October 15, 2009 -- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. has developed a 10 meter SFP+ assembly that is fully compliant with the SFF-8431 Revision 4.1 specification. The company cites itself as among the only cable assembly vendors who have demonstrated this use-length, while still complying with the SFF specification for 10 Gigabits/second (10 GbE, 10 FCoE) used in the High Performance Computing (HPC) and networking marketplace.
Gore claims its SFP+ offering can go 3 to 5 meters longer than other passive options. The new cable is billed as providing a lower cost alternative to power consuming and heat generating SFP+ transceiver modules.
Through the use of the patented Gore Eye-Opener+ conductor technology and an extremely low loss expanded PTFE cable dielectric, the cable is able to balance the dWDP (waveform distortion) and VMA Loss (voltage modulation amplitude) parameters to achieve results within the specification limits set forth by the SFF-8431 committee. Gore’s proprietary low loss expanded PTFE is branded as Gore-Tex in the fabrics market and is used in Gore's microwave / RF cable assembly offerings.
Gore has demonstrated typical values of VMA loss of 3.95 dBE and a dWDP of 5.60 dBE. The SFF-8431 calls out max limits of 4.40 and 6.75, respectively.
“We continue to meet the challenges of the industry and set the benchmark for performance,” comments Russ Hornung, product manager at Gore. “Quite frankly, we use much better processes and materials in both our cable and our connector printed circuit boards. Combined with our unique technologies, this allows us to offer a product that is lower cost, lower power, and also more robust than fiber optic transceivers for the critical 10 meter use-length for rack-to-rack installations. Our customers also realize an operational cost savings from using our product since it doesn’t generate the heat of optical transceivers."
Chris Ericksen, applications engineer at Gore, adds, “Our unique material-set allows Gore to develop a product that further extends the useful length of passive copper. We see a market that seems to struggle to achieve 5 to 7 meter use-lengths reliably. The SFF specification was written around the best conventional 8.5 meter cable that the committee identified as being functional. They measured the performance and then added margin. Thus, VMA and dWDP values reflect a maximum 7 meter for pretty good cable, or something less for marginal cable. The fact that we can go another 40% is quite remarkable and is a testament to our superior materials."
On the Web:
gore.com/highspeed