Neither co-packaged optics (CPO) nor linear pluggable optics (LPO) is the right choice for every AI network. LPO keeps optics in replaceable front-panel modules while removing their DSP and clock-data recovery, so it can reduce module power and latency—but only if the host SerDes and analog link maintain the required signal quality. CPO moves optical engines close to or into the switch package, shortening high-speed electrical paths and enabling high bandwidth density, at the cost of tighter integration and more demanding thermal, reliability, and repair requirements. Choose by testing the complete switch-and-link design against its reach, power, error, cooling, interoperability, and service needs—not by comparing an isolated module or optical engine.
What is the difference between CPO and LPO?
The difference is where optical conversion happens and how much signal conditioning sits between the switch ASIC and the optical link. In a conventional pluggable design, a front-panel transceiver contains photonics and electrical circuitry, typically including a digital signal processor (DSP) that equalizes transmit and receive signals. LPO retains the pluggable module but removes its DSP and clock-data recovery (CDR). The host switch ASIC, driver, and transimpedance amplifier (TIA) take on more responsibility for the electrical signal.
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CPO brings optical engines into the switch package or places them alongside the switch ASIC, depending on the design. That reduces the distance high-speed electrical signals must travel before optical conversion. It also couples optical components more closely to the switch’s packaging, thermal design, manufacturing, and service model. The IEEE 802.3 contribution from May 2026 describes the change as shortening electrical paths from tens of centimeters to millimeters; that is an architectural comparison, not a guaranteed measurement for every implementation.
Neither name describes a complete network on its own. Reach, lane rate, modulation, host SerDes capabilities, optical components, cooling, and link design all affect whether a specific implementation works and what it costs to operate.
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Where LRO fits
Linear receive optics (LRO) are a related middle ground, not a synonym for LPO. LRO removes DSP on the receive side while retaining transmit-side DSP. That can improve reach and interoperability compared with fully linear LPO, but it gives up some of LPO’s potential power efficiency.
How do the architectures compare?
| Decision factor | LPO | CPO |
|---|---|---|
| Optics location and signal path | Optics remain in a front-panel module. Removing module DSP/CDR leaves more signal conditioning to the host and analog components. | Optical engines sit close to or within the ASIC package, reducing the electrical distance to optical conversion. |
| Power and latency | Can reduce module power and DSP latency. Actual system savings depend on the host implementation and link conditions. | Can reduce electrical-link losses and the need for retiming or equalization. Savings depend on the design and the system boundary used for measurement. |
| Reach and signal margin | Removing DSP equalization raises concerns about reach and bit-error rate (BER). Validate the actual channel and SerDes performance. | Shorter electrical traces help signaling integrity, but optical reach and complete link performance remain implementation-specific. |
| Serviceability | Front-panel modules remain hot-swappable and replaceable. | Tighter integration can make a failed optical component harder to replace and may raise switch-level repair costs. |
| Thermal and reliability work | Uses a familiar pluggable topology, but module-level thermal and reliability still need validation. | Requires particular attention to thermal coupling, packaging, manufacturing yield, and reliability. |
| Interoperability and maturity | Standards and ecosystem alignment are developing; confirm compatibility across the host and module. | System-level integration and interoperability are also concerns; qualification depends on the platform and ecosystem. |
| Best-fit question | Can this host SerDes and channel meet reach, signal-quality, power, and service goals without module DSP? | Does the density and shorter electrical path justify deeper integration and its thermal and repair model? |
The comparison is architectural, not a guarantee about every product. An IEEE Photonics Technical Committee overview identifies reduced transmission distance from higher BER risk, limited standards definition, and compatibility challenges with 200G SerDes as LPO concerns. The same overview notes that the pluggable form factor preserves servicing and hot swapping. For CPO, McKinsey’s 2025 analysis identifies reliability, thermal management, interoperability, and repairability as challenges.
Does CPO use less power than LPO?
