AttoTude gets you to the next generation of data transmission. …a huge step forward for data centers, they say. Both firms have pioneered game-changing solutions focused on increasing bandwidth, lowering latency, and maximizing overall data communication energy efficiency. These advances, though, focus specifically on the increasingly powerful and expansive needs of the HPC and experimental network realms.
Under the direction of founder and CEO Dave Welch, AttoTude has created a radically different approach of a digital data chip, a terahertz-signal generator, and a circuit that cleverly combines the two. This unique combination allows a tremendous bandwidth of at least 224 gigabits per second (Gb/s). In April, AttoTude debuted its impressive new technology. Their successful transmission of data through four meters at a frequency of 970 GHz at the recent Optical Fiber Communications Conference in San Francisco is an amazing step towards such technology.
Although Welch considers their technology to be revolutionary, it is more important that it addresses the challenges that the industry specifically is facing. Well, customers love fiber. What they hate is the photonics,” he said, lamenting the convoluted structure of optical networks. He noted that electronics are fundamentally more reliable than optics. This places AttoTude’s solutions in a great sweet spot as a possible solution.
AttoTude’s Cutting-Edge Technology
AttoTude has created each of the specialized enclosures that make up their unique and innovative system. The physical digital component Permutationally, the digital component lends itself directly to Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). At the same time, the terahertz-frequency generator creates signals that the mixer modulates with information. This complex architecture allows for extremely efficient communication between GPUs and network switches. This kind of efficiency will be paramount to their massive segmented data center networks.
AttoTude made ever-improving generations of waveguides, increasing their total system performance even more. These photonic waveguides become crucial components to carrying the most data at once over the terahertz signals that have been created. These new developments would offer tremendous benefits compared to existing optical technologies, especially in size and power savings.
Welch raises a big, audacious question about whether their technology could do more. “If I didn’t need to be at [an optical wavelength], where do I need to be? This question represents AttoTude’s ongoing dedication to pushing the envelope on data transmission efficiency.
Point2 Technology‘s e-Tube Cable
Complementing AttoTude’s efforts, Point2 Technology has created entirely new kind of interaction cable, called e-Tube. This proprietary cable is made up of eight e-Tube fibers, with each fiber capable of transporting more than 200 Gb/s of data. The e-Tube system has some amazing features, and it really packs a punch! It takes up only one half the space of similar AEC cables and extends as far as 20 times further than standard 32-gauge copper cables.
Point2 Technology is passionate about innovation. Their recent round of $55 million in venture funding, led primarily by Molex, reflects this dedication. This massive financial commitment will drive the manufacturing of chips. Those chips will drive the new, 1.6-terabit-per-second cable that’s coming on line, which will employ eight, slim polymer waveguides.
The Implications for Data Centers
AttoTude and Point2 Technology have both developed and achieved distribution breakthroughs. Together, these innovations represent an exciting and dramatic change in how data centers will operate in the future. Both seamless high-speed connectivity and speedy data processing are hot commodities right now. These technologies can have equally dramatic effects on the future of today’s data communications.
Both companies are addressing the large and growing opportunity to connect lots of individual GPUs to network switches in large scale-out networks. They use their breakthroughs to make their work more efficient. Their purpose is to improve the performance in environments where data needs to be processed and transmitted incredibly fast.