Scalable Opto-Electronic Network (SOENet)

In applications such as processor-memory interconnect, I/O networks, and router switch fabrics, an interconnection network must be scalable to thousands of high-bandwidth terminals while at the same time being economical in small configurations and robust in the presence of single-point faults. Emerging optical technology enables new topologies by allowing links to cover large distances but at a significant premium in cost compared to high-speed electrical links. Existing topologies do not cost-effectively exploit these optical links. This paper introduces SOENet, a family of topologies that exploits emerging high-speed optical and electrical links to provide cost effective scalability and graceful degradation in the presence of faults. The paper shows that SOENet scales more economically than alternative topologies.