Open OCS to deliver high-performance AI Cluster Networking
The Open Compute Project Foundation (OCP), the nonprofit organization bringing hyperscale innovations to all, today announced the formation of a new Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) Subproject. The OCS Subproject will facilitate collaboration of open OCS technologies to meet the escalating connectivity demands of high bandwidth, low latency, and energy efficiency in data-intensive applications like artificial intelligence. It will be co-led by volunteers from OCP members iPronics and Lumentum, and initial participants will include Coherent, Google, Lumotive, Microsoft, nEye, NVIDIA, Oriole Networks, and POLATIS (HUBER+SUHNER).
“Unlike traditional electrical switching, OCS leverages photonic technology to route data optically, reducing power consumption and enhancing reliability for large-scale AI workloads. As AI clusters scale to meet the computational demands of generative AI and large language models (LLM), OCS provides a scalable and sustainable solution to handle the massive data throughput required, ensuring seamless integration with any networking protocols while also lending itself to the same software-defined networking APIs and management frameworks,” said Peter Roorda, general manager of switching at Lumentum.
The new OCS Subproject is now live on the OCP website, along with OCP Community resources wiki, mailing list and a regular cadence of calls open to all. OCS will foster collaboration among industry leaders, hyperscalers, and innovative vendors to create interoperable, open-source solutions that accelerate adoption and drive innovation in optical networking.
“AI data centers and modern infrastructure use a mix of electronic and hybrid optoelectronic interconnects, adapted to different workloads and regions. Adding compact, fast-reconfigurable Optical Circuit Switches to this toolbox boosts resource optimization, increasing performance and reducing costs. The Open Compute Project offers a unique chance to democratize access and drive the development of open, scalable solutions that meet evolving market needs and shape the future of computing,” said Daniel Pérez-López, cofounder and CTO at iPronics.
“Google extensively uses Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) technology in our data centers as part of our Jupiter/AI network architectures, through our Project Apollo initiative, within our TPU systems for superior performance and total cost of ownership. Google is pleased to partner with industry experts in OCP to define software interfaces (building on gNMI, gNOI, gNSI and OpenConfig) that enable OCS technology to further scale across the ecosystem in an interoperable manner,” said Ryohei Urata, Principal Engineer, Google Cloud.
The OCS Subproject will be presented for the first time at the OCP APAC Summit, August 5-6, 2025 in Taipei, Taiwan. This will happen in the Optical Communication Networks breakout track that is co-organized by OCP and IOWN Global Forum.
“IOWN Global Forum members are very excited about the formation of the OCP OCS Subproject. Not only does an optical infrastructure achieve high-bandwidth, low-latency, and energy-efficient data transmission, but it also extends the infrastructure lifetime and contributes to sustainability. Accomplishing this requires a strong ecosystem of product implementers, software developers, and adopters. OCP will be a strong partner for us to develop such an ecosystem,” said Masahisa Kawashima, Technology WG Chair, IOWN Global Forum.