Gigabit switch using free-space and parallel optical data links for a PCI-based workstation cluster

Communication requirements in high-performance, parallel computing systems continue to increase as the processing nodes within these systems gain processing capability. To support these growing communication requirements, system architecture changes are needed. The use of switched networks rather than bus-based systems and the incorporation of optical interconnects are among proposed solutions to increase overall system performance. Under the VIVACE program, we combine both of these approaches to demonstrate a switched network of 12-Gb/s raw data bandwidth using a 4 Tbit/s bisection bandwidth free-space optically interconnected (FSOI) switch. The optical-interconnect based VIVACE network is accessed by compute nodes through the use of an electrical network interface card (NIC) which provides custom VIVACE protocol conversion in addition to the necessary electrical and optical conversions.