Active Optical Cables (AOC) are a great cost saving solution to meet the demands of higher bandwidth networks. The market for AOC continues to grow and expand as a short-range optical communication that combines the optical fiber cable and transceivers into a single product. This not only saves space but also saves the user from having to worry about the regular maintenance and cleaning that comes with individual transceivers and fiber cables.


So what is an AOC anyway? 

Just like a regular optical transceiver, an AOC transceiver end will convert the electrical signals from the system into light sending the signal quickly to the other side. The big difference here is that the optical transceivers have an optical connector to disconnect the fiber from the transceiver. AOC bond the fiber connection inside of the transceiver creating a cable assembly similar to a copper DAC with a HUGE increase in the distance these can travel.




Why Buy AOC?


Copper DAC cables are quickly becoming a thing of the past as AOC not only have improved speed and distance but also run on 3 times less power! AOC are also much lighter and more flexible than copper DAC solutions making them perfect for data center environments. As these cables do not use electricity they are also immune to electromagnetic interference, unlike copper cables.


The AOC revenue for 2017 was just over $1 billion and is projected to rise over $8.9 billion by the year 2022. A large portion of these profits will come from a rush to 100G applications and the growth of data centers. While 100Gbps may be the largest portion of this revenue, there are still great profits to be made from 10G, 25G, and 40G. Even 400G and above in the near future.



Major benefits to AOC solutions:

  • Longer reach with higher Bandwidth
  • Secure and reliable connections
  • Limited EMI/RFI Exposure
  • Low Bit-Error-Rate (BER)
  • Lightweight and smaller size. This increases airflow allowing for easier cooling and system maintenance.
  • Higher Flexibility
  • Low power consumption
  • Huge cost savings compared to buying two transceivers and an optical cable
  • By permanently attaching the fiber to the transceiver there are no optical connectors to clean and maintain



So how are vendors able to sell AOC at a lower cost? Is it not the same hardware as 2 transceivers and a fiber cable?


Great question! First up is testing, optical testing accounts for about 50% or more of the manufacturing cost of a transceiver. AOC are tested similarly to DAC cables using a similar electrical test. There are many things to account for when testing an optical transceiver. This requires very expensive optical testing equipment that can range up to near half a million dollars per station! After that, you still have to pay an experienced test engineer for many many hours on a test station. AOC cables avoid ALL of this by enabling the manufacturer to test in an electrical environment.


AOC offers much lower operational costs as there is no need to buy cleaning equipment which can range from $65 to over $500 each and have to be stocked. We mentioned the decrease in size helped increase airflow, this lowers the workload on cooling systems for data centers saving 6 to 10 Watts per cable assembly compared to optical transceivers.



My system is not compatible with AOC, can GigaTech make it work anyway?


We can make these compatible with almost every system! Just let us know what system(s) you need these for and we will come up with a personalized solution for you. We offer dual coding on all AOC options. This means you can use the same cable for Cisco to Juniper, Dell to Brocade, and many other options!



What different types are available?


There are many different types of AOC cables allowing customization to fit almost any networking needs up to 300 meters. These can range from 10G cables all the way up to 100G! Listed below are the different options available:


SFP+ to SFP+

  • Up to 11Gb/s
  • Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and InfiniBand
  • Lengths up to 300m


SFP28 to SFP28

  • Up to 25Gb/s
  • Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and InfiniBand
  • Lengths up to 300m


QSFP+ to QSFP+

  • Up to 40Gb/s
  • Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and InfiniBand
  • Lengths reaching up to 300m


40G QSFP+ to 4x10G SFP+

  • Up to 4x 11.2Gb/s
  • Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and InfiniBand
  • Lengths reaching up to 100m
  • This cable transports data using four 10G lanes. Each lane is sent to its own SFP+ connection allowing for a wide range of networking possibilities.


QSFP+ to 8xLC connectors (4 Duplex)

  • Up to 4x 11.2Gb/s
  • Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and InfiniBand
  • Lengths reaching up to 100m
  • This cable transports data using four 10G lanes. Each lane is sent to its own LC connector allowing for a wide range of networking possibilities. Including the use of existing SFP+ SR’s


100G QSFP28 to 100G QSFP28

  • Up to 100Gb/s
  • Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and InfiniBand
  • Lengths reaching up to 300m


100G QSFP28 to 4x25G QSFP+

  • Up to 4x 25Gb/s
  • Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and InfiniBand
  • Lengths reaching up to 100m
  • This cable transports data using four 25G lanes. Each lane is sent to its own SFP28 connection allowing for a wide range of networking possibilities.