Optical high speed symmetric multi-processor link implementation

High-end computing servers configured as symmetric multi-processor (SMP) systems rely on parallel high speed links for interconnection between the processors. With each new generation of processor, the bandwidth of the SMP link is increased. Wired copper cables are still the technology of choice for this application but with each increment in bandwidth, fiber optic interconnects become more competitive solution contenders. To obtain an early look at the issues facing fiber optics in the SMP application, two types of optical links, all-optical and hybrid-optical, were built and characterized in a real system. These links were evaluated in terms of cost, size, power dissipation, temperature rise, electrical interface, latency and bit error ratio (BER). In both implementations, an 8-way SMP system was successfully operated. ©2006 IEEE.