speeds.

How does the LPO MSA project compare to existing optical standards?

Compared to existing optical standards, the LPO MSA project extends the electrical reach, reduces error rates, and optimizes signal integrity, enabling systems to run more efficiently. It builds on previous work from the OIF but specifically targets lower power consumption and latency.