The hardware to interface to this would be the same for all devices. The cost to connect a lower end communication device would be as high as the higher end devices. This will be cost prohibitive.
I don't think my mouse needs 10 Gb/s communication... well, okay maybe during some of my COD WAW games....
Intel's Light Peak to cut the cables
Summary
Intel unveiled technology called Light Peak that it hopes ultimately will replace the profusion of different cables sprouting from today's PCs with a single type of fiber-optic link.
Topics
SAN FRANCISCO--Intel unveiled technology called Light Peak that it hopes ultimately will replace the profusion of different cables sprouting from today's PCs with a single type of fiber-optic link.
Dadi Perlmutter, the newly promoted co-general manager of Intel's Architecture Group, demonstrated Light Peak at the Intel Developer Forum here and said components for the technology, though not Light Peak-enabled PCs, will be ready in 2010.
"We hope to see one single cable," Perlmutter said, adding that one thing getting in the way of smaller laptops is the profusion of cable ports around the systems' edges.
See Also: Special Report: Intel Developer Forum
In a demonstration, Perlmutter showed a PC connected to a monitor across the stage showing high-definition video sent over a Light Peak optical cable. The cable can be as long as 100 meters and can carry data at 10 gigabits per second in both directions simultaneously, though Intel expects it will reach 100 gigabits per second in the next decade, said Jason Ziller, Intel's director of optical input-ouput program office, in an interview.
The company envisions Light Peak as a replacement for the cables that currently lead to monitors, external drives, scanners, and just about anything else that plugs in to a computer. A PC could have a number of Light Peak ports for different devices, or a connection could lead to a hub--perhaps an external monitor--with multiple connections of its own, Ziller said.
It's not clear how much the technology will cost or how many years it will take to become mainstream. And wireless communication technology--Intel itself has promoted Ultra-Wideband (UWB) for years--offers the attraction of getting rid of some cables altogether.
The Light Peak technology handles multiple communication protocols at the same time, with quality-of-service provisions to ensure high-priority traffic such as video get preferred treatment, he said.
In addition, Intel said it's working on bundling the optical fiber with copper wire so Light Peak can be used to power devices plugged into the PC, he said.
The cables themselves are durable, Ziller said: "You can tie a knot in it and it'll still work."
Intel has a lot of clout in the computing marketplace, but building support for a radical new connection that could replace DVI, DisplayPort, USB, Firewire, HDMI, and any number of other connections would require broad industry support. Intel's taking the usual approach to tackling that problem:
"We're working with the industry to standardize it," Ziller said. Intel has been briefing other companies for "the last few months," and now is trying to get the standards process started in earnest with partners including companies in the computing, consumer electronics, and telephone handset markets, he said.
Ziller wouldn't say who else is participating in the effort, but Intel published a statement of support from Sony, which has a lot of clout of its own in many markets.
"Sony is excited about the potential for Light Peak technology that Intel has been developing, and believe it could enable a new generation of high-speed device connectivity," said Ryosuke Akahane, vice president of Sony's Vaio Business Group.
So will Light Peak become a universal port? "Intel's long-term vision is you could get to that," Ziller said.
This monitor connected to a Light Peak communication apparatus showed a video signal coming from the remote PC.(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)
This article was originally posted on CNET News.
Talkback Most Recent of 7 Talkback(s)
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happyharry_z24th Sep 2009 -
Economies of scale
Whilst the initial costs of these chips would be relatively high, the volume that they would be manufactured in would drop the cost of each endpoint to a negligible level.
Frankly, the world needs this technology. It's ridiculous that we are having to buy (multiple) VGA, DVI, USB, USB2, FireWire, FireWire2, HDMI, etc. cables and adapters.
The back of most PC's looks like a rat's nest. Ideally, there should be AT MOST one cable between any two devices and most lower-speed devices should be talking wirelessly.
Well done Intel. Now standardize it and ship it.
de-void-2116559065030180600283633778702324th Sep 2009 -
Exactly Right!
And as far as Intel's customers are concerned, it's not just the back of the PC which contains a rat's nest of expensive, wobbly connectors and unique cables: The motherboard itself is error prone and hard to manufacture, with so many solder paths and layout thingies and on-board connectors to get exactly right.
If you think that a PCIe x16 connector looks "complex" on the outside, well, read about the pin-to-bus layout difficulties going on INSIDE, and then pile on the problem of getting all those solder joints PERFECT before boxing it up for sale. And all these other things, well, they each want unique signals too, requiring more layout, more manufacturing risk, more money, more stocking of nearly unique "support" chips....
You're exactly right. Volume would make them cheap. And BTW, at the distances and speeds they're quoting... even Ethernet cables might not be entirely "safe" from competition.
Rick S._z25th Sep 2009 -
RE: Intel's Light Peak to cut the cables
Not before time.
I noticed the cellphone manufacturers are going to standardise on power sockets in cellphones and the chargers, so only one charger is needed for all the families cellphones, and Starbucks can offer a service to charge your phone at the table whilst drinking your Latte! The EU has ordered the cellphone companies to do this.
Whilst I am a libertarian and don't approve of such laws, I will take full advantage. Perhaps governments might order the computer industry to take this up because all those wires at the backs of computers are a "'ealth an' safety" hazard?
Those who are excited by this should expect to wait for a decade for this to be taken up and widespread, and I will be eighty then!
Initially there will still be all those sockets plus one extra as product manufacturers have to take care of the legacy users. I see it as three years before it gets adopted, five years before the sockets start appearing and ten years before all the legacy products have virtually disappeared.
ampers@...25th Sep 2009 -
Why not on the inside as well?
Light Peak can replace SATA, EIDE, floppy cables, USB, Firewire, and everything else. Given their incredible bandwidth, multiple devices could be strung in series (i.e., a hard drive is connected to the motherboard, a DVD drive to the hard drive, and a floppy to the DVD).
Redundancy should not be left out of the picture. With multiple routes into and out of each component (with spanning protocols similar to ethernet) a high reliability piece of equipment to continue to operate even with a dead link.
LarryPTL25th Sep 2009 -
"multiple devices could be strung in series...."
Of course Intel is intending to replace these ports as well. Conceptually, Light Peak is like PCIe -- but with bandwidth rivaling a 16x connector, and distance limitations removed, on an ultra-cheap, easy-to-connect interface.
Right now, I understand that an extremely high proportion of motherboard failures (WITH rework) in the manufacturing process is related to failed connectors-- and most often, it's when they try to attach the large, complex PCIe x16 connectors. Because the MB is almost entirely done, a big salvage effort is worthwhile. But it's costly. Eventually, even Video Cards will likely be connected in this manner: Instead of a huge number of error-prone pins and wire layouts to map all those lanes, just the one short data connector.
But I think you're post misses the boat on some other aspects. Each port within the "strung-up cascade" would be a point of failure for all subsequent devices, and rapidly turns into a bird's nest of wires. Since a large number of these connectors connectors can be provided in a very small space, it makes no sense to connect devices through each other--
Just run more of the point-to-point cables, with (maybe) one or two hubs providing cheaper off-the-bus interconnect points, both outside and inside the box.
Video card bandwidth at 100 meters over a durable cable which a 5-year old can plug in correctly? WOW, sounds great!Rick S._z25th Sep 2009 -
Don't forget the power
Don't forget the power! The commercial success of
this
technology (and eliminating the rats nest) will
require
carrying significant power by copper in the same
cable.
Please, please do not underestimate or ignore
this.
Jeltz29th Jan 2010
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