OcuLink Expansion Bay Module

Hi Josh, could you please send me a receipt for my oculink 8x order? I also sent you a private message. Thanks!

OSFPs get HOT and are expensive. the kind of bandwidth you’re requiring also means you need very expensive optics. 16GBps (PCIE4 x8) converts to 128Gbps (Optic Bandwidth required). So technically 100G QSFP28 won’t give you the full speeds you’re after, so we go after 200G QSFP56/QSFPDD? You’re talking ~$500/optic minimum and you need 2. Thats just optics, that doesn’t include the hardware that converts your electrical PCIE signals to something transmitted to an optic, then converts it back from the other side. The OEO process is kind of expensive and not well suited for this style of work, as you lose cost effectiveness.

Hehe, i didn’t say optical was affordable yet. :smile:

@Josh_Cook So PCIE hotplug support gets scary when it comes to power draw. While I don’t expect OCuLink to require a power draw, I do think we cannot make a direct connection from the 8 Lanes to an OCuLink connector. I’m pretty sure we’d need some very basic things like resistors and maybe some kind of basic controller. I’ve looked at OCulink Cards for PCIE and they all seem to at least have some resistors and some even more.

Here is an example of an OCuLink card with some logic:

PCIe x8 Gen 4 with ReDriver to OCulink 8i AIC

https://www.newegg.com/p/0Y3-00M7-005U7

I’d be willing to invest in you to get some desktop hardware to play with and see what all is needed for the OCuLink PCB so we don’t go blowing up systems when people accidently short OCuLink pins. What do you think?

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I don’t think OCuLink will be as simple as just bridging the PCIE pinout. Check my post above for the OCuLink card with ReDrivers.

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Had that discussion here already, yes we’ll need ESD protections at the very least, but a redriver might not be necessary for PCIe Gen 3 speeds. For PCIe Gen 4, much more likely to be needed.
I think Josh’s plan was to include a redriver, but haven’t heard a confirmation of that yet (and he’s still testing anyway).

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Damn, super happy to see that the project is alive and well pretty much ready !
KInda hyped to see the product in images, and do we have a true 8x oculink dock on the market ?

My next setup will definitely be a framework 16 + oculink 8x !

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You can build your own. They have the PCBs available on Amazon. You’ll need your own case and PSU to make the enclosure.

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I know, but my question was regarding the 8 pcie lanes config, i haven’t seen any dock using oculink and 8 lanes

Yes, there is a PCB available from AliExpress and Amazon. There’s only one type of it. I would recommend getting it from AliExpress as they charge a hefty premium on Amazon.

Could you link it here please?
I found this but i do not know if it’s the one you’re talking about.

I also would like to know what complements (shells baseplates etc.) people advice to get to make a complete enclosure.

Yes thats the one I got.

You found what i couldn’t , gg !

I would expect that, when the framework 16 oculink bay module is out, we’ll have some guides online, and some people will probbaly 3D print an enclosure, or perhaps a chinese vendor will make one (as they do with thunderbolt enclosures currently)

And which oculink cable did you buy?

I bought this. Although the quality may be kind of bad, but I’m going to give it a try and if it doesn’t work get a cable from a more reputable source like Molex.

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Thanks! Supposedly this one is often bought with your board according to Amazon, could also be an option.

That one is 4x and not 8x. You can see by the connector width (it should have 80 pins in total, so 40 on each side) and the fact it says 4i instead of 8i.

Yes, I am aware, personally I am looking for both 4x and 8x cables as I bought both boards from Josh. My current EGPU (One Dock v2) is limited to 4x, but I am planning for 8x cable and EGPU for the future for sure.

But you are right, a bit strange Amazon suggests to buy a 4x cable with a 8x EGPU…

Updates sent out, I had two bounces, who will be receiving an SMS from me shortly requesting your correct email.

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Let that be a little lesson about Amazon … the suggestions are the result of a naive automated algorithm, not intelligence. Also if some search results are “Amazon’s Choice” - same thing, often a bad choice, no intelligent human was involved.

It’s a very useful marketplace, I use it all the time, but you do need to use a lot of your own judgement and research, which varies by product type …

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