Sunday, 2 December 2012

Wiring up datacentres with lasers and mirrors

Would it be possible to replace the copper and fibre optic wiring that permeates datacentres with a system of lasers and mirrors? The mirrors would be actuated, allowing the connectivity within the datacentre to be adjusted with minimal effort. Obviously, like fibre optics, the communication would be at the speed of light.

It should be possible to have mirrors configured to allow beams to "jump over" other beams, and thus prevent any beams crossing.

Unlike wireless (e.g. wifi) solutions, there is no shared medium, and hence no interference.

No comments: