Kioxia, one of the world’s leading SSD manufacturers, has announced new optical interface SSDs for next-generation green data centers.
Optical technology replaces traditional electrical signals and copper wire with laser and optical data cables. The drives can be placed up to 40 meters away from servers.
Kioxia says that the large distance between the computing systems, which generate a lot of heat, and the storage pool with minimal cooling, will help data centers optimize power consumption. Also, optical SSDs will require less space because of their smaller connectors. They are not as susceptible to electromagnetic interference, so there is no need to worry about shielding and cable placement. The technology will also improve modularity, allowing data centers to add more storage without increasing latency.
Future generations of PCIe may utilize optical interfaces for SSDs as they provide faster and more reliable data transfers. These developments will eventually reduce the use of electricity for communication between storage, memory, and computing systems.
Intel has also begun working on optical technology for its chips, introducing an optical computing chiplet that provides 4Tbps connections to the CPU or GPU. In addition, TSMC recently introduced its Compact Universal Photonic Engine (CPOUPE), which can provide motherboard-level optical connectivity at speeds of up to 6.4Tbps. All of these technologies are designed with data centers, artificial intelligence, and the growing demand for computing power and the corresponding increase in power consumption in mind.
Sources: Tom’s Hardware, ServeTheHome
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