Why HYBRID Architectures Outperform LRO in Real-World Systems—and Are Reshaping Short-Reach Interconnects in AI Data Centers
1. Introduction: AI and Data Center Short-Reach Interconnects Must Return to System Engineering Reality As AI and data center interconnects accelerate toward 800G and 1.6T, short-reach optical connectivity is no longer a question of power optimization alone. It has evolved into a system-level engineering challenge, encompassing port density, thermal design, link stability, and large-scale deployability. […]









