Optical Data Center Network Pyramid Architecture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data center network architectures face limitations in scalability, power consumption, and latency due to the use of electrical switches and complex wiring, as well as limitations in path selection and node expansion in full optical architectures.
Innovation Solution
The optical data center network system employs a recursive-interconnected pyramid architecture with tier-1, tier-2, and tier-3 optical switches connected via ribbon fibers, utilizing wavelength selective switches and optical signal amplifiers to reduce connection complexity and latency, while maintaining modularity for scalable expansion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If electrical switches are used for data switching in DCN architectures, then the transmission rate is limited by the electrical switch and power consumption increases due to photoelectric conversion, but the architecture remains easier to implement with existing infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces electrical switching mechanisms with optical switching mechanisms. Specifically, it uses optical cross-connects (OCs) and wavelength selective switches (WSS) to perform data switching in the optical domain, eliminating the need for photoelectric conversion and electrical switching, thereby reducing power consumption and improving transmission rate while maintaining architectural implementability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental operating parameter from electrical signals to optical signals. By implementing all-optical switching using components like optical cross-connects and wavelength selective switches, the system operates entirely in the optical domain, changing the switching mechanism from electrical to optical parameters, which resolves the power consumption and transmission rate limitations
2Speed
If one optical fiber contains only one wavelength band, then the transmission rate is limited, but the wiring complexity and number of cables increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple wavelength bands into a single optical fiber using wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). By combining multiple wavelengths (e.g., 800Gbps total capacity across multiple wavelengths) within one fiber, the system achieves high transmission rates without proportionally increasing the number of cables or wiring complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the optical fiber universal by enabling it to carry multiple wavelength bands simultaneously. Through WDM technology, a single fiber serves multiple transmission channels at different wavelengths, giving the fiber multi-functionality and high capacity without requiring separate dedicated fibers for each wavelength or service
3Adaptability or versatility
If the number of input/output ports of the electrical switch is limited, then the scalability is poor, but increasing the number of ports increases device complexity and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds the wavelength dimension to the switching architecture. Instead of increasing the number of spatial ports to achieve scalability, the system uses wavelength multiplexing to create additional transmission dimensions. This allows a fixed number of physical ports to support multiple wavelength channels, achieving scalability through dimensional expansion rather than port multiplication
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic wavelength routing and switching capabilities. Through programmable optical switches and wavelength selective components, the system can dynamically assign and reassign wavelength channels to different data flows, providing flexible and scalable connectivity without requiring a fixed increase in physical ports
4Use of energy by moving object
If a double tier annular WDM optical DCN architecture is used, then power consumption is reduced, but latency increases significantly due to sequential transmission through head and tail nodes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into multiple tiers (access tier, aggregation tier, core tier) with different functional roles. Access tier switches connect to servers, aggregation tier switches provide regional aggregation, and core tier switches handle inter-tier routing. This segmentation allows parallel processing and reduces the transmission path length, thereby reducing latency while maintaining the all-optical architecture for low power consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional annular topology by implementing a hierarchical pyramid structure where data can traverse multiple parallel paths simultaneously. Instead of forcing sequential transmission through fixed head and tail nodes, the system creates flexible multi-path routing opportunities that reduce latency while preserving optical switching benefits
5Device complexity
If WDM add/drop modules with fixed wavelength connection ports are used, then the architecture is simpler, but path selection capability between servers is greatly limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces fixed wavelength connection ports with programmable and dynamically configurable optical switches. The wavelength selective switches and optical cross-connects can be dynamically reconfigured based on real-time traffic demands, allowing flexible path selection between servers while maintaining relatively simple module architecture through software-controlled reconfiguration
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution achieves high scalability, low latency, low power consumption, and reduced wiring complexity, enabling efficient data switching and expansion within the data center network.
Implementation Method 1
an optical signal amplifier, wherein the optical signal amplifier receives the combined optical signal and amplifies the combined optical signal
Implementation Method 2
a wavelength selective switch, wherein the wavelength selective switch receives a plurality of the optical signals with different wavelengths and selectively transmits one of the optical signals with a selected wavelength
Implementation Method 3
a multiplexer, wherein the multiplexer receives a plurality of the optical signals with different wavelengths and combines the optical signals into a combined optical signal
Implementation Method 4
an optical signal splitter, wherein the optical signal splitter receives the combined optical signal and duplicates the combined optical signal into a first transmission optical signal, a second transmission optical signal and a third transmission optical signal
Data Source
AI summary
An optical data center network system including multiple tier-1 optical switches, multiple tier-2 optical switches and multiple tier-3 optical switches is provided. A pod is formed by the tier-1 optical switches connected to each other through ribbon fibers. A macro pod is formed by the tier-2 optical switches connected to each other through ribbon fibers, and each of the tier-2 optical switches is connected to all of the tier-1 optical switches in one pod. The tier-3 optical switches are connected to each other through ribbon fibers, and each of the tier-3 optical switches is connected to all of the tier-2 optical switches in one macro pod. Each optical switch in each tier is implemented by using the Wavelength Selective Switch (WSS) as a basic element, which has been commercialized numerously.