Arista introduces 12.8Tbps liquid-cooled XPO optics

New XPO pluggable optics module delivers record-breaking throughput and density for AI networking fabrics.

Mar. 12, 2026 at 7:05am

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Arista Networks has announced the formation of a multi-source agreement (MSA) for XPO, a revolutionary 12.8 Tbps liquid-cooled optics module that supports a front panel density of 204.8 Tbps per open compute rack unit, a 4X improvement compared to 1600G-OSFP optics. XPO was designed specifically to support AI networking including scale-up, scale-out, scale-across, and metro reach fabrics, offering innovations in throughput, density, cooling, and flexibility.

Why it matters

The unprecedented growth in AI fabric bandwidth and the transition to liquid cooling requires a new generation of pluggable optics modules. XPO solves this challenge by providing fundamental improvements in density, cooling capability and reliability for pluggable optics modules, enabling AI data centers to deliver 4X the front panel density compared to OSFP while preserving the configurability and serviceability of a pluggable optics module.

The details

The key innovations of the XPO module include: 1) Record-Breaking Throughput - Delivers 12.8 Tbps per pluggable module, 2) Unprecedented Rack Density - Achieves 204.8 Tbps per OCP rack unit, 3) Integrated Cold Plate - Capable of cooling up to 400W power per module, 4) Universality - Supports all industry optics standards as well as next-generation coherent-lite, slow&wide, copper, and RF-Microwave, and 5) Flexibility - Supports linear, half-retimed, or fully-retimed interface architectures.

  • The XPO MSA will debut at OFC 2026 in Los Angeles with live demonstrations.

The players

Arista Networks

An industry leader in data-driven, client-to-cloud networking for large AI, data center, campus, and routing environments.

Andreas Bechtolsheim

Chief Architect at Arista Networks.

Matthew Mattina

VP for AI Systems Architecture at Microsoft.

Sameh Boujelbene

Vice President of Dell'Oro Group.

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What they’re saying

“The unprecedented growth in AI fabric bandwidth and the transition to liquid cooling requires a new generation of pluggable optics modules. XPO solves this challenge by providing fundamental improvements in density, cooling capability and reliability for pluggable optics modules.”

— Andreas Bechtolsheim, Chief Architect (Arista Networks)

“XPO is an important milestone for the optical industry, extending the benefits of pluggable optics to the extreme bandwidth demands of AI scale-out and scale-up systems. Microsoft believes this specification can help establish a robust, broadly adopted form factor that enables a diverse optical ecosystem.”

— Matthew Mattina, VP for AI Systems Architecture (Microsoft)

“The XPO module is a breakthrough for AI data centers delivering 4X the front panel density compared to OSFP, while preserving the configurability and serviceability of a pluggable optics module. The success of any new optical form factor hinges on a strong ecosystem of suppliers and I am pleased to see XPO supported by all major optical module suppliers.”

— Sameh Boujelbene, Vice President (Dell'Oro Group)

What’s next

The XPO MSA will debut at OFC 2026 in Los Angeles with live demonstrations at the Arista booth 1571 (South Hall) and at many partner exhibits.

The takeaway

Arista's new XPO pluggable optics module represents a significant breakthrough in delivering the extreme bandwidth and density required for next-generation AI networking fabrics, with innovations in throughput, cooling, and flexibility that will enable a new era of AI-powered data centers.