Gemini: an optical interconnection network for parallel processing

Abstract

The Gemini interconnect is a dual technology (optical and electrical) interconnection network designed for use in tightlycoupled multicomputer systems. It consists of a circuit-switched optical data path in parallel with a packet-switched electrical control/ data path. The optical path is used for transmission of long data messages and the electrical path is used for switch control and transmission of short data messages. This paper describes the architecture of the interconnection network and related communications protocols. Fairness issues associated with network operation are addressed and a discrete-event simulation model of the entire system is described. Network performance characteristics derived from the simulation model are presented. The results show significant performance benefits when using virtual output queuing and quantify the tradeoffs between throughput and fairness in the system.

An Experimental Validation of a Wavelength-Striped, Packet Switched, Optical Interconnection Network

“…An optical switching gate, for example, is switched only at the packet rate, and the power expended to control it is independent of the amount of data routed through it. Optical interconnection networks of various structures and topologies have therefore been suggested as solutions for HPC interconnection networks [13]- [17].…”

Interconnection Networks

“…The Gemini interconnect is an experimental implementation of a novel processor-to-processor interconnection network for tightly-coupled multicomputers [1,3,7,8]. It includes an end-to-end optical data path (including switching of the optical signals) for high-bandwidth, large data volume message delivery.…”

“…Figure 14: Average optical message delay using the basic setup-teardown protocol and the virtual output queueing protocol [3].…”

Cascaded active silicon microresonator array cross-connect circuits for WDM networks-on-chip

“…Although packet-switched electrical interconnections based on conventional topologies have been proposed and implemented for multi-core data communications 3 , it is well known that the traditional electrical interconnections impose severe limitations such as high-power consumption with the accompanied thermal issues, and electrical-limited data bandwidth 4 . As an alternative approach to on-chip interconnections, researchers have long proposed optical interconnections [5][6][7] . The key merits of the optical approach using integrated waveguides and photonic devices include low-power consumption for the signal transmission, and a large data bandwidth carried by an optical channel.…”