Terahertz, Xyratex Do SAN Research

LIVINGSTON, U.K. -- Optical waveguide specialist, Terahertz Photonics, is part of the team which has won support from the DTI through the LINK scheme for the development of the next generation of optical interconnections for Storage Area Networks (SANs). Terahertz will be working with Xyratex, a leading storage and network technology company, the University of Edinburgh and University College London in the 2 year research project. Called the Storlite project, its goal is the design and implementation of innovative optical interconnection schemes that increase the density of data storage and reduce the cost.

Networked Storage Systems provide a dedicated high availability and high performance environment within which to store and continuously access data. Globalisation, the increase in 24/7 data-services, and the threat of terrorism are all factors which are causing large organisations, such as banks, to invest in Networked Storage Systems technology. Consequently, the Networked Storage Systems market, has been forecast by IDC to increase steadily over the next few years from its current already substantial $ 7.4 billion.

The next generation of Network Storage technology is already planned to provide 10 Gigabit per second connections to the network and over 3 Gigabit per second to each disk drive. At these increasing internal speeds, the density of disk drives in each system goes up and it becomes increasingly difficult and expensive to implement a copper interconnect solution. The Storlite project is therefore focused on implementing an internal optical solution between the system controllers and the hard disk drives. It will be the first time that optical technology has been used in the internal workings of a Storage System.

Terahertz Photonics will be contributing to the project through its expertise in optical waveguide materials and processes. Frank Tooley, CTO of Terahertz Photonics said: “This is a highly focused project with leading partners and a clear commercial goal. We expect this project to set the standards for optical interconnections for Storage Area Networks”.

Terahertz Photonics Ltd.

Xyratex