8 March 2011

Emcore Connects Cables enable fastest supercomputer

Emcore Corp of Albuquerque, NM, USA, which makes components and subsystems for the broadband, fiber-optic, and solar power markets, says that Emcore Connects Cables have been used to connect Tianhe-1A, the world's most powerful supercomputer.

According to the most recent list by independent supercomputing online resource TOP500.org, the Tianhe-1A system took the top spot as the world fastest supercomputer. This accomplishment was made possible by Emcore Connects Cables, which are high-speed interconnect active optical cables (AOCs) used in place of traditional copper cables, enabling system architects to design larger and more powerful supercomputers. Tianhe-1A uses several thousand of these optical cables.

Emcore’s quad data rate (QDR) Connects Cables are 40Gb/s cable products with quad small-form-factor pluggable (QSFP) electrical connectors. The firm says that the smaller diameter and lower heat dissipation of the QDR cables enabled Tianhe-1A to more efficiently manage overall power consumption and cooling resources, which are critical factors in high-performance computing system design.

“Emcore pioneered the use of optical cables in high-performance computing (HPC) seven years ago,” says Chris Wiggins, director of marketing for Emcore’s digital fiber products. “Since then, Emcore has been providing interconnect products enabling several of the world's fastest supercomputers,” he adds. “Additionally, Emcore’s QDR Connects Cables have experienced strong growth since we introduced the product earlier this year. Our customers cite Emcore’s quality, reliability, on-time delivery and competitive pricing as reasons for choosing us over our competitors in the high-performance computing and datacenter interconnect marketplaces.”

Emcore is demonstrating its Connects Cables in booth 2125 at this week’s Optical Fiber Communication conference (OFC 2011) in Los Angeles (8–10 March).

Tags: Emcore Connects Cables

Visit: www.emcoreconnects.com

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