Multiwavelength optical crossconnect for parallel-processing computers

Multiple Access Techniques for Fiber-Optic Networks

“…The first one was the Fast Optical Cross-connect (FOX) [13] proposed for applications in parallel-processing computers. This was followed, a few months later, by the High-Performance Packet-Switching System (HYPASS), an extension of FOX, providing a vastly improved potential throughput of around 150 Gbps [14].…”

Architectures for future multigigabit lightwave networks

“…Thus broadband laser traveling-wave amplifiers, broadband Raman fiber amplifiers, and [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] GHz/ degree C and by [1][2][3][4][5] GHz/mA [54]. Solutions demonstrated to this so far include using the resonances of a Fabry-Perot interferometer or the absorption spectral lines of gaseous atoms or molecules as a reference to which the laser is locked [73, (CSMA/CD) broadcast bus [67], and the token ring [13].…”

High-performance parallel processors based on star-coupled WDM optical interconnects

“…Previously proposed MACs for passive stars are random access (e.g., ALOHA) [1,2] and pre-allocation (time-slotting) MACs [3]. The former reduces capacity under heavy traffic load (37% for slotted ALOHA), while the latter increases latency for light load.…”

“…The difficulty of providing sufficient communication resources between processor and memory elements in parallel, multiprocessor systems has led to many proposals to employ optical interconnects for improved bandwidth and latency [1][2][3][4]. These proposals are driven by communication requirements anticipated from significant increases in computing power per node (1 GFLOPS per CPU near term [5]) and system node count, and the recognition that traditional electronic interconnects will have increasing difficulty in meeting these requirements.…”

“…The use of wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) optical systems (figure 1), in which independent channels on different optical wavelengths are simultaneously broadcast to a large number O(10 2 ) of nodes over a star coupler [7], is an attractive proposal for multiprocessor interconnects, offering the potential for wide-bandwidth, single-hop communications among all nodes [1][2][3][4]. Each wavelength provides an independent, concurrent logical bus channel.…”