Data center with free-space optical communications

• US 8,301,028 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2009
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Davidson, Howard Lee, Hamilton, James R., Hyde, Roderick A., Josefsberg, Arne, Jung, Edward K. Y., Kare, Jordin T., Lord, Robert W., Lustig, Kenneth, Mangione-Smith, William Henry, Manos, Michael, Mundie, Craig J., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Rashid, Richard F., Smith, Burton, Tegreene, Clarence T., Welland, Robert V., Whitmer, Charles, Wood, Lowell L. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Dzung
• Application Number:
  US12/655,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20110150489A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: 398115-130
• US Class Current: 398/124
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1129 Arrangements for outdoor wireless networking of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1149 Arrangements for indoor wireless networking of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/27 Arrangements for networking

Abstract

A data center for executing a data processing application includes processing units, sub-units or servers. Each of the processing units, sub-units or servers can execute a part or all of the data processing application. The processing units, sub-units or servers are electrical disjoint with respect to data communications, but can communicate with each other over free space optical links.

Claims

1. A data center, comprising:

a plurality of data center units (DCUs) disposed in a region, wherein each DCU is configured to run a part or all of a data processing application, and wherein at least a first of the plurality of data center units has an optical interface unit (OIU) responsive to optical control signals;

an internal network of one or more free space optical control and/or data communication links between nodal points associated with individual DCUs across the data center; and

a network controller configured to connect or disconnect the plurality of data center units from the internal network;

wherein the internal network comprises one or more free space optical control and/or data communication links between N nodal points (A, B, C . . .) across the region, wherein the N nodal points include one or more nodal points corresponding to individual DCUs connected to the internal network and/or one or more nodal points disposed at locations that are remote with respect to the individual DCUs, wherein the network controller comprises a router disposed at a remote nodal point A external to the plurality of DCUs, and wherein the router is configured to establish the one or more free space optical control and/or data communication links between nodal points (B, C . . . ).

2. The data center of claim 1, wherein the network controller is configured to control the OIU using optical, electrical, and/or electromagnetic control signals.

3. The data center of claim 1, wherein the network controller is configured to control the OIU with free space optical control signals.

4. The data center of claim 1, wherein the plurality of data center units comprises one or more of data center bottles and/or data processing units, wherein the data center bottles include a plurality of data processing units, wherein the data processing units include one or more data processing circuits, and wherein the data processing circuits include one or more electronic modules, boxes, servers, cards, boards, and/or racks or free standing assemblies thereof.

5. The data center of claim 1, wherein a nodal point in the internal network corresponds to an external network access interface.

6. The data center of claim 1, wherein each nodal point in the internal network comprises one or more optical elements that are configurable to establish the one or more free space optical communication links.

7. The data center of claim 1, wherein the one or more optical elements comprise at least one of a reflecting mirror, a steerable telescope, a hemispherical lens, an optical router, an electro-optical beam steering element, an acoustic-optical beam steering element, and/or a mechanically steerable optical element.

8. The data center of claim 1, wherein the OIU comprises at least one of an optical signal pass-through device, an optical beam generator, an optical beam modulator, an optical beam director, a steerable optical element, a beam-forming circuitry, an optical signal receiver/detector, an electrical-to-optical signal convertor, an optical-to-electrical signal converter, electrical and/or optical switchgear.

9. The data center of claim 1, wherein the one or more free space optical communication links comprise a link that is preset for data center operations.

10. The data center of claim 1, wherein the one or more free space optical communication links comprise a dynamic link establishable during data center operations.

11. The data center of claim 10, wherein the network controller is configured to establish the dynamic link during data center operations using a search or scanning process.

12. The data center of claim 10, wherein the network controller is configured to establish the dynamic link during data center operations in response to a data center process value and/or an external process value or command.

13. The data center of claim 1, wherein the one or more free space optical communication links across the data center comprise a nodal point-to-nodal point link and/or a nodal point-to-multinodal point link.

14. The data center of claim 1, further comprising, a router configured to route data between the data center units over the one or more free space optical communication links.

15. The data center of claim 14 wherein the router comprises at least one of a passive router, an active router, a mirror assembly, a holographic reflector, an optical switch and/or a receiver/transmitter with electronic switching.

16. The data center of claim 14, wherein the router is configured to use logical addressing for routing data between the data center units.

17. The data center of claim 14, wherein the router is configured to route data to one or more mailboxes in lieu of a physical address.

18. The data center of claim 17, wherein the router is configured to map data to and/or from the one or more mailboxes to one or more of the plurality of data center units.

19. The data center of claim 17, wherein the one or more mailboxes correspond to one or more different data center applications and/or data center units.

20. The data center of claim 17, wherein the one or more mailboxes are dynamically assignable during data center operations to one or more different data center applications and/or data center units.

21. The data center of claim 1, further comprising, an access interface coupling the data center to an external network.

22. The data center of claim 21, wherein the access interface comprises one or more optical elements configured to link the external network to the internal network of the one or more free space optical communication links.

23. The data center of claim 1, wherein at least one of the data center units comprises a wired, a wireless, and/or an optical power receiver.

