Coherent announces optical circuit switch for data centers

Coherent Corp. announced the introduction of a new optical circuit switch based on the company’s field-proven and ultrareliable Datacenter Lightwave Cross-Connect. Deploying an OCS-based architecture enables operators of artificial intelligence clusters to dramatically reduce the number of electrical switches required in data center networks, and, more importantly, reduces the costly optical-to-electrical-to-optical conversions that such electrical switches require. In an OCS, data signals remain in the optical domain as they transit the switch; eliminating OEO conversion can provide dramatic cost and power consumption savings. Furthermore, unlike traditional switches, the OCS does not need to be upgraded when the AI clusters are equipped with higher-speed connections in subsequent generations. For data centers, this significantly improves the return on capital expenditure.