SHF: Small: Collaborative Research: Ultra-Low Latency Optical Packet Switched Interconnects with Novel Switching Paradigm

随着现代计算机体系结构的进步，互连在提供有效的通信介质方面发挥着越来越重要的作用。先进的光交换技术，如光分组交换和波分复用，提供了一个平台，利用光纤的巨大容量，以满足日益增长的需求。 本研究提出了一种新的交换模式--带电子分组缓冲的光直通交换，并系统地研究了这种交换方案下光互连中的基本问题和挑战性问题，目的是设计具有成本效益的，超低延迟和实用的互连，所提出的互连的独特特征是那些不引起争用的分组可以在光通信中直接通过互连。形成并经历最小延迟，而仅缓冲那些引起争用的延迟。本研究提出将联合收割机与电子缓冲技术结合，使互连线兼具快速交换与大缓冲容量。 本研究将（1）设计交换结构和分组调度算法，（2）为互连设计实用的前向差错控制（FEC），以及（3）通过模拟和仿真工具以及分析模型进行广泛的性能评估。该项目的成果将对未来高性能计算和通信系统开发的基本设计原则和基础设施产生重大影响。项目执行人将把研究生和本科生纳入项目，并促进女生和少数民族学生的参与。调查结果将通过会议、期刊和网站访问等方式向研究界传播。

With the advances of modern computer architectures, interconnects are playing an ever increasingly important role for providing an effective communication medium. Advanced optical switching technologies, such as optical packet switching and wavelength-division-multiplexing, provide a platform to exploit the huge capacity of optical fiber to meet the increasing needs. This research proposes a new switching paradigm - optical cut-through with electronic packet buffering, and systematically investigates the fundamental and challenging issues in the optical interconnect under this switching scheme, with the objective of designing cost-effective, ultra-low latency and pragmatic interconnects for future high-performance computing and communications systems.A unique feature of the proposed interconnect is that those packets that do not cause contention can pass the interconnect directly in optical form and experience minimum delay, while only those that cause contention are buffered. This research proposes to combine optical packet switching with electronic buffering, such that the interconnect will enjoy both fast switching and large buffering capacity. This research will (1) design the switching fabric and packet scheduling algorithms, (2) design practical Forward Error Control (FEC) for the interconnect, and (3) conduct extensive performance evaluations by means of simulation and emulation tools and analytical models. The outcome of this project will have a significant impact on fundamental design principles and infrastructures for the development of future high-performance computing and communications systems. The PIs will integrate graduate and undergraduate students into the project and promote the participation of female and minority students. The findings will be disseminated to the research community by way of conferences, journals, and web site access.