Scalable-bandwidth aggregation for rack-scale servers

1. A scalable-bandwidth aggregation box for rack-scale servers, the scalable-bandwidth aggregation box comprising:

a housing comprising a faceplate, a body mountable to a server rack, guide rails, and an attachment mechanism for mounting the body to the server rack;

a scalable-bandwidth electrical connector on the faceplate;

a printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within the housing and comprising a first connector;

a plurality of signal lines coupling the scalable-bandwidth electrical connector on the faceplate to the first connector; and

a serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module removably disposed in the housing, wherein the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module comprises:

a module faceplate,

a scalable-bandwidth optical connector on the module faceplate,

a module connector for coupling to the first connector, and

signal conversion circuitry that converts a first electrical signal to a corresponding first optical signal and couples the scalable-bandwidth optical connector to the module connector;

wherein the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module is disposed in the housing by sliding the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module along the guide rails of the housing.

2. The scalable-bandwidth aggregation box of claim 1 , wherein the signal conversion circuitry is configured to:

convert a second optical signal received through the scalable-bandwidth optical connector to a corresponding second electrical signal for transmission through the scalable-bandwidth electrical connector;

wherein convert the first electrical signal is received through the scalable-bandwidth electrical connector and the first optical signal is for transmission through the scalable-bandwidth optical connector.

3. The scalable-bandwidth aggregation box of claim 1 , wherein, when the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module is installed in the scalable-bandwidth aggregation box, the module faceplate is disposed in a parallel plane with the faceplate of the housing.

4. The scalable-bandwidth aggregation box of claim 1 , wherein the attachment mechanism is configured to mount the body of the housing within a U-space of the server rack or in an interior zero-U space of the server rack.

5. The scalable-bandwidth aggregation box of claim 1 , wherein the first connector comprises a card-edge connector.

6. The scalable-bandwidth aggregation box of claim 1 , wherein the signal conversion circuitry is configured to support multi-link gearbox functionality.

7. The scalable-bandwidth aggregation box of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of signal lines comprises a twin-axial cable or a trace on the PCB.

8. The scalable-bandwidth aggregation box of claim 1 , wherein the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module further comprises:

a plurality of additional scalable-bandwidth optical connectors on the module faceplate; and

a plurality of additional scalable-bandwidth electrical connectors on the faceplate.

9. The scalable-bandwidth aggregation box of claim 8 , wherein each of the scalable-bandwidth optical connectors is a bifurcatable optical connector, and wherein each of the scalable-bandwidth electrical connectors is a bifurcatable electrical connector.

10. A system, comprising:

a server rack configured to receive a plurality of servers; and

a scalable-bandwidth aggregation box mounted to the server rack, the scalable-bandwidth aggregation box comprising:

a housing having a faceplate and guide rails;

a scalable-bandwidth electrical connector on the faceplate;

a printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within the housing and comprising a first connector;

a plurality of signal lines coupling the scalable-bandwidth electrical connector on the faceplate to the first connector; and

a serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module removably disposed in the housing, wherein the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module comprises:

a module faceplate,

a scalable-bandwidth optical connector on the module faceplate,

a module connector for coupling to the first connector, and

signal conversion circuitry that converts an electrical signal to a corresponding optical signal and couples the scalable-bandwidth optical connector to the module connector;

wherein the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module is disposed in the housing by sliding the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module along the guide rails of the housing.

11. The system of claim 10 , further comprising at least one server of the plurality of servers mounted in a U-space of the server rack and coupled, via the scalable-bandwidth electrical connector, to the scalable-bandwidth aggregation box.

12. The system of claim 11 , further comprising an electrical cable that couples the at least one server to the scalable-bandwidth electrical connector.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the electrical cable is a bifurcated electrical cable having multiple branches coupled to the scalable-bandwidth electrical connector.

14. The system of claim 13 , further comprising a switch coupled, via the scalable-bandwidth optical connector, to the scalable-bandwidth aggregation box.

15. The system of claim 14 , further comprising an optical cable that couples the scalable-bandwidth optical connector to the switch.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the optical cable is a bifurcated optical cable having multiple branches coupled to the scalable-bandwidth optical connector.

17. An aggregation box for rack-scale servers, the aggregation box comprising:

a housing comprising guide rails and a faceplate with a scalable-bandwidth electrical connector;

a first connector;

a printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within the housing and comprising a second connector communicatively coupled to the first connector;

a plurality of signal lines coupling the scalable-bandwidth electrical connector to the first connector; and

a serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module removably disposed in the housing, wherein the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module comprises:

a module faceplate with a scalable-bandwidth optical connector,

a module connector for coupling to the first connector, and

signal conversion circuitry that converts an electrical signal to a corresponding optical signal and couples the scalable-bandwidth optical connector to the module connector;

wherein the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module is disposed in the housing by sliding the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module along the guide rails of the housing.

18. The aggregation box of claim 17 , wherein the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module further comprises a signal line between the first connector and the second connector.

19. An aggregation box for rack-scale servers, the aggregation box comprising:

a housing comprising guide rails;

a printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within the housing and comprising a first connector; and

a serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module removably disposed in the housing, wherein the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module comprises:

a module faceplate with a scalable-bandwidth optical connector and a scalable-bandwidth electrical connector,

a module PCB,

a module connector on the module printed circuit board for coupling to the first connector,

signal conversion circuitry that converts an electrical signal to a corresponding optical signal and is on the module printed circuit board, and

a plurality of signal lines coupled between the scalable-bandwidth electrical connector and the signal conversion circuitry;

wherein the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module is disposed in the housing by sliding the serviceable bandwidth-aggregation module along the guide rails of the housing.

20. The aggregation box of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of signal lines comprise a plurality of traces on the module PCB.