STL has marked its entry into the AI-led Data Centre segment with a full-fledged demonstration of its integrated Optical cable, connectivity and interconnect offerings at the India Mobile Congress 2024. The Honourable Telecom Minister, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, inaugurated this Make-in-India AI-DC portfolio.
Commenting on the linkage between Artificial Intelligence, Data Centres, and Fibre Connectivity, the Telecom Minister said, “STL’s AI-led Data Centre portfolio is a significant innovation for the AI ecosystem and will also strengthen India’s data centre capabilities.”
Only two years hence, 200 million ChatGPT users are generating 1.6 billion AI queries per month. By 2025, these users are expected to exceed a billion. This technology marvel is a two-way-looking glass. While Artificial Intelligence models are at the front end, the backend infrastructure— which is the AI-led data centres—rides on Optical fibre connectivity. As data centres transition to GPU-based servers, the demand for fibre optic infrastructure between and inside the data centres will surge dramatically.
India has come up as one of the biggest hubs for data centre ecosystems in general. As per initial estimates, India is expected to boost its GPU-based server capacity in these AI-led data centres to nearly 5.2 Lakh GPUs by 2026. These GPU-heavy data centres will require 36x more fibre than CPU racks, driven by an increase in server density and higher bandwidth requirements. They will also require more compact, high-density optical fibre cables (with ~70% more fibre) than traditional data centres.
As a homegrown, globally recognised Optical expert, STL has developed a sophisticated, integrated portfolio to cater to the unique cabling needs of GPU-dense data centres. Optical fibre cabling in AI data centres must deliver high bandwidth, low latency, and high density to meet the volume and complexity of AI workloads.
“The linkage between AI, Data Centres and Optical Fibre forms the holy trinity of future connectivity. We have been deeply involved in building a suite of products that fit right into the most dense connectivity environments ever created,” said Ankit Agarwal, Managing Director and CEO Optical Business, STL. He further added, “We are excited to showcase our Make in India AI-DC portfolio to our customers and believe that this will serve as a one-stop solution for their data centre cabling needs.”
IBR cabling technology sets the benchmark fibre densification, and they will form the backbone of AI-data centre connectivity, said Dr Badri Gomatam, CTO, STL. “Our credentials in the IBR technology, along with our Optical connectivity capability, place us in a great position to build and commercialise this portfolio”, he further explained.
STL’s Intelligently Bonded Ribbon (IBR) cable technology is the engine behind fibre densification in AI data centres. STL was the second in the world and the first in India to offer mainstream high-density IBR optical products. The company’s flagship AI-DC portfolio, designed for accelerated computing, is strongly anchored in its IBR optical cables and bolstered with a suite of data centre-specific connectivity products like connectors, patch-cords, fibre distribution and management systems, racks, cabinets, and servers. These products include:
- High-density Optical Fibre cables – Celesta Ribbon cable with its Intelligently Bonded Ribbon (IBR) technology in 250-micron and 200-micron fibre. These cables utilise high-performance G.657.A2 bend-insensitive/Stellar optical fibre and feature a Low Smoke and Zero Halogen (LSZH) flame-retardant (FR) jacket. The Celesta with 6912F enables high fibre packing density in ducts, resulting in a lower TCO.
- High-density Connectivity solutions – for establishing end-to-end connectivity. These include floor-mount racks, high-density MPO panels that can accommodate up to 864 fibres in 2RU and 1728 fibres in 5RU, New Pivoting Tray Drawer (nPTD), high-density LC panels, patch panels and copper connectivity solutions.
