Novel Ethernet Based Optical Local Area Networks for Computer Interconnection

In this paper we present new optical local area networks for fiber-to-the-desk application. Presented networks are expected to bring a solution for having optical fibers all the way to computers. To bring the overall implementation costs down we have based our networks on short-wavelength optical components, multimode optical fibers, multimode polymer-based integrated-optic devices and widely used fast Ethernet protocol. A new physical layer device that can be attached to the existing network interface card has been developed and implemented such that computers can exchange data using our new networks

New Ethernet Based Optically Transparent Network for Fiber-to-the-Desk Application

We present a new optical local area network architecture based on multimode optical fibers and components, short wavelength lasers and detectors and the widely used fast Ethernet protocol. The presented optically transparent network represent a novel approach in fiber-to-the-desk applications. It is made to minimize the costs associated with a passive optical LAN implementation. The biggest issues in the realization of the network are the synchronization of bursty traffic and collision detection. We present, in detail, the solution to the synchronization problem by introducing an analog sinusoidal carrier that is in addition to the data signal only sent within the data packet duration. The extraction of data and the synchronization signal is made by using simple filtering, facilitating the receiver realization

The Design of a System Architecture for Mobile Multimedia Computers

This chapter discusses the system architecture of a portable computer, called Mobile Digital Companion, which provides support for handling multimedia applications energy efficiently. Because battery life is limited and battery weight is an important factor for the size and the weight of the Mobile Digital Companion, energy management plays a crucial role in the architecture. As the Companion must remain usable in a variety of environments, it has to be flexible and adaptable to various operating conditions. The Mobile Digital Companion has an unconventional architecture that saves energy by using system decomposition at different levels of the architecture and exploits locality of reference with dedicated, optimised modules. The approach is based on dedicated functionality and the extensive use of energy reduction techniques at all levels of system design. The system has an architecture with a general-purpose processor accompanied by a set of heterogeneous autonomous programmable modules, each providing an energy efficient implementation of dedicated tasks. A reconfigurable internal communication network switch exploits locality of reference and eliminates wasteful data copies

Octopus - an energy-efficient architecture for wireless multimedia systems

Multimedia computing and mobile computing are two trends that will lead to a new application domain in the near future. However, the technological challenges to establishing this paradigm of computing are non-trivial. Personal mobile computing offers a vision of the future with a much richer and more exciting set of architecture research challenges than extrapolations of the current desktop architectures. In particular, these devices will have limited battery resources, will handle diverse data types, and will operate in environments that are insecure, dynamic and which vary significantly in time and location. The approach we made to achieve such a system is to use autonomous, adaptable modules, interconnected by a switch rather than by a bus, and to offload as much as work as possible from the CPU to programmable modules that is placed in the data streams. A reconfigurable internal communication network switch called Octopus exploits locality of reference and eliminates wasteful data copies

Renewable power for lean desktops in media applications

An integration of solar microgeneration to supply a low-power IT desktop, using the Power over Ethernet standards IEEE 802.3af/at as a low power distribution network avoiding transformer losses from DC generation to mains power AC and back to low-voltage DC and hence maximising efficiency. The resulting design points to applications in media technology where reducing grid power consumption is critical for improving sustainability, or where there are supply constraints, and indicates new directions in how we manage and consume power for IT devices