Ethan Banks of The Peering Introvert writes:

Anyone who’s priced out data center plumbing, so to speak, knows that while not exciting, it can be quite expensive. Fiber optic cable comes in a variety of glass diameters and grades; 10GbE plus specifies OM3 or higher graded multimode fiber for short haul use — not cheap. Transceivers to send light across this fiber, especially when Cisco branded, are reassuringly expensive; the higher the bandwidth and the longer the distance required, the pricier the module.

One of the most unheralded announcements at ACI gets a great writeup from Ethan. 40GigE over a single pair of multimode fiber is nothing to sneeze at. The genius of it? Read on to find out.

Read more: 40GbE Over A Single MMF Pair? With QSFP-40G-SR-BD, You Can