February 21, 2008 -- Zarlink Semiconductor has announced volume production of its ZL60615 ZLynx active optical cables for data center and computer cluster interconnect applications. The cable was released to general availability in Q4, CY2007; to date, the company says it has shipped over 10,000 cables to a range of select customers, including major data center operators, InfiniBand and Ethernet switch vendors, and system integrators.
"Zarlink's unique ability to deliver ZLynx cables to meet volume demands positions us as a leader in the growing optical interconnect market," comments Dr. Marco Ghisoni, product manager, Zarlink Optical Solutions. "As data center operators and installers consider optical interconnect products, Zarlink's track record of deployments over the past 12 months is market confirmation for our leading technology. ZLynx cables deliver significant weight, flexibility and reach advantages to improve airflow, eliminate layout concerns and reduce installation time and costs versus copper-based solutions."
According to the company, the ZL60615 ZLynx is a fully integrated electrical-optical-electrical cable assembly designed for direct connection with industry-standard 4-wide I/O electrical high-speed powered CX4 and InfiniBand ports. The device is capable of aggregated 20-Gbit/sec transmission in both directions at distances up to 100 meters by combining four ultra-high capacity (5 Gbit/sec per channel) independent fiber transmit and receive channels into a single connector.
The ZL60615 ZLynx cable with industry-standard CX-4 connectors is in full production and available in a variety of cable lengths. Zarlink is also now sampling ZLynx cables with QSFP-to-QSFP terminations supporting InfiniBand DDR and XAUI 10 GigE. Volume production is planned for later this year. For more on the ZL60615 ZLynx active optical cable, click here. The cable is included in the InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA) Integrator's List of commercially available products that meet InfiniBand compliance and interoperability requirements.
Additionally, at OFC 2008, Zarlink will be demonstrating the "plug-and-play" capability of the ZL60615 ZLynx cable, housed in a Panduit rack system, by using the device to interconnect InfiniBand and Ethernet switches and servers from a number of vendors, including Fulcrum Microsystems, Fujitsu, QLogic, Mellanox Technologies, Myricom and Voltaire.