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400G, 800G, and Terabit Pluggable Optics: What You Need to Know - BRKOPT-2699#

Cisco Live Europe 2026 (Amsterdam) digest Program Core pick Amsterdam · 9–13 February 2026

Abstract

Mark Nowell (Cisco), Errol Roberts (Cisco)

  • Why: The optics roadmap determines what DC and WAN fabrics can look like 2-3 years out — form factor, reach, power, and breakout capability constrain every topology decision. Nowell has long been one of the more credible voices on high-speed interconnect.
  • What: A forward-looking technical survey of pluggable optics: current 400G technologies and applications, next-gen form factors for 800G and 1.6T (including breakout use cases), the 800Gb/s and 1.6Tb/s Ethernet standardization efforts, and the state of co-packaged optics for integrating optical interfaces into ASICs (from abstract only).
  • How: Covers both coherent and noncoherent optics and frames developments around what is driving them and what must be prioritized for success — aimed at attendees who already deploy optical modules.
  • Where applicable: Broadly applicable to anyone specifying DC/WAN interconnect; the co-packaged portion is necessarily forward-looking and standards-dependent rather than deployable today.