Will a switch to light speed cut power use at data centres?
To save power and add capacity, data centres are switching from copper wires to tech using light.
Data centre operator Digital Reality's chief technology officer, Chris Sharp, believes that the time may be approaching when copper wiring will no longer be the primary component in data centres. While copper is used extensively in data centres, much of it is dedicated to cooling systems and the servers themselves, which are the main power consumers.
Meanwhile, the connection between servers, primarily through spaghetti-like wiring, represents a prime target for replacement. Researchers and companies are exploring the use of light, or photons, instead of copper, a technology known as photonics. This method could significantly reduce power usage, as light does not generate heat like electricity.
Photonics is not a trivial task, however, as it involves intricate engineering and the creation of optical components that are directly connected to electrical ones. Moreover, light-based data transfer is much faster than electrical transfer, but the installation and maintenance of these systems remain a human-paced process. The technology faces significant manufacturing challenges, as optical components are generally larger than silicon components used in computer chips.
However, with the backing of industry giants such as Nvidia and companies like Cornerstone Labs, photonics is gradually moving from the lab to widespread application. The benefits of photonics could be fully realized when it is used not just for data transmission, but also for processing data directly in the optical domain, thereby saving even more energy.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
