As copper connectivity faces some limitations such as low bandwidth, AOCs have been preferred to accelerate data connectivity for storage, networking, and high-performance computer (HPC) applications.

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Active Optical Cables for High-performance Connectivity
In this big data age featuring high data transmission speed and great capacity, optical component
transmission technology has experienced a crustal movement with each day passing by. The
continuous demands of high-definition images, various voice and massive data transmission
services, and many Internet and intelligent terminals application, have driven the bandwidth usage
to a soaring point. With the advancements in fiber optics technology to meet the demanding
bandwidth speeds, active optical cables (AOCs) have emerged. As copper connectivity faces some
limitations such as low bandwidth, AOCs have been preferred to accelerate data connectivity for
storage, networking, and high-performance computer (HPC) applications.
You may feel at a loss about what is AOC? Why should focus on this product? Here, let’s start with
its definition.
AOC Definition & Advantages
An AOC is a wiring technology which accepts the same electrical inputs as a conventional copper
cable, but makes use of optical fiber between the connectors. In order to improve the cable’s
distance and speed performance without sacrificing its compatibility with standard electrical
interfaces, the AOC uses electrical to optical conversion on the cable ends. More specifically, AOC is
basically to convert electrical signal into optical signal at Tx, then transfer signal through
anti-electromagnetic fiber optics intermediate, and vice versa at Rx, so that high-speed optical
signal can flow smoothly in both ends. Its smart integration of optical and electrical interfaces
thanks to the packaging design has expanded its applications from high performance computers to
traditional data centers with the support of many protocols. (Active optical cables are reliant on
protocol named InfiniBand.). Image below shows the AOC structure.
Active Optical Cables
for High-performance
Connectivity

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Active Optical Cables for High-performance Connectivity
Key advantages of AOCs include: low weight for high port count architectures; small bend radius for
easy installations; and low power consumption enabling a greener environment thereby providing
the lowest total cost solution for data centers. At present, AOC is widely used in many fields, such as
short-range multi-lane data communication and interconnect applications, to promote the
traditional data center to step into optical interconnection.
Why Should Focus on AOC?
Being one of the fastest growing technologies in the data center space, AOC has much to offer. It
supplies higher bandwidth and a longer reach with a better footprint than current copper cables.
When compared to the incumbent copper cables in most cases, active optical cables provide lighter
weight, a smaller size, EMI immunity, a lower interconnection loss, and reduced power
requirements. It seems that this kind of cable has nothing to “complain about”, but AOC is such a
smart inventor that distinguishes from their predecessors and makes them look obsolete.
In the telecommunication market, a wide range of AOCs have been released for different
applications, like 40G QSFP+ to QSFP+ AOCs (a kind of QSFP cables). Besides, for 40GbE applications,
there are also fan-out products with one QSFP+ module (ie. AFBR-79EQPZ) at one end of the AOC
and several lesser data rate SFP+ modules (eg. SFP-10G-SR) at the other. These can be used to
connect a switch port to multiple server ports.

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Active Optical Cables for High-performance Connectivity
In addition to 40Gbps, AOCs operating at 100Gbps have also been available in the market for several
years. In 100GbE environment, CFP is used for longer distances—typically over 100 meters and up
to 40km—while QSFP and CXP is used for shorter distances. And the current cabling application of
100G QSFP28 AOC is one QSFP28 to four SFP28 cables, something similar to that 40G QSFP+ AOC
assembly. There seems to be few AOCs that have adopted CFP at the present time.
Conclusion
AOCs provide a direct electrical connection between corresponding cable ends by embedding optics
and/or electronics within the connectors. Fiberstore AOCs are provided for HPC, storage and
networking applications. Many AOC products are available, including 10G SFP+ AOCs, 100G QSFP28
AOC mentioned above, compatible with Generic, Cisco, Brocade and some other brands. Certainly,
AOCs can also be customized to meet your length requirements. For more information, please visit
www.fs.com.

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Active Optical Cables for High-performance Connectivity
Contact Us
Manufacturing R & D (China)
Eastern Side, Second Floor, Science &
Technology Park, No.6, Keyuan Road,
Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518057,
China
Tel: +86 (755) 8300 3611
Fax: +86 (755) 8326 9395
Email: sales@fs.com
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Hong Kong
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WA 98188,United States
Tel: +1-425-226-2035
Fax: +1-253-246-7881
Email: sales@fs.com
London Office (United Kingdom)
Third Floor 207 Regent Street, London,
W1B 3HH, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 2081441980
Notice: This document is for informational purposes only and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or
implied, concerning any equipment, equipment features, or service offered or to be offered by Fiberstore.
Fiberstore reserves the right to make changes to this document at any time, without notice, and assumes no
responsibility for its use. This information document describes features that may not be currently available.
Contact a Fiberstore sales team for information on feature and product availability.
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