Kioxia, a leading SSD manufacturer, has announced new solid-state drives featuring optical interfaces for next-generation eco-friendly data centers.
The optical technology replaces traditional electrical signals and copper wiring with laser and optical data transmission cables. The drives can be installed up to 40 meters away from the servers.
Kioxia states that the significant distance between heat-generating computing systems and the storage pool, which requires minimal cooling, will help data centers optimize energy consumption. Furthermore, optical solid-state drives will require less space due to their smaller connectors. They are less sensitive to electromagnetic interference, eliminating concerns about shielding and cable placement. This technology will also enhance modularity, allowing data centers to add more storage without increasing latency.
Future generations of PCIe could utilize optical interfaces for SSDs, as they provide faster and more reliable data transmission. Over time, these developments will reduce electrical usage for communication between storage systems, memory, and computing units.
Intel has also begun working on optical technology for its chips, introducing a chiplet for optical computing that offers a connection speed of 4 Tbps to CPUs or GPUs. Additionally, TSMC recently unveiled its compact general-purpose optical engine (CPOUPE), which can deliver optical connectivity at the motherboard level with speeds up to 6.4 Tbps. All these technologies are designed with data centers, artificial intelligence, and the increasing demand for computational power—and the corresponding rise in energy consumption—in mind.
Sources: Tom's Hardware, ServeTheHome
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