OIF Adds Long Reach to 400G RoadmapOIF Adds Long Reach to 400G Roadmap

FREMONT, Calif. -- Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) members provided feedback to start another Common Electrical Interface (CEI) 56G project to complement the existing 400G roadmap that was started last year. The project defines 56 Gb/s generation electrical interfaces for full-sized backplane channels for long reach of up to one meter with two connectors.

“Given the lead times, development of standards for the next generation backplane electrical links needs to start now,” said David Stauffer, of Kandou Bus and the OIF Physical and Link Layer working group chair and board member. “Feedback from our membership indicates that the industry needs the OIF to start the long reach project now so that a complete roadmap can be supported.”

The CEI-56G-LR specification will increase the data rate by a factor of two over the data rate of CEI-28G-LR. It will provide for one or more electrical specifications for lane operation at data rates of 40 to 56 Gb/s. The reach range will be 0 to 1000mm using advanced printed circuit board materials plus two connectors.

The OIF is currently working on a full roadmap for 400G applications. The roadmap is addressing medium reach (MR) interfaces for chip-to-chip and midrange backplane, very short reach (VSR) for chip-to-module, extra short reach (XSR) for chip to nearby optics engine and ultra short reach (USR) for 2.5D/3D applications. LR is needed to complete this roadmap for chip-to-chip backplane applications with approximately 35 dBs of loss at 14 GHz.

Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF)