The worldwide data center market reached nearly $350 billion in 2024, with an annual growth rate of more than 10%. With AI, video streaming, mobile gaming, and cloud applications, the demand for high-speed and hyperscale data centers has increased significantly. Technology advancements like Active Electrical Cables are critical for enterprises to stay ahead of the curve. This guide explains how AEC works and why it’s ideal for data center networking.
What Are Active Electrical Cables?
An Active Electrical Cable is a high-performance copper Ethernet cable with integrated amplification and signal integrity technology. Forward error correction and clock data recovery mean that AECs support high-speed networking, gearboxing, and port breakouts. This versatility is one reason why Active Electrical Cables are quickly becoming the go-to connector type for midsize, large, and hyperscale data centers.
Active Vs. Passive Cable Technology
At first glance, the design of AEC connectors looks similar to conventional Direct Attach Cables. Both types of Ethernet cable have a copper core and work well for short-range connectivity.
The key difference between DAC and AEC comes down to passive versus active. DACs are high-quality, functional, and durable copper cables, but the passive design means what you see is what you get for signal fidelity. AECs have electronic circuits to enhance signal quality, which requires active power.
Industries and Applications for AEC
AEC technology is almost exclusively used in high-speed data centers. Active cables are a smart investment for technology applications in many industries:
- AI development and deployment firms
- SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, and cloud computing providers
- ISPs
- Universities and research centers
- Payment gateways and processors
- Finance and investment companies
Maintaining signal quality and high transmission rates is a must for large on-prem, hybrid, and multi-cloud operations. AEC offers excellent flexibility and range for data center architecture, allowing organizations to design customized connectivity solutions.
How Does an Active Electrical Cable Work?
To understand how AEC works, it’s necessary to understand why this technology exists in the first place. Data center networks have to process immense volumes of information. But as the upper limit of data transfer rates heads toward the terabit range, traditional Ethernet cables can become unexpected bottlenecks.
No electronic signal moves perfectly through cabling. There is always some resistance, crosstalk, and interference. The further the data needs to travel, the more the signal degrades. This is why 100G DACs max out at around 15 feet, and 400G DACs are only about six feet long.
AEC technology is a solution to this inherent problem of signal degradation in high-speed networking. Instead of needing to use countless repeaters, AEC embeds FEC into the network cables themselves. This way, data centers get exceptional signal quality with minimal hardware.
Components of AEC Connections
On the technical side, AECs work with the help of several innovations. Most of the time, enterprises purchase pluggable cables that interface seamlessly with host modules, such as switches or network interface cards. An Active Electrical Cable consists of:
- Chip-to-module link: Chipsets give AEC connectors their pluggable functionality.
- CDR retimer: Clock and data recovery retimers transmit a clean version of the original signal for improved fidelity.
- Gearbox(es): Some AEC cables include gearboxes to interface with different transmission speeds and formats, such as PAM4 to NRZ.
- Line link: Cable line links support fixed or multidirectional functionality, including breakouts for seamless redirection.
CDR retimers are not the same as signal redrivers. A retimer “refreshes” network signals, reclocking the data and transmitting a new copy. On the other hand, redrivers merely amplify the existing signal, often sending jitter along, too.
What Are the Advantages of Active Electrical Cables?
Active electrical cables have pros and cons. One downside is the need for power. Unlike DAC cables, AECs consume more power, and this can add up in hyperscale environments. That said, for many enterprises, the benefits outweigh the costs.
Enhanced Signal Quality
Data transfer speed isn’t the only factor that determines the best cables for data center infrastructure. Network stability, platform uptime, and packet loss also play a part. AECs cost more than DACs, but they also provide a major boost in signal quality.
Data Center Airflow
One of the biggest advantages of AEC versus DAC is that the improved signal quality allows for much smaller cable diameters. As data centers target 800G and 16 channels, cable diameter becomes increasingly important. Instead of a bulky cluster of DAC cables that interrupt airflow and contribute to overheating, organizations can keep racks cool and streamlined with AECs.
Cable Management
Smaller, more compact cable bundles are easier for IT technicians to manage. Network design, system maintenance, hardware repairs, and cable replacements all benefit.
Deployable Distance
Another key advantage of using AEC Ethernet cables is that they provide approximately double the data transmission distance compared to DACs. For a 400G network, AECs can easily surpass 20 feet (7 meters) with excellent signal quality, compared with 5 to 9 feet (1.5 meters to 3 meters) with passive DACs.
Future Focus
The low cost and energy efficiency benefits of DACs is hard to resist, but data centers that aim to increase processing capacity need to plan for the future. Data transmission rates of 800G or higher will make passive DACs impractical. AECs (and optical cables) are the future.
What Are the Differences Between AEC, ACC, and AOC?
IT professionals often ask about the differences between AEC, ACC, and AOC connectors. All three options are active cables, but they have unique benefits:
- ACC: Active Copper Cables provide signal amplification with Continuous Time Liner Equalization, but no CDR retimer or jitter reduction. Energy usage and cable cost are typically lower.
- AEC: AEC balances cost with improved signal performance, mid-range transmission distance, and excellent reliability.
- AOC: Active Optical Cables support transmission distances of nearly 1,000 feet (up to 300 meters), along with superior data transfer speeds and performance boosts. Optical cables and hardware cost more, however.
Put simply, AECs sit perfectly in the middle in terms of cost, power consumption, signal quality, and connection distance.
High-Performance Active Electrical Cables for Data Centers
Active electrical cables are an ideal choice for enterprises that are adopting 400G networks or laying the foundation for 800G data processing. At Equal Optics, we stock a wide range of high-quality optical and copper cables for every area of data center operations. Browse high-performance AEC cables that are compatible with Cisco, Juniper, and other OEM systems.
