Mr. Sean Peasgood reports

SPECTRA7 SAMPLING "GAUGECHANGER PLUS" SFP28 AND QSFP28 ACTIVE COPPER MODULES TO MAJOR 25/100G ETHERNET DATA CENTER CABLE SUPPLIERS IN NORTH AMERICA AND ASIA

Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. has begun sampling fully IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) COM-compliant SFP28 and QSFP28 active copper modules to Tier 1 cable assembly and data centre customers in North America and Asia. These modules are ready for evaluation and qualification by data centre customers such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Baidu and Alibaba, as well as data centre equipment manufacturers such as Cisco, HP, Dell, Huawei 3 Comm, Quanta and others.

"We are seeing strong interest for these solutions from cable suppliers, network equipment suppliers, as well as data centre end-users," said Raouf Halim, Spectra7's chief executive officer. "With the explosive growth of 25-gigabit/100-gigabit Ethernet in 2017, the timing is ideal for Spectra7 to bring these products to market. I am pleased with our execution in the data centre market, coupled with our growing design win pipeline in our core AR [augmented reality], VR [virtual reality] and MR [mixed reality] markets."

Data centre interconnects are typically composed of passive copper cables, known as direct attached copper (DAC), for short connections up to three metres and active optical cables (AOC) for longer lengths. Spectra7's technology enables a third option, known as active copper cable (ACC), which supports lengths in excess of 10 metres with a significant cost and power advantage over AOCs. ACCs utilizing Spectra7's modules use up to 80 per cent less power and reduce costs up to 65 per cent over expensive AOCs.

"Twenty-five-gigabit Ethernet and 100-gigabit Ethernet data centre switch adoption is already experiencing exponential growth, with port shipments currently in the hundred[s] of thousands per quarter," said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research, as reported in Jan. 18, 2017, issue of Converge Network Digest. "Volumes would likely be even higher if it weren't for pockets of supply constraints in certain areas, such as the optical transceivers that uplink and connect many of these switches."

The company will demonstrate ACC reference designs with these modules at the DesignCon Expo to be held in Santa Clara, Calif., from Jan. 31, 2017, to Feb. 2, 2017.

The new GaugeChanger Plus modules are available for sampling to qualified cable assemblers. Please visit Spectra7 at booth 803 at DesignCon or contact Sylvia@spectra7.com for meeting inquires.

Data centre Ethernet switch forecast

Over half of all data centre Ethernet switch shipments by 2021 will be 25-gigabit Ethernet and 100-gigabit Ethernet, according to a new report from Crehan Research, which also predicts that these two technologies will be most instrumental in driving this market beyond $15-billion by that time.

About Spectra7 Microsystems

Spectra7 Microsystems is a high performance analog semiconductor company delivering unprecedented bandwidth, speed and resolution to enable disruptive industrial design for leading electronics manufacturers in virtual reality, augmented reality, data centres and other connectivity markets. Spectra7 is based in Palo Alto, Calif., with design centres in Markham, Ont.; Cork, Ireland; and Little Rock, Ark.

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