Limitations and Perspectives of Optically Switched Interconnects for Large-scale Data Processing and Storage Systems
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Limitations and Perspectives of Optically Switched Interconnects for Large-scale Data Processing and Storage Systems Slavisa Aleksic1, Gerhard Schmid1, and Naida Fehratovic2 1 Institute of Telecommunications (ITC), Vienna University of Technology, Gusshausstrasse 25-29/389, 1040 Vienna, Austria 2 Kapsch TrafficCom AG, Am Europlatz 2, 1120 Vienna, Austria ABSTRACT The ever-growing Internet data traffic leads to a continuously increasing demand in both capacity and performance of large-scale Information and Communication (ICT) systems such as high-capacity routers and switches, large data centers, and supercomputers. Complex and spatially distributed multirack systems comprising a large number of data processing and storage modules with high-speed interfaces have already become reality. A consequence of this trend is that internal interconnection systems also become large and complex. Interconnection distances, total required number of cables, and power consumption increase rapidly with the increase in capacity, which can cause limitations in scalability of the whole system. This paper addresses requirements and limitations of intrasystem interconnects for application in large-scale data processing and storage systems. Various point-to-point and optically switched interconnection options are reviewed with regard to their potential to achieve large scalability while reducing power consumption. INTRODUCTION Within the last few years, the traffic volume in global communication networks has been increasing by approximately 50% to 60% per year [1]. In order to keep track with this increasing demand for bandwidth, the capacity of underlying network components as well as data storage and managing elements has to increase too. Indeed, most of the state-of-the-art electronic core routers comprise a large number of switching modules and line cards to achieve large capacities in the order of several Terabit per second. For this reason, the most of the high-performance routers currently being developed are multi-rack systems. Since the internal interconnection network becomes more critical when increasing the number of components, line cards, and racks, the high-capacity network elements are often limited by the maximum achievable size of the internal interconnection network. Thus, a scalable interconnection system is a crucial prerequisite for implementing high-capacity, highly efficient, and scalable Information and Communication (ICT) Systems. This paper reviews various options for scalable and efficient optical interconnects and presents some results on scalability and energy efficiency of optically switched interconnects. The structure of the paper is as follows. The subsequent section presents some current trends in high-capacity data processing and storage systems. Then, we discuss design considerations for highly scalable and efficient large-scale optical interconnects and review technologies for optical printed circuit boards (PCBs), optical backplanes, and optical rack-to-rack interconnects. In the last section of this
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