Leveraging low-loss expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a new, low-profile SFP+ direct-attach copper cable assemly is "fiber-like" in size and more flexible than optical fiber. The cable is suited for assemblies in lenghts from 0.5 to 3 m. It uses a 2.10-mm round profile cable to 2 m and a 2.80-mm round profile cable for lengths to 3 m. This low-profile cable is targeted at data-center applicatioins, where a large percentage of high-density port-count interconnects are 3 m or less (e.g., in top-of the rack switching installiations). The smaller, low-profile cable is one-half the cross-sectional area of OM3 fiber-optic cable with a significantly reduced bend radius. By comparison, standard SFP+ copper cable assemblies in these lengths utilize cables that are roughly 4.40 mm in diameter and typically have a 30-mm bend radius. The cable's reduced bend radius and smaller diameter allow for more aggressive routing as well as cleaner dressing of the cables in networking and computing environments. The cable also is less prone to interfere with the closing of cabinet doors in dense environments. It promises to fulfill the needs of clense, higher-prot-count switch installations while providing an even more reliable interconnect for hig-performance computing (HPC) and networinking environment using 10-GBig Ethernet, Fiber Channel over Ethernet, or 8-Gbit Fiber Channel.
W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., 385 Starr Rd., Landenber, PA 19350; (800) 311-3060, FAX: (800) 757-4673; Internet: www.gore.com/electronics