Design And Simulation Of Optically Interconnected Computer Systems

Phillip Christie; Jeffrey E. Cotter; Allen M. Barnett

doi:10.1117/12.947442

8 September 1988 Design And Simulation Of Optically Interconnected Computer Systems

Phillip Christie, Jeffrey E. Cotter, Allen M. Barnett

Proceedings Volume 0947, Interconnection of High Speed and High Frequency Devices and Systems; (1988) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.947442
Event: Advances in Semiconductors and Superconductors: Physics and Device Applications, 1988, Newport Beach, CA, United States

Abstract

Optical interconnections within mainframe computers were first proposed over ten years ago, but the debate continues on their effectiveness at a given interconnection level (board-to-board, chip-to-chip, etc.) In order to gauge the impact of this new technology several studies have discussed the power and speed limitations of electrical interconnections. Unfortunately, hard data is difficult to generate due to the immense complexity of the systems involved. Many of these problems are due to the conceptual view of a computer as an array of devices connected by wires. As we move into the interconnect-limited regime it becomes advantageous to consider the system as a pattern of wires that must be excited by devices. It is in this spirit that we propose a model of the computer which is based on the statistical analysis of its interconnections. Previous work in this area has quoted the performance of interconnections in terms of effective averages. In this paper we produce closed-form analytic expressions for the interconnection distribution as a function of hierarchy. A self-similar hierarchical model, satisfying the observed power-law relationship between circuit complexity and interconnection count, is used to mimic the interconnection distribution within large computer systems. The length distribution function is accessible at all hierarchical levels. This enables the operational performance of optical interconnection strategies to be monitored and compared with their electrical counterparts.

Citation Download Citation

Phillip Christie, Jeffrey E. Cotter, and Allen M. Barnett "Design And Simulation Of Optically Interconnected Computer Systems", Proc. SPIE 0947, Interconnection of High Speed and High Frequency Devices and Systems, (8 September 1988); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.947442

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