Microsoft unites 14 datacentre vendors in the Consortium for On-Board Optics (COBO), an alliance with plans to develop interconnect standards for optical communications used in server and switch motherboards.
The other alliance members are Cisco, Dell, Intel, Broadcom, Juniper, Arista Networks, Coriant, Finisar, Inphi, JDSU, Luxtera, Mellanox, Oclaro, RANOVUS, Source Photonics and TE Connectivity.
According to the press announcement COBO will “define electrical interfaces, management interfaces, thermal requirements and pin-outs…[for] optical modules that can be mounted or socketed on a network switch or adapter motherboard,” with an initial focus on 100 and 400G links.
Currently hardware makers use proprietary formats for on-board or embedded optics, a situation COBO hopes to eliminate by instead allowing datacentre operators to choose from interchangeable modules from multiple vendors.
“The founding companies of COBO are taking a major step forward in improving the efficiency of optical interconnects in datacenter networks,” Microsoft says. “With ever-increasing data rates, the ability to move the optical modules closer to the network silicon provides a real economic and environmental benefit.”
Go COBO
