Andrew Kim, Senior System Architect, Quellan, Inc.
Michael Vrazel, Technical Director, Quellan, Inc.

As the size, speed, and density of data centers grow, contradicting demands are being placed on the copper cabling infrastructure. The low-loss characteristics of low-gauge twin-axial cables make them an attractive interconnect option, but the size and weight of these cables complicate routing and air flow, particularly for large or high-density clusters. Higher-gauge cables can reduce these latter complexities but generally do not provide sufficient reach. This paper presents a receive-side active equalization solution for copper cabling that addresses both of these apparently incongruous data-center requirements while ensuring full compliance to the various interconnect protocols being deployed in the data center.