14 DAY TRIAL // Today we're talking about speed. I started the article with that sentence because I want you to understand just how important the idea of speed is. The term "speed" defines how much bits are being read/written or transferred in a second, being more or less related to the physical meaning of the word. But let's see how we got here, shall we?
The need for speed is a somewhat natural thing in the IT business, but it always starts inside the PC. When a faster CPU gets to the launch point, someone realizes that the platform also needs faster memories and optical/magnetically-based drives to keep up with it. At the same time, the multimedia capabilities are enhanced in order to put all that power to good use. And that eventually translates into higher speeds being implemented on networks. The circle ends when another begins. And it begins with another CPU, of course.
For example, Siemens claims to have set a new speed record for electrical processing and transfer of data through a fiber-optic cable. They say that with the help of only electrical related transmitters, they have achieved a sustained speed of 107 gigabits per second down a 100 mile-long US network. The 107 gigabit speed is an impressive record, being about 2.5 times faster than the previous maximum speed ever obtained on an electrical transmission.
Siemens told Reuters that the technique uses electrical processing only and removes the need to split signals into multiple data-rate transfer flows. As a result, bottlenecks are avoided and that makes transmitters faster and cheaper to build. The first products based on the prototype shown by Siemens will eventually be mass released but not for at least another two years.