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Scientists, including those of Indian origin, have developed a system of
infrared lasers and receivers that can eliminate the need for cables and wires
at data centres, an advance that may lead to faster wireless communication.
Data centres are the central point of most information systems today, but
the masses of wires interconnecting the servers begin to resemble tangled
Christmas-tree lights. Scientists, including Sami R Das and Himanshu Gupta from
Stony Brook University in the US, have proposed a way to eliminate most of the
wires and substitute infrared free-space optics for communications.
In an experiment, researchers found
that radio-frequency signalling resulted in high interference, limited active
links and limited throughput - the amount of data that can go through a system.
The Free-space optical Inter-Rack nEtwork with high FLexibilitY (Firefly) would
use infrared lasers and receivers mounted on top of data centre racks to
transmit information. The laser modules are rapidly reconfigurable to acquire a
target on any rack. When hundreds of cables merge, data transfer bottlenecks
form which reduce the speed at which the data centre can deliver info. -PTI
Source: DNA-3rd February,2017
