Photonic switches promise to have a large impact on future HPC and datacenter networks. However, even if we assume ideal zero-energy photonic switches, we cannot achieve significant system-wide benefits if we do not change the rest of the system architecture. This motivates co-design between emerging photonic switches and the rest of the system in order to adapt the system network to best make use of unique features of photonic switches, as well as tailor photonic switches to better support system-wide trends such as resource disaggregation. In this paper, we discuss the architectural impact of several properties of photonic switches. For each, we provide an overview of what system-level capabilities they enable, how they can be adapted to support ongoing trends, and what other synergistic advancements would produce a better system-wide improvement. In this way, we illustrate the potential benefit of closer collaboration between the photonic and architecture communities.
The cost and complexity of future interconnects create a significant opportunity for emerging photonic tech- nologies such as fibers and switches. These technologies should be evaluated at the system level in order to determine the most efficient way they can be used, as well as provide feedback to photonic developers to better optimize for high-level impact. In this paper, we argue for the need for a systematic methodology to extract system-level models for any emerging photonic component. We then outline our past experience with extracting architectural-level metrics from device demonstrations and conducting architectural-level evaluations. Finally, we discuss qualities for a desirable solution to this problem that requires cross-community collaboration.
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