Low latency and efficient optical flow control for intra data center networks.

Area of Science:

• Optical networking
• Data center communication
• Signal processing

Background:

• Intra-data center networks require efficient data flow management.
• Existing optical flow control methods face challenges in spectral efficiency and latency.
• Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) is a key technology for high-capacity optical networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate a highly spectral efficient optical flow control technique.
• To develop a bi-directional system for generating flow control signals within WDM channels.
• To evaluate the performance of the proposed technique in terms of latency, signal quality, and data integrity.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a bi-directional optical system for flow control signal generation.
• Reusing label wavelength and transmission link within the same WDM channel.
• Dynamic operation testing to assess signal quality and latency.

Main Results:

• Achieved high-quality flow control signal with 265 ns latency (including 220 ns propagation delay).
• Demonstrated signal with 500 mV amplitude under low input power and low bias current conditions.
• Confirmed error-free operation for a 40 Gb/s payload with only a 0.5 dB penalty, indicating no significant signal distortion.

Conclusions:

• The demonstrated optical flow control technique is highly spectral efficient for intra-data center networks.
• The system effectively generates flow control signals with low latency and high signal integrity.
• This approach offers a promising solution for enhancing data center network performance.