It can, but an isolated wattage figure is not enough to establish which architecture consumes less power in an operating network. A fair comparison needs the same link rate, reach, traffic conditions, and system boundary. It should account for the switch ASIC and host SerDes, optical components, any retimers, and the cooling required by the platform. A module-only measurement can miss power used elsewhere in the system; an optical-engine figure cannot be treated as the power of a complete switch link.
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An IEEE 802.3 contribution from May 2026 cites an example of about 15 W for DSP-based 800G pluggables and about 5 W for CPO, attributing the figures to Meta at ECOC 2025 and ASE 2025. These are attributed examples, not a controlled, universal LPO-versus-CPO comparison. They do not establish what a particular CPO switch or LPO link will draw under your operating conditions.
Other large energy figures need similar care. A 2025 McKinsey report projects that CPO could reduce data-center energy consumption by up to 30%; this is a potential upper-bound projection, not a measured or guaranteed saving for a deployment. The May 2026 IEEE 802.3 contribution also cites a scenario involving a 200,000-GPU cluster with 435 MW of IT power and 17 MW attributed to optical transceivers. That is a cited scenario, not a general statistic for all clusters.
The broader efficiency context is real, but it does not settle the architecture choice. An IEEE Photonics Technical Committee overview reproduces a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory figure of 4.4% of total U.S. electricity consumption for data centers in 2023, from a 2024 report, and a projection range of 6.7% to 12% by 2028. Those figures concern U.S. data centers overall, not the share used by optics or a direct CPO-versus-LPO comparison. The IEEE Communications Society President’s Page in September 2025 frames 100G PAM4 datacom optics at 20 pJ/bit, with a goal of 5 pJ/bit or less. It also gives a current interconnect share of 1% of data-center power and projects 5–10% absent new approaches. These are that article’s framing and projection, not controlled measurements comparing LPO with CPO.
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When is LPO the better fit?
LPO is a strong candidate when keeping field-replaceable front-panel optics matters and the host platform can operate the link without module DSP/CDR. Its value is not simply that a module might consume less power: the network must retain adequate signal quality and reach without shifting an unacceptable burden to the switch’s SerDes and analog components.
Choose LPO when these conditions hold
- Hot-swapping or replacing an optical module without replacing or servicing the switch is important to operations.
- The actual ASIC/SerDes, driver, TIA, module, and channel have been validated together at the intended lane rate and reach.
- Measured BER and signal margin meet the network’s requirements under the expected thermal and workload conditions.
- Interoperability, standards compliance, and the support path for the intended host and module are confirmed.
- System-level power and latency measurements show a useful gain after including the host-side signal-conditioning burden.
Removing DSP shifts work rather than making it disappear. LPO can expose the link to reduced reach or higher BER when the channel and host are not well matched. The IEEE Photonics Technical Committee overview also notes that LPO standards are not well defined and that compatibility with 200G SerDes can be difficult. Treat a paper specification or a successful short test as insufficient evidence for a deployed link: confirm the complete intended configuration and test its stability under realistic operating conditions.
When is CPO the better fit?
CPO is worth evaluating when switch-level bandwidth density or the electrical path between ASIC and optics is a major design constraint. Bringing optical conversion close to the switch silicon can reduce that electrical distance, which helps signaling integrity. The potential benefit has to be weighed against co-design demands and the consequences of integrating optics more deeply into the switch platform.
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Choose CPO when the platform can support the integration
- The switch design is constrained by bandwidth density or high-speed electrical reach.
- The operator and platform provider can manage thermal gradients and the interaction between optical engines, electronics, and package.
- Manufacturing yield, package reliability, supply, qualification, and interoperability are acceptable for the intended deployment.
- Repair procedures and replacement costs for an integrated optical component fit the network’s availability model.
- End-to-end power measurements include the complete switch and fabric, rather than just the optical engine.
