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Home » Products » Smart Cable Modules » Taurus Ethernet Smart Cable Modules

Taurus Ethernet Smart Cable Modules

Home » Products » Smart Cable Modules » Taurus Ethernet Smart Cable Modules
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  • Why Use Aries?
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Taurus Ethernet Smart Cable Modules™

 

Astera Labs delivers Taurus Smart Cable Modules™ (Taurus SCM™) that overcome reach, signal integrity and bandwidth utilization issues for 100G/Lane Ethernet connectivity for Switch-to-Switch and Switch-to-Server applications.

The Taurus SCM portfolio enables a cost-effective, active solution for 200/400/800G Ethernet rack connectivity with built-in advanced fleet management and deep diagnostic capabilities, 50% lower power, <100 ns latency, and 3-meter reach over thin copper gauge cables. Taurus SCM facilitates a flexible supply chain of Smart Electrical Cables by qualifying with leading cable vendors to support Taurus capabilities in QSFP-DD and OSFP backshells.

  • Supports 100G PAM4 (106.25 Gbps), 50G PAM4 (53.125 Gbps), 25G NRZ (26.5625 Gbps and 25.78125 Gbps), and other Ethernet line rates
  • Resolves rate mismatch between NICs and switches with 50G-to-100G PAM4 & 25G-NRZ-to-50G-PAM4 aggregation/disaggregation (Gearbox)
  • 36-dB reach extension for up to 3-meter, 34AWG copper cables, ensuring sufficient cable length and flexibility.
  • Ultra-Low-Latency data path supports < 100 ns.
  • Advanced fleet management capabilities with full CMIS Features, security, and extensive diagnostics: cable degradation monitoring, host-cable security, multiple loopback modes, pattern generation/checking
  • Qualified with leading cable vendors to enable Smart Electrical Cables (SECs) in QSFP-DD and OSFP backshells.
Download Product Brief
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System Block Diagram
taurus-smart-cable-module-diagram

Orderable Information

Taurus Ethernet Smart Cable Modules

Orderable Part NumberDescriptionMax Data GenCable Line RateModePackage / ConnectorOrdering
EM400-QDX400G QSFP-DD Taurus Smart Cable Module400G50G/Lane, 100G/LanePAM4QSFP-DDContact Us, https://www.asteralabs.com/product-details/em400-qdx/
EM400-EPS400G OSFP Taurus Smart Cable Module400G50G/Lane, 100G/LanePAM4OSFPContact Us, https://www.asteralabs.com/product-details/em400-eps/
EM800-EPS800G OSFP Taurus Smart Cable Module800G100G/LanePAM4OSFPContact Us, https://www.asteralabs.com/product-details/em800-eps/
EM800-QDX800G QSFP-DD Taurus Smart Cable Module800G100G/LanePAM4QSFP-DDContact Us, https://www.asteralabs.com/product-details/em800-qdx/
EM200-QDX200G QSFP-DD Taurus Smart Cable Module200G25G/LaneNRZQSFP-DDContact Us, https://www.asteralabs.com/product-details/em200-qdx/

Why Use Taurus Smart Cable Modules?

Taurus SCMs enable robust, easy-to-design 100G/Lane Ethernet connectivity and provide all the benefits of basic Active Electrical Cables, while also offering built-in advanced fleet management, security, and deep diagnostic capabilities critical to ensuring high reliability and up-time.

Robustness

Extended Cable Line Rate: future proof scalability for 200G/400G/800G


Low Power: uses 50% less power than Active Optical Cables


Low Latency: Low latency operation at < 100ns


Security: Advanced security features help prevent malicious attacks of unauthorized firmware loading, module diagnostics access, and configurations

Easy System Design

Thin Cable Gauge: Up to 34AWG


Fewer Twinax Pairs: 8 pairs at 200G/400G/800G reduces overall external diameter of cables


Extended Reach: Up to 3m of reach at 34AWG


Flexible Supply Chain: Taurus Smart Cable Modules are compatible with multiple cable vendors for easy second sourcing of active cable assembly

Fleet Management

Quick Debug: Self-test features enable rapid troubleshooting


Deep Diagnostics: Cable-side and host-side diagnostics enable easy management of entire fleets

The Difference is Clear

Taurus SCMs deliver cloud service providers system-wide visibility and management features, which enable enhanced security options, quick debug tools, and flexible firmware upgrade capabilities — all of which basic Active Electrical Cables cannot match.

Videos

Taurus-Smart-Cable-Module-Demo
10 Nov
Taurus Smart Cable Module™ 400GbE PAM4 Connectivity Demonstration

See a Taurus Smart Cable Module™ enabled 400GbE PAM4 Smart Electrical Cable in action with a demonstration of an end-to-end 400GbE link up passing error-free traffic as well as real-time link diagnostics.

taurus-scm-first-look-2
17 Aug
Taurus Smart Cable Module™:  First Look at Purpose-Built 100GbE/Lane Connectivity

Get your first look at Taurus Smart Cable Modules™ – the only “active” plus “smart” hyperscale connectivity solution that’s ready to support the jump to 100G/Lane Ethernet when you are.

taurus-scm-animation
13 Aug
Taurus Smart Cable Module™: “Active” + “Smart” 100G/Lane Ethernet Connectivity

Learn how Taurus Smart Cable Modules™ enable the hyperscale industry’s transition to 25G, 50G and 100G/Lane Ethernet for cost effective 200GbE, 400GbE and 800GbE interconnects.

