Meet the Connector: Hard Metric Connectors Hard metric connectors are a highly standardized, high-density solution for high-speed data and power transmission. The term “hard metric” refers to the exclusive use of standard metric measurements, as opposed to “soft metric” components that use metric dimensions converted from inch measurements. The highly standardized hard metric connectors areRead More

The annual Top 10 series from Bishop & Associates identifies the leading connector companies by world connector sales, geographic region, markets served, and products manufactured. This week: The top 10 companies by product types. Selecting your connector company partner can be difficult and complicated. This is especially true with over 1,000 connector manufacturers globally toRead More

The industrial and commercial equipment market is undergoing a fundamental transformation as electrification moves from the automotive sector into construction, landscaping, logistics, and maintenance equipment. Small, engine-powered equipment is transitioning to electric power. While the electric vehicle transition is progressing unevenly, with some countries pulling back and others moving forward, the same technology is findingRead More

Much of the computing equipment world — and particularly data centers — dedicated to artificial intelligence workloads have a problem. They eat too much electrical energy, generate too much heat, and consume inordinate amounts of water. Communities that once welcomed the construction of a data center now question whether the local infrastructure can support theRead More

The arrival of the single-pair Ethernet (SPE) interface marked a significant advancement in industrial connectivity. The new interface reduced wiring, power, and complexity while setting the stage for new technologies, including AI, to become part of factory, building management, automotive, and IoT systems. Now the two organizations that separately championed the interface have joined forces.Read More

As data center infrastructures upgrade to transition to higher bandwidths, LPOs are emerging as a promising solution to enable faster, more energy-efficient, and cost-effective optical connectivity. A few days before the OFC 2025 optical networking conference, the LPO MSA (Linear Pluggable Optics Multi-Source Agreement) Group announced the completion of the 100 Gb/s per lane Linear Pluggable OpticsRead More

OSFP-XD pluggables are targeting AI applications in data centers, high-performance computing (HPC), and select telecom networks. Connectors designed to transfer information in and out of a server, switch, or router have long been recognized as a potential data bottleneck. Processing chips often spend half their time waiting to receive information necessary to function, resulting inRead More

Getting faster transmission through interconnects is not as simple as just turning up the speed with a dial. It requires adjustments to signal modulation and SerDes technology, as well as advancements in interconnectivity and IC packaging. Since networking equipment operating at 100G, 200G, and 400G total data rate per port has become ubiquitous, network systemRead More

Meet the Connector: SAS Connectors SAS connectors are used for high-speed, reliable data transfer in high-speed storage applications. SAS connectors are rectangular connectors used for high-speed, reliable data transfer in high-speed storage applications. SAS supports both serial and parallel communication and can be backward compatible with SAS 1.0 and 2.0 devices. SAS is a point-to-pointRead More

This week’s Product Roundup highlights cable management equipment and accessories from leading connector manufacturers and suppliers. Cable Management Equipment and Accessories PEI-Genesis stocks HellermannTyton’s line of identification cable ties. These cable ties can be easily applied by hand or with a HellermannTyton tension tool and feature a flat nameplate area to label wire and cableRead More

Cable backplanes have been a longtime feature of high-performance computing, undergoing several evolutions to keep up with speed and bandwidth requirements. However, as next-generation AI computing systems take hold, the practical limits of copper have been reached, pushing connector suppliers to create products that include optical solutions. Traditional backplane and daughtercard design has been aRead More

Meet the Cable: Ribbon or Flat Cable Ribbon cables, also known as flat or planar cables, feature a row of conductive wires running in parallel within a wide, flat, ribbon-shaped cable substrate. Ribbon cable can be folded and bent, providing great design flexibility. The ribbon cable was invented in 1956 by the Cicoil Corporation (aRead More