With the help of an oil industry standard Point2 Technology, Data Centers are being redefined on their efficiency. They are accomplishing this by embedding radio technology into complex data transmission workflows. The small family-run company is clearly on the cutting edge of optimizing data flow with their revolutionary e-Tube cables. These cables are set to revolutionize the data center landscape.
Shimano’s newly developed e-Tube cables are made up of eight individual advanced e-Tube fibers. Each fiber can actually carry well over 200 gigabits of data per second! This incredible potential makes Point2’s technology a powerful contender to replace the long-standing optical systems. The company was recently awarded a contract to begin fabricating chips for one such advanced 1.6-terabit-per-second undersea cable. This proprietary cable features eight slim polymer waveguides, with each one supporting up to 448 gigabits per second. This transmission takes place across two continuous frequencies of 90 gigahertz and 225 GHz.
Advancements in Data Transmission
Point2’s new e-Tube technology provides a number of benefits compared to traditional optical systems. The system uses just one-third the power of optical alternatives, along with costing one-third the price. Further, Point2’s cables have latency as low as one-thousandth the latency found in conventional optical technologies.
The e-Tube fibers are only about 200-µm in diameter. This small form factor allows them to use only half the volume of comparable Active Electrical Cables (AECs). With its surprisingly small design, the C28IV eliminates wasted space, all while maximizing performance and efficiency. Consequently, Point2’s technology truly excels in densely-packed scenarios like data centers.
David Kuo is vice president of product marketing & business development at Point2 Technology. While he acknowledges that this new development is important, the timing of this advancement is key, as the industry still faces the “copper cliff.” This term well captures the uphill battle of trying to scale inadequate, largely legacy, copper connections as Americans’ data needs continue to grow.
Enhancing Data Center Architecture
Point2’s unique cable design could change data center architecture as we know it. The e-Tube is built around a single silicon chip. This analog-to-digital converter chip converts incoming digital data into modulated millimeter-wave frequencies and transmits them through the waveguide. An on-board integrated antenna is used to radiate these frequencies across the waveguide channels, maximizing data transfer capability.
This unique technology gives Point2’s cables the ability to reach 10 to 20 meter distances with very little loss. As such, they offer much wider coverage than copper alternatives. The initial deployment of Active Electrical Cables will likely be GPU-specific interconnects between discrete graphics processing units (GPUs) and any color switch. In addition, these switches will form the backbone of new, scale-out networks.
Help from experts
In industry experts’ support of this shift toward radio technology, as Dave Welch has said, fiber may be the customer favorite, but what they’re really unhappy with, to quote him, is “the photonics” in conventional systems. He further highlights that “electronics have been demonstrated to be inherently more reliable than optics.”
Financial Backing and Industry Expertise
The development of Point2’s groundbreaking technology has garnered substantial financial support, with the company securing $55 million in venture funding. Most famously, this has brought investment from Molex, one of the big three global computer cable and connection manufacturers.
Point2’s founders boast deep experience from mega tech firms Marvell, Nvidia, and Samsung. That education uniquely prepares them to drive innovation in the data center arena. Their combined knowledge and experience has been key to the successful development of e-Tube technology.
As such, the company’s radio cables provide a more powerful solution than optical fibers. They do an excellent job of addressing the performance and cost challenges that operators face.