{
 "id": "3.10",
 "slug": "nvlink-copper-spine-backplane-cartridges",
 "url": "/parts/networking-and-interconnect/nvlink-copper-spine-backplane-cartridges",
 "name": "NVLink copper spine / backplane cartridges",
 "qualifiers": null,
 "layer": {
  "id": 3,
  "name": "Networking & interconnect"
 },
 "parent_id": null,
 "children": [],
 "summary": "The copper cable assemblies and backplane cartridges that physically wire the scale-up fabric together inside a rack, most visible in Nvidia's NVL72 architecture.",
 "description_md": "NVLink copper spine and backplane cartridges are the physical layer under the scale-up fabric of 3.01, wiring GPU compute trays to NVLink switch trays inside a rack — the taxonomy notes roughly 5,000 copper cables in an NVL72-class rack. That cable count is itself the reason the industry is evaluating co-packaged optics (3.08) as a replacement at the next speed generation: as per-GPU bandwidth rises, all-copper backplanes start running into reach and density limits that pushing more copper doesn't solve. Several connector and cable assembly makers supply this content, generally under reference-design partner arrangements with the rack architect rather than as a fully open market. An investor should watch this layer as a bellwether for the copper-to-optical transition inside the rack: continued growth in cable count per rack favors incumbent copper suppliers, while an early shift to CPO would cap that growth sooner than volume trends alone would suggest.",
 "ai_delta": "Larger scale-up domains push cable count per rack higher, up to the point where copper's reach and density limits at the highest speeds make an optical alternative necessary.",
 "bottleneck_status": null,
 "scale_tiers": [
  "hyperscale_building",
  "ai_campus",
  "gw_class"
 ],
 "density_modes": [
  "any"
 ],
 "scale_notes": "Present wherever a scale-up rack architecture uses a copper backplane; cable count scales with rack GPU density and could shrink or disappear in racks that adopt co-packaged optics.",
 "flow": [
  "data"
 ],
 "companies": [
  {
   "company_id": "amphenol",
   "name": "Amphenol",
   "role": "manufacturer",
   "confidence": "reported",
   "ownership_type": "public",
   "ticker": "APH",
   "product_note": null,
   "note": null,
   "source_url": null
  },
  {
   "company_id": "bizlink",
   "name": "Bizlink",
   "role": "manufacturer",
   "confidence": "reported",
   "ownership_type": "public",
   "ticker": "3665.TW",
   "product_note": null,
   "note": null,
   "source_url": null
  },
  {
   "company_id": "foxconn-interconnect",
   "name": "Foxconn Interconnect",
   "role": "manufacturer",
   "confidence": "reported",
   "ownership_type": "public",
   "ticker": "6088.HK",
   "product_note": null,
   "note": null,
   "source_url": null
  },
  {
   "company_id": "luxshare",
   "name": "Luxshare",
   "role": "manufacturer",
   "confidence": "reported",
   "ownership_type": "public",
   "ticker": "002475.SZ",
   "product_note": null,
   "note": null,
   "source_url": null
  },
  {
   "company_id": "te-connectivity",
   "name": "TE Connectivity",
   "role": "manufacturer",
   "confidence": "reported",
   "ownership_type": "public",
   "ticker": "TEL",
   "product_note": null,
   "note": null,
   "source_url": null
  }
 ]
}