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NVIDIA and Cisco Partner on USFP Optical Technology for AI Data Centers

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NVDA$226.72 −1.12%CSCO$115.19 −2.70%

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) and Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) announced plans to introduce Ultra-Dense Small Form Factor Pluggable (USFP) optical modules designed to expand data transmission capacity in artificial intelligence data centers. The new transceivers support 400Gb/s per lane, achieving overall capacity of up to 12.8Tb/s across Ethernet networks.

The technology delivers four times the bandwidth density and 1.3 times the energy efficiency of existing 200Gb/s-per-lane pluggable optics. By doubling lane count and bandwidth per lane within an OSFP-sized footprint, operators can scale computing capacity without increasing network tiers or overhauling existing infrastructure. The modules support up to 100 watts of power dissipation without requiring separate embedded cooling circuits.

Hardware manufacturers TE Connectivity and Amphenol are collaborating with the companies to establish an ecosystem around the technology. Investors will watch for an upcoming community-led multi-source project aimed at creating an open industry specification for the new optical standard.

Key points

  • NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) and Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) introduced USFP optical modules supporting 400Gb/s per lane.
  • USFP delivers 4x the bandwidth density and 1.3x the power efficiency compared to 200Gb/s pluggable optics.
  • The modules enable up to 12.8Tb/s of overall capacity in an OSFP-sized module footprint.
  • TE Connectivity and Amphenol are collaborating to build compatible hardware components.

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Questions and answers

What is USFP technology?

Ultra-Dense Small Form Factor Pluggable (USFP) is a high-density optical module supporting 400Gb/s per lane to help scale AI data center networks.

How does USFP impact AI network power efficiency?

USFP provides 1.3 times the power efficiency of 200Gb/s modules and handles up to 100 watts without needing dedicated embedded cooling circuits.