100 Gbit Interconnects and Above: The Need for Speed

摘要

Today's electronic society is seeing increased demand for data transfer, internet downloads, online applications, video sharing, and storage. Banks, companies, universities, and governments require large secure data centers connected to secure networks. This continuously drives the development for more powerful servers and computer systems. Today's data centers are not single computer systems but networked systems with distributed processing, computational power, and memory. The systems are connected by 'nodes,' which connect the pieces of the 'computer.' The configuration of each system depends on its applications, functionality, and user requirements. This demanding environment is evolving and pushing for the development of higher speed interconnects. OIDA held a one-day forum to increase understanding on this topic and to look at high-speed interconnects in the data center. The objective was to solicit input on current issues related to optical interconnect technology, which included examining the current research objectives of industry and universities and understanding the commercial objectives and maturity of today's technology. Optical interconnects have a promising future, but the roadmap for this sector needs to be further refined. Besides the need for higher speeds, there is a need for highly reliable, low-cost interconnects. The challenge to the industry is twofold: how to fund these requirements, and how to standardize the output of the different technologies being implemented today.