Networking Watch · October 20, 2026
The week after OCP shows AI network optics splitting between Cisco and NVIDIA pluggables and Broadcom co-packaged designs, with scarce optical capacity setting the pace for both.
Core Research Question
After OCP, which optics path can scale AI networks, and what limits both?
1. What Is New, and What Is Not, in the Week After OCP
The OCP Global Summit ended October 15, and most of its announcements were made between October 7 and 13, so this is not a day-of announcement edition. We did not find a major networking announcement dated October 19 or 20 that we could verify against a primary source. This edition covers an angle our October 8 and October 13 editions did not: how the optics decision is splitting AI networks into two paths, and what the supply chain says about which can scale.
Previously covered items, including Cisco and NVIDIA's USFP optics, Arista's Ethernet scale-up racks and Meta's IceCube switch, appear here only as context.
The CODEW angle: The interesting question after OCP is not which switch is fastest but how the optics that connect them will be delivered, and by whom.
2. Broadcom Lays Out the Open-Ethernet Case, With Co-Packaged Optics
The development. In its October 8 release for OCP, Broadcom presented a portfolio spanning scale-up, scale-out and scale-across networks: Tomahawk 6 and Tomahawk Ultra switches, Jericho 4 routing silicon, Thor Ultra 800G and Thor 2 400G AI NICs, and its third-generation TH6-Davisson co-packaged optics (CPO). Partners Celestica, Delta Electronics and Micas Networks planned to show TH6-Davisson 102.4T CPO systems, with Accton and Alpha Networks showing Tomahawk 6 systems, and Broadcom ran a CPO session on October 14.
Companies and technologies. In earlier company releases, Broadcom said Tomahawk 6 is shipping in production volume, Tomahawk Ultra offers about 250 nanoseconds of latency, Jericho 4 targets lossless fabrics for clusters of more than a million accelerators, and Thor Ultra is Ultra Ethernet Consortium-compliant. TH6-Davisson runs at 200 Gb/s per channel, doubling its predecessor, with HPE and NextHop named as collaborators and a fourth-generation CPO design in development. These are Broadcom statements; system-level results at customers are not independently demonstrated.
Market context. Broadcom silicon sits inside many vendors' systems, so its roadmap shapes what the whole open-Ethernet camp can ship, alongside Cisco, Arista Networks and NVIDIA, which hold the largest data-center switching shares in IDC's second-quarter data.
Why it matters: Broadcom frames open Ethernet as a complete alternative to proprietary stacks, and its optics answer is co-packaging the optics next to the switch chip.
What to watch: Volume shipments of TH6-Davisson systems from partners, customer CPO deployments, and the fourth-generation CPO timing.
3. Two Paths for AI Network Optics
The same fortnight produced a pluggable proposal from Cisco and NVIDIA and a co-packaged roadmap from Broadcom. They are not mutually exclusive, but they imply different supply chains:
| Path | Examples | Status | Trade-off |
| Pluggable | Cisco and NVIDIA USFP: 16 lanes at 400G in an OSFP-sized module, with TE Connectivity and Amphenol | Announced plans; no availability date; vendor claims of 4x density and 1.3x efficiency | Keeps the serviceable, swappable model; relies on faster electrical signaling |
| Co-packaged | Broadcom TH6-Davisson (200G per channel); NVIDIA photonics switches | Broadcom describes TH6-Davisson as shipping; NVIDIA Ethernet photonics timing is the second half of 2026 per older secondary analysis | Cuts power and board distance; changes serviceability and the supply chain |
The CODEW angle: NVIDIA appears on both sides, backing pluggables with Cisco and co-packaged optics in its own switches. That reads as hedging until volumes decide.
4. The Optical Supply Chain Is the Constraint Both Paths Share
The development. Ciena's fiscal third quarter, reported September 3, showed revenue of $1.67 billion, up 37%, and backlog of $8.5 billion that management expects to exceed $10 billion by fiscal year-end. The company said lead times and supply, not demand, limit how fast orders convert to revenue, and it does not expect supply and demand to balance before fiscal 2028. The stock fell about 10% on the results day despite the record quarter. On October 19, 24/7 Wall St. reported Ciena and Arista Networks each up about 4% in a tech rebound while Cisco barely moved; that is market commentary, not company information.
Companies and technologies. NVIDIA agreed on March 2 to invest $2 billion in Coherent to expand supply, R&D, and U.S. manufacturing of optics, per Coherent's 8-K; secondary reports say it made a similar investment in Lumentum. Cloud providers were 53% of Ciena's revenue, up 82% year over year, according to a secondary summary, which ties the optical cycle to hyperscaler spending.
Why it matters: Whether pluggable or co-packaged, laser, optical-engine and line-system capacity is limited, so buyers should expect allocation, long lead times and supplier-financed capacity through 2027 and likely 2028.
What to watch: Ciena's next results (fiscal fourth quarter, expected in early December; date not confirmed), Coherent and Lumentum capacity announcements, and first volume CPO shipments.
The CODEW Angle
AI networking is splitting at the optics layer, and supply, not architecture, will set the pace.
Open Ethernet now has a full-stack story from several vendors, but the optical components under it are scarce and increasingly financed by the buyers who need them. The pluggable-versus-co-packaged choice will be decided as much by who can ship volume as by who has the better design.
Our next editions will track CPO shipments, USFP specification progress and hyperscaler optics procurement.
Sources
→ Broadcom: Redefines AI infrastructure at the 2026 OCP Global Summit (October 8)
→ Broadcom: Announces Tomahawk 6 - Davisson, 102.4-Tbps Ethernet switch with CPO
→ Broadcom: Solutions for scaling AI infrastructure at OFC 2026 (March 12)
→ IEEE ComSoc Technology Blog: 2026 OCP Summit, full-stack AI networking silicon (secondary)
→ Moor Insights and Strategy: Cisco at OCP 2026
→ Futuriom: Cisco shows full-stack networking strategy at OCP
→ Ciena Form 8-K: Fiscal third quarter 2026 results
→ Yahoo Finance: Ciena Q3 earnings call highlights
→ Coherent Form 8-K: NVIDIA and Coherent strategic partnership (March 2)
→ 24/7 Wall St.: Networking stocks rally (October 19, market commentary)
→ SemiAnalysis: Co-packaged optics book (older; timelines as stated then)
Next in Networking Watch
→ First volume TH6-Davisson CPO shipments
→ USFP multi-source agreement membership
→ Ciena fiscal Q4 results and optics supply
The CODEW Stat
102.4T Tomahawk 6 · $8.5B Ciena backlog (>$10B expected) · 2 optics paths · supply tight to fiscal 2028
Backlog and timelines are company statements; CPO shipment timing and market moves are as described in the text.
Editorial Note
Networking Watch is the fast-moving intelligence layer tracking the companies, infrastructure, standards, products and market developments shaping modern networking.
This edition draws on company releases and filings, IDC data and trade press as of October 20, 2026. Items are dated in the text; most OCP announcements were made October 7 to 13.
Educational content only. Not investment advice. Performance, shipping and timeline claims are vendor statements and not independently demonstrated; market commentary is not company information. Details have not been independently verified by The CODEW.
Reviewed by Erwin Castro
on
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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