HiWire Consortium, an active cable standardization and certification alliance, is established

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Credo today announced the formation of the HiWire Consortium ( https://hiwire.org/ ), an alliance dedicated to the standardization and certification of new active electrical cables (AECs).

As the market moves toward 400G and higher bandwidths, HiWire AEC provides a complete solution for Layer 1 and Layer 2 interconnects, delivering the persistent and deterministic connectivity solutions necessary for next-generation data centers.

HiWire Consortium founding members include the following companies:

Accton Technology Corp. (TPE: 2345), Alpha Networks, Inc. (TPE: 3380), Arrcus, Inc., Bizlink Technology, Inc. (TPE: 3665), Cameo Communications (TPE: 6142), Zhejiang Canaan Technology Co. Ltd. (SHE: 300412), Centec Networks, Inc., Chelsio Communications, Inc., Credo, Dell EMC Corp. (NYSE: DELL), Delta Electronics, Inc. (TPE: 2308), Edom Technology Co, Ltd., Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co., Ltd (Foxlink) (TPE: 2392), Innovium, Inc., Barefoot Networks (an Intel Company) (NASDAQ: INTC), Inventec Corporation (TPE: 2356), Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR), Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), Quanta, Inc. (TPE: 2382), Senao International Co Ltd (TPE: 2450), Spirent Communication Plc (OTCMKTS: SPMYY), Steligent Information Technologies Co., Ltd., Wistron Corporation (TPE: 3231), Wistron NeWeb Corp (WNC) (TPE: 6285), Wywinn Corporation (TPE: 6669).

HiWire Consortium is committed to establishing and continuously developing AEC standards, which define the specific implementation methods and formal certification processes of many industry multi-source agreements (MSAs). This will provide a multi-source and reliable plug-and-play AEC ecosystem for the hyperscale data center, telecommunications and enterprise markets.

 “We are pleased and humbled by the broad support for Credo and the HiWire Consortium,” said Bill Brennan, CEO of Credo. “The founding members are eager for thinner, longer, more reliable interconnect solutions. This consortium provides the framework to enable robust interoperable solutions for the advancement of bandwidth to 400G and beyond.”

 “As new high-performance software workloads enter the network, having reliable and cost-effective 400G interconnect solutions is critical,” said Ed Doe, vice president of Intel’s Connectivity Group and general manager of the Barefoot division. “The HiWire Consortium will go beyond multi-source agreements and provide data centers with what they desire most – truly interoperable interconnect solutions from multiple vendors, which will accelerate deployment of our 12.8 Tbps P4 programmable Barefoot Ethernet switch family.”

 “400G Ethernet represents a very challenging transition for the networking industry,” said Bob Wheeler, principal analyst at The Linley Group. “Creating specific implementation methodologies and formal certification processes across the industry’s many multi-source agreements and standards is key to bringing all the resources together to achieve reliable cabling solutions.”

HiWire Consortium members will collaborate to develop and formally define HiWire AEC product specifications and certification processes and third-party certification laboratories to achieve full interoperability of AECs from multiple sources. For more information about HiWire Consortium, please refer to https://hiwire.org/

Industry Voice

1. ODM members

● Accton Technology

"Accton has been an early adopter of HiWire AEC cables to support reliable interconnects and enable our customers' deployments in 12.8Tb switches," said Michael Lane, Vice President of R&D Engineering. "The HiWire Consortium will ensure a robust and interoperable AEC cable ecosystem to support our expansion to 400G."

● Delta Electronics

"AEC Cables offer unparalleled value compared to 400G fiber solutions," said Dennis Chao, senior director of marketing at Delta Electronics. "Joining the HiWire Consortium as a founding member enables us to define an interoperability standard that will significantly reduce our future certification costs."

● QCT Quanta Group

"HiWire AEC cables are key to enabling our 400G portfolio and interconnecting with legacy NRZ switches and NICs," said Mike Yang, senior vice president of Quanta Group and president of Quanta Computer Technology (QCT). "We are pleased to see the HiWire Consortium taking the lead on interoperability issues and helping QCT more easily meet the needs of our diverse AEC suppliers."

2. OEM / Silicon Members

● Centec Networks

"Reliable and cost-effective 400G interconnects are key to the success of 12.8Tb switches," said Wei Cheng, technical marketing director at Centec Networks. "HiWire AEC provides reliable and cost-effective solutions to drive 400G deployment in China, and the HiWire Consortium is key to developing a broad, interoperable supply source to support our massive demand for 12.8T."

● Chelsio Communications
"Smart NICs have become a necessity for scalability in the data center, but bridging the various NIC and switch interconnects has become a challenge for our customers," said Kianoosh Naghshineh, president and CEO of Chelsio Communications. "Standardizing HiWire AEC's variable speed technology through the HiWire Consortium will enable NICs and switches to function throughout their lifecycle and provide our customers with maximum choice."

● Juniper Networks

“The 400G advancements in the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet working group and module MSA groups provide the functionality needed for interoperable interconnects, but the potential for configuration errors remains,” said Jeffery J. Maki, Distinguished Engineer II, Juniper Networks. “The HiWire Consortium’s focus on building the specification and the corresponding certification framework will be key to ensuring ‘plug and play’ functionality.”

● Innovium

“Innovium offers the industry’s first programmable low-latency PAM4 switch silicon with performance up to 12.8Tbps and has undergone extensive interoperability testing with different connectivity options,” said Amit Sanyal, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Innovium. “It is important for the industry to provide reliable, deterministic, multi-source, plug-and-play connectivity solutions. We look forward to working with the HiWire Consortium to develop the AEC standards and certification process.”

3. Testing and Verification Members

● Keysight Technologies

"Our customers are looking for consistency and interoperability with 400GE cable products," said Charles Seifert, senior manager of product development at Keysight Technologies. "Keysight is excited to collaborate with other HiWire Consortium members to improve interoperability today and validate future specifications and products through our portfolio of test equipment."

● Steligent

“400G and PAM4 are a difficult transition for the networking industry, requiring more system certification work than with older standards,” said Semin Wu, CEO of Steligent. “The HiWire Consortium will help build confidence in the 400G ecosystem and enable unprecedented interoperability.”