6–7 Jul 2026
The Brewery
Europe/London timezone

Which in my switch? LPO, CPO, XPO optics. What are they, when to use

6 Jul 2026, 17:05
30m
The Porter Tun (1st Floor) (The Brewery)

The Porter Tun (1st Floor)

The Brewery

52 Chiswell Street London EC1Y 4SA What3Words: ///guilty.rabble.books
Standard Presentation Main Session NetUK3 Plenary

Speaker

Dr Robert Friskney (Arista)

Description

I will first detail what LPO (linear-drive pluggable optics) are versus traditional pluggables, and contrast CPO (co-packaged optics) with this, and their respective practical benefits such as cost, latency, power. I will talk about switch/routing use-cases where LPO wins over traditional pluggables today and vice versa - plus how this will evolve as port data-rates increase. Then I will talk about possible future evolution to much higher density with CPO and the benefits and challenges this brings, plus the alternative approach of XPO (extra-dense pluggable optics).

Summary

Review of how the latest optics formats - LPO, CPO, XPO - work, with their practical benefits, and which work where.

Note: Committee member Dave Wilson saw a highly informal version of this presentation at Net.Ldn on 14th May and invited me to reprise it - and some of the topics that came up in Q&A - at NetUK3.

Talk Duration 25 Minutes Presentation (+5 Minutes Q&A)
Can your presentation be broadcast live on our webcast, which will be accessible via Youtube? Yes
Can your presentation slides be published publicly on our Indico instance and the NetUK website? Yes
Can a recording of your presentation be published publicly on our website? Yes
Can a recording of your presentation be uploaded to our public YouTube channel? Yes
Do you consent for us to publish your name and affiliation as a Speaker on the NetUK website and Social Media? Yes

Author

Dr Robert Friskney (Arista)

Presentation materials