FAQ

What are the design challenges for 400G/800G ethernet applications using Direct Attached Copper (DAC)?
  1. At 50Gbps/lane, passive direct-attach copper (DAC) cables barely reach 3-meters. At 100Gbps/lane, DACs may only have a 2-meter practical reach limit.
  2. The switch PCB consumes too much of the channel budget, which then limits the cable reach and increases cable gauge.
  3. DACs are rigid, heavy, and bulky, restricting airflow for system cooling and making rack servicing difficult.

Read more

What are the design challenges for 400G/800G ethernet applications using optical interconnects?
  1. Optical modules have high power consumption. A 400G module consumes around 12W and a 800G module may consume up to 20W.
  2. Optical modules require advanced low loss materials which are expensive.
  3. Optical modules have a shorter lifespan and are less reliable compared to active copper cables. Data center operators need to constantly maintain and replace the failed optical modules.

Read more

What are the potential solutions to address high speed switch-to-server interconnects?
  1. Active Optical Cables (AOC) can be used for rate conversion and to achieve thin wire profile. However, such optical designs incur additional costs, reliability concerns, and require more power.
  2. Active Copper Cables (ACC) can be used for rate conversion, have a lower design cost when compared to AOC while also supporting even thinner gauge cabling as compared to passive DACs. General purpose ACCs are limited by their lack of diagnostics and security features.
  3. Smart Electrical Cables (SEC) that utilize Taurus Smart Cable Modules have all the benefits of an ACC with the added “”smarts”” required by Cloud Service Providers.

Read more

What are the typical use cases for the Taurus Smart Cable Module?
  1. Switch-to-server: ToR Switches to Network Interface Cards (NIC) interconnects on a server.
  2. Switch-to-switch: within a spine switch and spine switch to Exit Leaf interconnects.

Get product info

What are the rate conversions for Taurus Smart Cable Modules?

Taurus Smart Cable Modules can provide gearbox functionality at 200GbE from 4x50G to 8x25G.

Download Product Brief

What are the challenges in high speed switch-to-server interconnects?
  1. Rate mismatches between NIC and switch lead to wasted switch bandwidth.
  2. Traditional DAC interconnects are too short, thick and bulky to handle high speed ethernet signals between ToR switches and multiple racks.

Read more

How could a Taurus Smart Cable Module overcome design challenges of DAC interconnects?

Smart Electrical Cables (SEC) support longer reach and thinner cabling while adding security and diagnostic capability.

Read more

How can Cloud Service Providers maximize TOR port speeds while still using previous generation servers?

A Taurus Smart Cable Module with gearbox capability can be used on the NIC to resolve the per-lane rate disparity and reduce the end-to-end channel loss, thereby increasing the cable reach and/or reducing cable gauge.

Get product info

What is the typical channel loss for a DAC cable?

In an average 3m 34 AWG copper wire, the typical channel loss is about 28dB at 12.9GHz, but might be as high as 36dB during worst cases.

Read more

What fleet management features are supported by Taurus Smart Cable Modules?

Taurus Smart Cable Modules’ advanced fleet management capabilities include Full CMIS Features, Security, and Extensive Diagnostics (Cable Degradation Monitoring, Host-Cable Security, Multiple Loopback Modes, and Pattern Generation/Checking)

Download Product Brief

How can the Taurus Smart Cable Module adapt to different applications?

Taurus offers various firmware and setting updates to adapt to diverse system topologies, including firmware flexibility, in-field upgrade support, health monitoring and debug, and CMIS extension.

Download Product Brief

What firmware settings can be updated in the Taurus SCM?

A user can update module management functions, adaption algorithms, and full-module firmware even after the cable is deployed to the switch system.

Download Product Brief

How is a firmware update for Taurus SCM done?

We offer complete CMIS Firmware update procedures in the product datasheet.

What is the difference between PAM4 and NRZ?
  1. NRZ is a modulation technique that has two voltage levels to represent logic 0 and logic 1. PAM4 uses four voltage levels to represent four combinations of two bits logic – 11, 10, 01, and 00.
  2. PAM4 has the advantages of halving the Nyquist frequency and doubling the throughput for the same Baud rate. This alleviates the need for designers to have to invent infrastructure like silicon and cables that would go up to 50GHz bandwidth.
  3. The SNR loss of a PAM4 signal compared to an NRZ signal is ~9.5 dB.

Download Intel App Note

Have more questions about general topics, such as 800G Ethernet, ordering, quality, etc.? See the full list of FAQs.

Data Center Resource Disaggregation Drives Need for Cost-Effective 400/800GbE Interconnects

New compute-intensive workloads - such as machine learning and artificial intelligence - are pushing the data center and cloud industry to transition to complex heterogeneous compute architectures and higher bandwidth Ethernet interconnects to service the explosion of "east-west" traffic.

Read Article

Hardware Solutions

Rapidly implement diverse system topologies using our plug-and-play connectivity system boards. Our solutions include:

  • Smart Cable Modules: Active Copper-Based Solution to Address Reach, Signal Integrity and Bandwidth Utilization Issues for 100G/Lane Ethernet Switch-to-Switch and Switch-to-Server Interconnects.
  • Riser Cards: Extend PCIe/CXL technology slots and enable incredibly complex multi-connector topologies.
  • PCIe-Over-Cable Extender Cards: Connect a server head-node to a JBoF or JBoG without sacrificing speed.
  • GPU Booster Cards: Support external graphics (eGPUs) and enhance the gaming experience.

See our Hardware Solutions >

Services

Rapidly design and achieve signal integrity peace of mind and avoid wondering if a PCIe 4.0/5.0, CXL 1.1/2.0 or 100G/Lane Ethernet technology-based design will work. Our team can help develop first-pass design success and accelerate time to market for your systems and boards.

Contact us for more information about our design and testing services >

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