Control path implementation for a low-latency optical HPC switch

Abstract

A crucial part of any high-performance computing system is its interconnection network. In the OSMOSIS project, Corning and IBM are jointly developing a demonstrator interconnect based on optical cell switching with electronic control. Starting from the core set of requirements, we present the system design rationale and show how it impacts the practical implementation. Our focus is on solving the technical issues related to the electronic control path, and we show that it is feasible at the targeted design point. © 2005 IEEE.