Cisco and NVIDIA unveil USFP optical module plan: 4x bandwidth density
shashib · x · 2026-10-19
Cisco and NVIDIA published plans for USFP (Ultra-Dense Small Form Factor Pluggable), a new optical module targeting the network bottleneck in AI data centers:
- 400G per electrical lane; first modules use 16 full-duplex lanes for 6.4 Tb in an OSFP-sized package, with a path to 32 lanes / 12.8 Tb
- That's 4x the bandwidth density of today's 8x200G = 1.6 Tb OSFP modules
- Hot-swappable, fewer network layers, more connections without extra switches
- Design targets only — no ship date, and new switch cages are required
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