Arista Develops XPO High Density Liquid Cooled Pluggable Optics

Multi-source agreement for 64-channel XPO module delivering 12.8Tbps capacity

Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) has announced the formation of a multi-source agreement (MSA) for XPO, a revolutionary 12.8 Tbps liquid cooled optics module that supports a front panel density of 204.8 Tbps per open compute rack unit, a 4X improvement compared to 1600G-OSFP optics.

XPO was designed specifically to support AI networking including scale-up, scale-out, scale-across, and metro reach fabrics, offering the following key innovations:

• Record-Breaking Throughput: Delivers 12.8 Tbps per pluggable module.
• Unprecedented Rack Density: Achieves 204.8 Tbps per OCP rack unit.
• Integrated Cold Plate: Capable of cooling up to 400W power per module.
• Universality: Supports all industry optics standards (DR, FR, LR, SR, ZR/ZR+) as well as next-generation coherent-lite, slow&wide, copper, and RF-Microwave.
• Flexibility: Supports linear, half-retimed, or fully-retimed interface architectures.

Key Quotes

“The unprecedented growth in AI fabric bandwidth and the transition to liquid cooling requires a new generation of pluggable optics modules,” said Andreas Bechtolsheim, Chief Architect at Arista Networks. “XPO solves this challenge by providing fundamental improvements in density, cooling capability and reliability for pluggable optics modules.”

“XPO is an important milestone for the optical industry, extending the benefits of pluggable optics to the extreme bandwidth demands of AI scale-out and scale-up systems,” said Matthew Mattina, VP for AI Systems Architecture at Microsoft. “Microsoft believes this specification can help establish a robust, broadly adopted form factor that enables a diverse optical ecosystem.”

“The XPO module is a breakthrough for AI data centers delivering 4X the front panel density compared to OSFP, while preserving the configurability and serviceability of a pluggable optics module,” said Sameh Boujelbene, Vice President of Dell’Oro Group. “The success of any new optical form factor hinges on a strong ecosystem of suppliers and I am pleased to see XPO supported by all major optical module suppliers.”

Key Video

Key Links

More information about optic solutions from Arista Networks

Executive Blog: AI Datacenters are Reshaping the Optics Industry

Whitepaper: XPO: Redefining Pluggable Optics for AI Networking