10-26-2017, 10:35 AM
Microsoft expects to deploy silicon photonics in Azure data centers soon, “initially going for switch-to-switch connectivity,” said Kushagra Vaid, Azure’s general manager of hardware engineering, speaking at the Intel Developer Forum. Intel began shipping silicon photonics last quarter and celebrated the occasion by mentioning it during an earnings call. The technology got a glitzier launch today from Diane Bryant, executive vice president of Intel’s data center group, during a keynote that featured Vaid as one of a few guest speakers.