CPO optical modules put optical and electronic parts together. They make the signal path much shorter, from centimeters to millimeters. This can cut power use by up to half. CPO technology lets more data fit in. Today, data centers use a separate approach for optics and electronics, in which optical modules are connected to switches and routers through high-speed electrical interfaces. As data demands grow, these systems face limitations such as bandwidth constraints, latency issues, and space limitations. Traditional electrical interconnects and pluggable optical module technologies are approaching their performance limits when dealing with network speed demands of 800G, 1. However, it's worth noting that Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Arista and a long-standing visionary in data centre.
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