SURREY, UK -- Designs of 100Gbps outside of the core network are currently implemented as multiple channels of 10Gbps or 25Gbps.

The emerging generation of electrical backplanes for infrastructure equipment will implement four channels of 25Gbps.

Looking four years down the road, however, the first generation of 400GE will implement 16 channels until 50Gbps components become cost-effective and widely available to reduce the channel number to eight. This step up will create immense challenges in backplane and line card design, control of crosstalk and signal integrity, connector performance and density. In addition the thermal budget will be quadrupled.

So says a new report on high-speed design from BPA Consulting.

DC designs are primarily designed for energy efficiency and include 277 VAC power distribution that eliminates one transformer stage in a traditional server cluster. This is because, over a three to five year period, the OPEX will outweigh the CAPEX for that period. So this drives the hardware design, not capacity, says BPA.

Other major infrastructure shifts include moving of the data centers to metro access networks, and a total refresh of Data centers every two to three years, BPA says.

The new report focuses on the move to 100GbE and, further out, to 400GbE and 5G. It is envisaged with more power hungry systems, operating at higher frequencies will be required – presenting a need for new improved PCBs and Laminate materials, not to mention Si Photonics and their packaging.

BPA also details key system technology roadmaps and the subsequent technology requirements.

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