According to technology industry and services experts, the new addition marks a great leap forward for data center infrastructure. A groundbreaking waveguide technology developed at UMich will exponentially increase data transmission capacity. Dave Welch, a pioneering figure in optics and telecommunications, delivers an exhilarating doomsday prediction. He’s confident that this groundbreaking waveguide makes it possible to transmit data over distances up to 20 meters. Point2 is preparing to build a landmark cable with a capacity of 1.6 terabits per second. This novel design will leverage eight slender polymer waveguides to deliver data at rates never before possible.
The waveguides were tuned with exquisite precision to operate in only two frequency bands — 90 gigahertz and 225 gigahertz. Each waveguide is capable of carrying an astounding 448 gigabits per second. This amazing new technology is a far cry from the past iterations of waveguides, which were essentially just hollow copper tubes. The development of these parts marks a huge advancement in capability. In doing so, it takes important steps to move beyond the reliance on outdated copper cabling.
Advancements in Waveguide Design
At the heart of Point2’s innovation is its advanced cable structure, featuring Point2’s new eight e-Tube fiber. Incredibly, each e-Tube fiber can transmit over 200 gigabits of data per second. Infrastructure Towards an Innovative Data Center This innovative design is critical in addressing the increasing pressures of today’s data centers. High-speed connectivity—which has become more important than ever—is non-negotiable.
Shimano’s e-Tube cables have silicon chips embedded in the ends of the cables. The goal of these chips is to convert the incoming digital data into modulated millimeter-wave frequencies. Along with antennas that efficiently radiate optical signals into the waveguide, these components and design strategies make for a low-loss data transmission system. Beyond that, Welch wants to emphasize just how efficient this design is. He points out that the second-gen cable cuts down losses to just 0.3 decibels per meter, a massive improvement over standard copper cables that typically transmit at 224 gigabits per second.
“If I didn’t have to be at [an optical wavelength], where should I be?” – Dave Welch.
The potential uses for this technology go well beyond just raw data transmission speeds. By incorporating waveguides into current architectures, potential opportunities for smaller, power-saving data center layouts are possible. With this innovation, space requirements and energy maintenance will be cut in half.
Overcoming Industry Challenges
In that context, waveguide technology has made some very promising strides. There’s one thing Point2 and AttoTude can’t do: persuade the data center industry to adopt any alternatives to copper-based systems. Don Barnetson, a well-known voice in the field, points to the industry’s past dependence on passive copper infrastructure.
“You start with passive copper, and you do everything you can to run in passive copper as long as you can.” – Don Barnetson.
This resistance to change is further challenged by the deeply ingrained notion that electronics are just better. They’re more reliable than optical systems. Welch calls shenanigans on this argument by pointing out the natural benefits that optics have over copper technologies.
“Electronics have been demonstrated to be inherently more reliable than optics.” – Dave Welch.
This is evident by the ongoing debate among industry members about waveguides, illustrating that further education and demonstration of waveguide capabilities will be necessary to garner industry acceptance.
Future Prospects for Data Centers
As far as future applications, the possibilities for waveguide technology are endless. Point2 and AttoTude each assert their innovations can replace copper links. These projects promise to improve our public transportation, not just in capacity but in reach. The specced length of this new generation of cables can go up to 10 or 20 meters without significant signal degradation. They have the power to change the terms of the data center connectivity game today.
Welch points out the practicality of these distances for scalability within data centers, remarking that “happens to be a beautiful distance for scale-up in data centers.” As organizations journey toward success over greater distances, scaling their ability to compute everywhere securely and intelligently is crucial. This is particularly critical with the recent advent of scaling up the number of GPUs in use and multi-rack setups.
Point2’s e-Tube cable provides phenomenal specs at breakneck 1.6 terabits per second. It only takes up a third the space of traditional 32-gauge copper wire, while delivering as much as 20 times the distance. This pedestrian efficiency already has the attention of data center operators. They are hungry to get the most out of their setups as needs for bandwidth and speed keep accelerating.
“Customers love fiber. But what they hate is the photonics.” – Dave Welch.
Here’s what the industry is looking at—all challenges, all opportunities. With enough successful implementation of waveguide technology, it’s possible that the technology will become a vital inflection point in the development of data center connectivity.