Data centres to give silicon photonics its chance

Part 4: A large data centre operator’s perspective

The scale of modern data centres and the volumes of transceivers they will use are going to have a significant impact on the optical industry. So claims Facebook, the social networking company.

Katharine Schmidtke

Facebook has been vocal in outlining the optical requirements it needs for its large data centres.

The company will use duplex single-mode fibre and has chosen the 2 km mid-reach 100 gigabit CWDM4 interface to connect its equipment.

But the company remains open regarding the photonics used inside transceivers. “Facebook is agnostic to technology,“ says Katharine Schmidtke, strategic sourcing manager, optical technology at Facebook. “There are multiple technologies that meet our requirements.” 

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Module makers rush to fill the 100 Gig mid-reach void

You may give little thought as to how your Facebook page is constructed each time you log in, or the data centre ramifications when you access Gmail. But for the internet giants, what is clear is that they need cheaper, higher-speed optical links to connect their equipment that match the growing size of their hyper-scale data centres. 

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