Keysight has expanded its 1.6T Ethernet interconnect error-performance validation portfolio to cover a wider set of 1.6T-capable interconnect types, including passive copper Direct Attach Cables (DAC), Active Copper Cables (ACC), Low Power Optics (LPO), and Linear Receive Optics (LRO). The update targets qualification work for AI and high-performance computing networks where 1.6T links are expected to operate with low error rates over long-duration runs.
The company tied the expanded coverage to updates for its Interconnect and Network Performance Tester 1600GE (INPT-1600GE) and its AresONE 1600GE test systems. Keysight said the goal is accurate, repeatable characterization of error performance across these interconnect categories so manufacturers and operators can compare options and reduce deployment risk in critical-path fabrics.
Keysight’s expanded validation scope spans multiple 224G interconnect implementations and reach targets. The company listed coherent optical transceivers for data center interconnect applications with reach up to 120 km, fully retimed optical transceivers (FRO) for 500 m to 10 km applications, LPO for up to 500 m, and LRO for up to 2,000 m. On the copper side, it cited Active Electrical Cables (AECs) for intra-rack use up to 7–9 m, ACC for up to 3 m, and passive copper DAC for 1 m reaches.
That mix matters for data center engineers because the 1.6T move doesn’t just raise the top-line data rate—it forces tighter control over signal integrity and error performance across a growing variety of optical and copper media, each with different power, reach, and tuning tradeoffs. And once you’re tuning DSPs, retimers, and linear amplifiers for specific link budgets, system-level validation becomes the real gate: the assembled interconnect plus the actual endpoints it’s plugged into.
Keysight emphasized system-level, long-duration testing with interconnects connected to networking equipment such as GPUs, NICs, switches, and routers, describing this as validation beyond basic interoperability. Semtech’s Scott Schube, vice president of applications and business development for signal integrity products, said, “Semtech’s 224G linear redriver ICs are designed to support ACC deployments, and working alongside Keysight’s test infrastructure gives our customers confidence that these solutions perform reliably in real-world network environments.”
Keysight’s Ram Periakaruppan, vice president and general manager, network test and security solutions, said the second-generation 1.6T test capabilities are intended to address “the challenges presented by 224G interconnects for 1.6T-capable networks,” and pointed to work in IEEE802.3, OIF, the LPO-MSA, and membership in the ACC-MSA.
Source: Keysight
