As capacity requirements for data center networks (DCNs) in public and private clouds increase, copper-based electrical links are being phased out in favor of fiber-optic links. For example, in DCNs with link capacities of 10 Gbps or higher, switch-to-switch links are generally optical. In some cases, electrical links may remain between servers and top-of-rack (ToR) switches.
An optical link in a data center may comprise transceivers at each end of the optical link, which are connected via optical fiber. The transceivers may plug into switches or servers and convert signals between optical and electrical domains.
Generally, links of a data center have a relatively high degree of reliability resulting from overprovisioning of the optical layer by current manufacturing and design practices. For example, transceivers may be manufactured to a stringent requirement based on worst-case assumptions about anticipated operating conditions (e.g., the amount of signal loss or corruption due to connectors in a data center). Such overprovisioning may result in equipment costs that are larger than necessary while adding little or no benefit to operating performance.