SFP-DD MSA releases high-speed, high-density interface specification 2.0

The Small Form Factor Pluggable Double Density (SFP-DD) Multi Source Agreement (MSA) Group announces the release of the v2.0 specification for the SFP-DD pluggable interface.

The MSA consortium released the initial SFP-DD specification version 1.0 in September 2017 and earlier this year released version 1.1.

The newly updated specification version 2.0 reflects enhancements to the mechanicals, extended modules and enhanced polarizing key of the SFP-DD electrical interface, targeting support of up to 3.5 W optical modules in an enterprise environment.

The SFP-DD form factor addresses the technical challenges of achieving a double-density interface and ensuring mechanical interoperability for module components produced by different manufacturers.

The electrical interface is designed to support two lanes that operate up to 25 Gbps NRZ or 56 Gbps PAM4 per lane modulation — providing aggregate bandwidth of 50 Gbps NRZ or 112 Gbps PAM4 with signal integrity.

“Through strategic collaborations we work to increase speed, density and scalability in next-generation servers,” said Scott Sommers, Chair of the SFP-DD MSA.

“We effectively enhance the roadmap in network applications to meet the challenging demands data centers and enterprise networking platforms are up against.”

SFP-DD MSA founding members include Alibaba, Broadcom, Cisco, Dell EMC, Finisar, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Huawei, Intel, Juniper Networks, Lumentum, Mellanox Technologies, Molex, and TE Connectivity. Contributing members are Accelink, Amphenol, AOI, Foxconn Interconnect Technology, Fourte, Genesis, Hisense, Infinera, Innolight, Maxim, Multilane, Nokia, Oclaro, Senko, Source Photonics, US Conec, and ZTE.