CPO is not automatically a longer-reach optical solution just because its electrical traces are shorter. The optical reach and full link budget remain implementation-specific. Nor does a short electrical path remove the need to align electrical and optical domains: the IEEE 802.3 contribution explains that without a retimer, rate and modulation must align across those domains. The platform must be designed and qualified accordingly.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are CPO optics replaceable?
They are less straightforward to service than an independently replaceable front-panel module. CPO integrates optical engines into or close to the switch package, so a failed optical component can be harder to replace and may require switch-level repair. The exact replacement process depends on the implementation; there is no single service procedure that applies to every CPO platform.
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For LPO, the module remains pluggable, preserving hot swapping and module-level replacement. This operational advantage can matter more than a small component-level power difference where rapid field service is a priority. Conversely, if the application places a high value on density and the operator accepts a more integrated repair model, CPO’s service trade-off may be manageable. Compare actual replacement procedures, spare strategy, downtime implications, and repair costs for the platform under consideration.
How should you evaluate an AI-network deployment?
Use a system-level comparison with the same workload and link requirements for both candidates. The objective is not to select the architecture with the best isolated figure; it is to determine whether the complete fabric meets performance and operations goals at an acceptable cost.
- Define the link requirements. Record the required link rate, lane rate, modulation, reach, traffic conditions, error budget, port density, and availability target. Include the actual cable or optical path and the endpoints that must interoperate.
- Confirm platform compatibility. For LPO, verify that the host ASIC/SerDes and analog components can support the DSP-free module at the required reach and signal quality. For CPO, confirm the switch platform’s optical-engine integration, electrical-to-optical rate and modulation alignment, cooling, and interoperability qualifications.
- Measure the complete system. Compare power at the same link rate, reach, and traffic conditions. State the measurement boundary and include host SerDes, retimers where present, optics, and relevant cooling. Measure latency and error performance alongside power so a reduction in one metric does not conceal a failure in another.
- Test operating conditions. Validate BER, signal margin, and stability under realistic thermal and workload conditions. Document the tested host, module or optical engine, link, and software or platform configuration so that qualification applies to the configuration actually deployed.
- Price the service model. Compare module replacement with switch-level repair, including replacement procedure, spare strategy, downtime, and platform-level costs. Do not treat component price as total cost of ownership.
- Make the choice against the fabric objective. Favor LPO if proven DSP-free operation and modular service meet the requirements. Favor CPO if density or electrical-path constraints justify its integration and the platform can support its thermal, manufacturing, and repair needs. If neither passes the same qualification criteria, neither is ready for that deployment.
What should a fair comparison report include?
Before accepting a vendor or working-group claim, check what was measured and what was left outside the measurement. The IEEE 802.3 contribution specifically calls for system-level comparisons and describes cases where retimers handle rate adaptation and modulation mapping. A result that includes a retimer on one side but excludes its role or power on the other is not a like-for-like architecture comparison.
- Configuration: host ASIC and SerDes, optics, lane rate, modulation, reach, and any retimers or other signal-conditioning components.
- Conditions: traffic and workload, thermal state, error-performance method, and whether the result is measured on a component, link, switch, or fabric.
- Outcomes: power, latency, BER or other error results, port density, cooling requirements, and interoperability.
- Operations: module or switch replacement procedure, repairability, qualification status, and total cost of ownership.
- Evidence scope: whether a number is an independently measured result, an attributed example, a target, or a projection.
Which is right for your network?
There is no universal winner. For a network that values replaceable modules, LPO is a sensible candidate only when the host SerDes and full analog channel meet the required reach and signal-quality targets without module DSP. For a network constrained by switch bandwidth density or high-speed electrical reach, CPO may be a better architectural fit if the platform can handle its integration, thermal, reliability, interoperability, manufacturing, and service requirements.
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Make the decision with matched system measurements and a deployment-specific service plan. A power figure or architectural promise is not a substitute for validating the actual switch, link, reach, cooling, error budget, and repair model.
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