Abstract

This talk presents a design for an optical router based on decomposing the steps required for IP packet forwarding. Previous implementations of hopcount decrement and header matching are integrated with a recent simulation-based approach to variable-length packet merging that avoids recirculation, resulting in an all-optical data plane. A method for IPv4 checksum computation is introduced, and the implications of this design are considered, including the potential for chip and system integration. These components are extended from binary to higher-density (multiple bits per symbol) encodings, which led to our new Optical Turing Machine (OTM) project. OTM explores the unification of communication and computation through a new approach to digital optics to enable network processing of a high-density modulation format capable of high-speed, long-distance transmission.

Bio: Joe Touch is the Postel Center Director in USC ’s Information Sciences Institute and a Research Associate Professor in USC ’s Computer Science and EE/Systems Departments. He received his Ph.D. from the Univ. of Pennsylvania and joined ISI in 1992, and his current projects involve virtual networks, optical Internets and computation, and network security. Joe is in Sigma Xi, an ACM Distinguished Scientist, and an IEEE Senior Member and ComSoc Distinguished Lecturer. He serves on various committees and the editorial boards of IEEE Network and Elsevier’s Journal of Computer and Systems Sciences, and is active in the IETF .