24. The data center of claim 1, wherein at least one of the DCU is a mobile DCU configured to move from a first position to a second position in the data center.

25. The data center of claim 24, wherein the network controller is configured to reposition the mobile DCU to establish the one or more free space optical communication links in the internal network.

26. The data center of claim 24, wherein the network controller is configured to reposition the mobile DCU in response to a data center application demand.

27. The data center of claim 1, wherein the internal network comprises free space optical control and/or data communication links having low and high bandwidth channels.

28. The data center of claim 27, wherein the internal network is configured to respectively send low payload and high payload signals over the low and high bandwidth channels in parallel.

29. The data center of claim 1, wherein the optical communication links are arranged in a bus, a star, a ring and/or a hybrid topology.

30. The data center of claim 1, wherein the internal network further comprises internal buffers configured to compensate for link path-length differences.

31. The data center of claim 1, wherein the internal network is configured so that at least two of the optical communication links have equal lengths.

32. The data center of claim 1, wherein the DCU-DCU optical communication links are arranged so that at least a first group of DCU-DCU links (>

2 links) passes through a first hub.

33. The data center of claim 32, wherein the first hub comprises an N×

N switch operable to interconnect the group of data center units.

34. The data center of claim 32, wherein a link connected to the first hub has multiple distinct wavelength channels.

35. The data center of claim 1, wherein the internal network comprises links between one or more central hubs, sub-hubs, and/or DCUs.

36. The data center of claim 35 wherein the one or more central hubs and/or sub-hubs comprise a hologram.

37. The data center of claim 36 wherein the hologram is configured to redirect one or more incident light according to a predefined routing that is digitally written in the hologram.

38. The data center of claim 36 wherein the hologram is configured to redirect one or more incident light according to a predefined routing that is digitally rewritten in the hologram during data center operation.

39. The data center of claim 1, wherein the plurality of DCUs are electrically disjoint.

40. The data center of claim 1, wherein the internal network of one or more optical data communication links comprises tunable and/or fixed-type add-drops.

41. The data center of claim 1, wherein the internal network of one or more optical data communication links is configured to provide expander-graph type redundant interconnectivity between the plurality of data center units.

42. The data center of claim 41, wherein the expander-graph type redundant interconnectivity between the plurality of data center units comprises redundant meshes operating at a number of discrete wavelengths.

43. The data center of claim 1, wherein the internal network includes one or more nodal points interposed at locations remote to the DCUs.

44. The data center of claim 43, wherein the one or more nodal points interposed at locations remote to the DCUs comprise a reconfigurable nodal point.

45. The data center of claim 44, wherein the reconfigurable nodal point comprises an active arrangement of one or more optical elements.

46. The data center of claim 1, wherein the internal network of one or more free space optical links comprises an optical arrangement configured to redirect light from a first nodal point to a second nodal point in the internal network.

47. The data center of claim 46, wherein the optical arrangement comprises a mirror disposed at any one of a data center region wall, ceiling, floor, and/or boundary.

48. The data center of claim 46, wherein the plurality of DCUs are disposed in a multiplicity of rows, and wherein the optical arrangement comprises a mirror strip disposed substantially parallel to a first of the multiplicity of rows of the DCUs.

49. The data center of claim 46, wherein the plurality of DCUs are disposed in a multiplicity of rows, and wherein the optical arrangement comprises a mirror strip disposed at a substantial angle [e.g., of about 45 degrees] to a first of the plurality of rows of the DCUs and configured to redirect light from a first nodal point in a first row to a second nodal point at about the end of the first row.

50. The data center of claim 46, wherein the plurality of data center units are disposed in a multiplicity of rows, and wherein the optical arrangement comprises a mirror strip disposed over the multiplicity of rows.

51. The data center of claim 46, wherein the plurality of data center units are disposed in a multiplicity of rows, and wherein the optical arrangement comprises a mirror strip over a first row configured to redirect light from a first nodal point in the first row to a second nodal point in a second row that is separated from the first row by an odd number of rows.

52. The data center of claim 46, wherein the plurality of data center units are disposed in a multiplicity of rows (N) with open spaces there between, and wherein the optical arrangement comprises a mirror strip over an open space adjacent to a first row configured to redirect light from a first nodal point in the first row to a second nodal point in a second row that is separated from the first row by an even number of TOWS.

53. The data center of claim 1, wherein the router comprises an electro-optical deflector and/or acoustic-optical deflector configured to switch a B-to-A link to a A-to-C link.

54. The data center of claim 53, wherein the one or more free space optical control and/or data communication links are preset, and wherein the router comprises an electro-optical deflector and/or acoustic-optical deflector configured to pre-establish the one or more free space optical control and/or data communication links between the nodal points (A, B, . . . ) based on a pointing table.

55. The data center of claim 1, wherein the router comprises an electro-optical deflector and/or acoustic-optical deflector configured to establish one or more indirect links between the nodal points (A, B, . . . ).

56. The data center of claim 1, wherein the router is configured to establish one-to-many links between the nodal points (A, B, . . . ).