Dive Brief:
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is testing optical technology—employing lights and lasers through thin fiber optics—to improve data transfer speeds, according to a report from CIO.
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HPE's optical technology could move data at 1.2 terabits per second, according to HPE. That data transfer rate is approximately 90,000 times faster than the internet speed in American homes.
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The photonics chip module, called X1, would replace the copper Ethernet cables that are frequently used in data centers today.
Dive Insight:
Enterprises may someday use optical technology to move data much faster than they can today. Michael McBride, director at HPE's silicon design lab, said attaching a fiber optic cable to computers could someday be as easy as attaching Ethernet cables. But HPE says the optical technology they are testing would be used in data centers first, starting with The Machine, HPE's new server design that focuses on processing by using storage and memory.
HPE is not the first to tout lightening fast data transfer speeds. In February, a group of scientists and industry partners from University College London and Aston University achieved a 1.125 terabits per second data speed by appling wireless network techniques to fiber optics. The researchers' achievement broke the world record for the fastast data speed.
Eventually, the optical technology could help solve bandwidth challenge, HPE says.
A Visual Networking Index report released by Cisco earlier this month found Internet traffic is expected to nearly triple by 2020. Cisco predicts there will be more than a billion new Internet users and 10 billion new devices and connections online in the next few years. With increased network demand, companies will have to work to boost their speeds as well.
