Emcore Corp. reports that its "Connects Cables" series is being used to connect the Tianhe-1A system, which recently took the top spot as "the world's fastest super computer" in a ranking from TOP500.org. The high-speed interconnect active optical cables (AOCs) are used in place of traditional copper cables.
The Quad Data Rate (QDR) Connects Cables are a 40Gb/s cable product with Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable (QSFP) electrical connectors. The smaller diameter and lower heat dissipation of the QDR cables enabled the Tianhe-1A to manage more efficiently overall power consumption and cooling resources, says Emcore -- critical factors in high-performance computing system design.
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“[We] pioneered the use of optical cables in high performance computing (HPC) seven years ago. Since then, Emcore has been providing interconnect products enabling several of the world's fastest super computers,” comments Chris Wiggins, director of marketing for Emcore's Digital Fiber Products. “Additionally, [the] QDR Connects Cables have experienced strong growth since we introduced the product earlier this year.”
Emcore says the cables are intended to enable system architects to design larger and even more powerful super computers. The Tianhe-1A system uses several thousand of the optical cables. The company will demonstrate the Connects Cables line at the Optical Fiber Conference (OFC) in Los Angeles from March 8 through 10, at Booth 2125.
Source: Lightwave
