New Data Transfer Speed Record!

[3113]

Bold Mine!

Researchers have set a new record for the rate of data transfer using a single laser: 26 terabits per second. At those speeds, the entire Library of Congress collections could be sent down an optical fibre in 10 seconds. The trick is to use what is known as a "fast Fourier transform" to unpick more than 300 separate colours of light in a laser beam, each encoded with its own string of information.

The technique is described in the journal Nature Photonics.

The push for higher data rates in light-based telecommunications technologies has seen a number of significant leaps in recent years. While the earliest optical fibre technologies encoded a string of data as "wiggles" within a single colour of light sent down a fibre, newer approaches have used a number of tricks to increase data rates.

Among them is what is known as "orthogonal frequency division multiplexing", which uses a number of lasers to encode different strings of data on different colours of light, all sent through the fibre together. At the receiving end, another set of laser oscillators can be used to pick up these light signals, reversing the process.

From here.

So why is my connection so slow?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

You got fiber optics? I do and it's really fast . . . when the servers aren't all clogged up!

 

[elfin_odalisque]

3113, yes, Fourier transforms work with frequencies not bit speed so they can transmit data without the delays of overcapacity.

Manque, the problem of speed, that people wrongly call bandwidth, is down to sites not buying sufficient capacity to meet demand. scouries is a drag on the system because of his hotlinking.

The speeds that 3113 talks of exist between sites we can only dream of.

 

[Lisa Denton]

The speeds that 3113 talks of exist between sites we can only dream of.

10 years ago my terabyte hard drive could only be dreamed of. One simple design change made a breakthrough which, coupled with the demand to store more and more porn made my multiple hard drives over 100 gigs possible. Which in turn made my 3.40 quadcore processor needed, and, invented.



Clicking around off the link provided in the OP, I saw some related info. Two things stood out. One was that future use will demand drastic changes. The other was trials using similar technology on a much smaller scale to boost broadband cable speeds seem possible.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

No matter the speed advertised, it all hinges on the speed of the server and your computer to receive what is being sent. A 100mbit transfer rate is rarely achieved. Even a 10mbit bandwidth is never filled to the brim.

Server, router, subnet and other equipment between you and the data you want hinder the speed at which you receive that data. Then there is you computer, is its only task at that moment in time dedicated to receive that data? Hardly, so the hardware (nic - network interface card) may gather the data packets, but the software or other hardware is busy and doesn't notice the packets in time and they are discarded because more are flowing into the NIC buffer, overwriting what is there.

Probably more than you wanted to know...but...

Even in a fiber optic route, there is copper in the way. At each node, router, sub-net transfer point, the signal is switched from fiber optic to copper and back. Then there is the copper at the end of the line...you computer. And if you are using WIFI, this limit is restricted to 56mbits to 64mbits transfer rate.

 

[TE999]

No matter the speed advertised, it all hinges on the speed of the server and your computer to receive what is being sent. A 100mbit transfer rate is rarely achieved. Even a 10mbit bandwidth is never filled to the brim.

Server, router, subnet and other equipment between you and the data you want hinder the speed at which you receive that data. Then there is you computer, is its only task at that moment in time dedicated to receive that data? Hardly, so the hardware (nic - network interface card) may gather the data packets, but the software or other hardware is busy and doesn't notice the packets in time and they are discarded because more are flowing into the NIC buffer, overwriting what is there.

Probably more than you wanted to know...but...

Even in a fiber optic route, there is copper in the way. At each node, router, sub-net transfer point, the signal is switched from fiber optic to copper and back. Then there is the copper at the end of the line...you computer. And if you are using WIFI, this limit is restricted to 56mbits to 64mbits transfer rate.

I was on WI-FI with fiber optic cable... due to a system glitch, I hooked up an Ethernet cable from my 'puter to the ISP's modem and lo, my download speed jumped dramatically. Now it's around 14.5kbps most of the time.

 

[Handley_Page]

Bold Mine!

From here.

So why is my connection so slow?

Because you don't have the Fast Fourier chip to get the data back out.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I was on WI-FI with fiber optic cable... due to a system glitch, I hooked up an Ethernet cable from my 'puter to the ISP's modem and lo, my download speed jumped dramatically. Now it's around 14.5kbps most of the time.

That will would be true for anyone that has a hardwire connection, but you are still limited by the amount of data the copper wire can handle.

 

[TE999]

That will would be true for anyone that has a hardwire connection, but you are still limited by the amount of data the copper wire can handle.

True, true.