Optical backplane rack assembly with external optical connectors

A line card rack assembly adapted to receive line cards, at least one of the line cards having an optical connector at a front portion thereof, the rack assembly comprising:

• a frame having a front opening, for receiving the line cards and providing access to the line cards, and a back opening opposite the front opening, the frame having a front edge on the front opening;
• an optical backplane, at least partially covering the back opening, the optical backplane comprising connections for connecting the line cards upon insertion in the frame, the optical backplane further comprising an optical layer;
• and
• an optical fiber cable having two ends, a first one of the two ends being for coupling to the optical layer of the optical backplane, and a second one of the two ends comprising an optical coupling device installed on the front edge of the frame, the optical coupling device for coupling to the optical connector at a front portion of the at least one of the line cards.