Hardware Podcasts

Building Together: Oxide and Samtec

Oxide and Friends · 16 May 2023 · 1h 20m · Episode 14

What this episode covers

Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal of Oxide Computer Company discuss their partnership with Samtec, featuring guests Jonathan Ghesh and Jignesh Khanna, to build the Oxide Rack using flyover cable systems instead of traditional PCB backplanes. Ariane Goldstein explains how this architecture allowed for modular board design, thermal management, and rapid iteration, while Jignesh details the technical challenges of signal integrity, cable manufacturing, and the shift toward copper over optics. The conversation highlights Samtec's 'Sudden Service' model, where deep engineering collaboration and onshore manufacturing in the US enabled Oxide to solve critical failure modes, such as solder joint cracking, through joint problem-solving rather than adversarial vendor relationships.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Oxide Computer Company, Samtec, Intel, AMD
Products
QSFP, TwinX, Exomax, DTrace
Chips
Tufino

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