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Intel's fastest connector to date uses light to transfer data at 1.6Tbps

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Re: Intel's fastest connector to date uses light to transfer data at 1.6Tbps

#21

Post by wmf »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #5

Why does Intel even discuss these things? Can I buy this? Can I go out and buy products that use this standard? Can I buy PCs that use AMD CPUs that use this? What about ARMs? What about Infiniband-like networks? It makes me angry that a large corporation set out on a Tuesday morning with the sole purpose to waste people's time like this. If it is not going to be on store shelves within the next few months and if it…

Intel has a habit of putting out PR that mixes stuff that is available now, stuff that will be shipping this year, and stuff that may or may not be shipping five years from now. The press loves it but it's annoying and confusing to us technical people. (Whatever you do, do not pay any attention to "rack scale architecture".)

When it comes to silicon photonics specifically, Intel has been talking about it for years and still hasn't shipped anything.

Re: Intel's fastest connector to date uses light to transfer data at 1.6Tbps

#22

Post by TheLoneWolfling »

The ability to take my memory and stash it a rack away, optical can enable that

In optical fiber, at a minimum, every 3.3cm is another clock cycle of delay. (210^8 m/s / 3GHz / 2) (speed of propagation in optical fiber / clock rate / round trip factor).

That being said, being able to have hard drives* in other racks would be great, if nothing else just for vibration concerns.

Re: Intel's fastest connector to date uses light to transfer data at 1.6Tbps

#23

Post by DiabloD3 »

wmf wrote: post #21
DiabloD3 wrote: post #5

Why does Intel even discuss these things? Can I buy this? Can I go out and buy products that use this standard? Can I buy PCs that use AMD CPUs that use this? What about ARMs? What about Infiniband-like networks? It makes me angry that a large corporation set out on a Tuesday morning with the sole purpose to waste people's time like this. If it is not going to be on store shelves within the next few months and if it…

Intel has a habit of putting out PR that mixes stuff that is available now, stuff that will be shipping this year, and stuff that may or may not be shipping five years from now. The press loves it but it's annoying and confusing to us technical people. (Whatever you do, do not pay any attention to "rack scale architecture".) When it comes to silicon photonics specifically, Intel has been talking about it for years an…

Yeah what happened to that? It looked interesting and completely vanished off the face of the Earth.

Re: Intel's fastest connector to date uses light to transfer data at 1.6Tbps

#24

Post by wmf »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #23
wmf wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Intel has a habit of putting out PR that mixes stuff that is available now, stuff that will be shipping this year, and stuff that may or may not be shipping five years from now. The press loves it but it's annoying and confusing to us technical people. (Whatever you do, do not pay any attention to "rack scale architecture".) When it comes to silicon photonics specifically, Intel has been talking about it for years an…

Yeah what happened to that? It looked interesting and completely vanished off the face of the Earth.

Making silicon photonics cheaper than VCSELs must be really hard because it seems like nobody is shipping them. Or maybe silicon photonics are only cost-effective for parallel fiber optics which are a pretty small fraction of the market.
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