Patent ID: 8483568

Claim:
A data center comprising: a plurality of data center units (DCUs) disposed in a region, wherein each DCU is configured to run a part or all of a data processing application; and a number M of broadcasting transmitters (M>1) and a number N of optical receivers (N>1) associated with the plurality of DCUs disposed in the region, wherein each of the M broadcasting transmitters is configured to broadcast optical control and/or data signals to the each of the N optical receivers over an internal network of separate free space optical communication links that form M×N distinct communication channels between pairs of the M broadcasting transmitters and the N optical receivers in the region, wherein each of the M×N distinct communication channels between pairs of the M broadcasting transmitters and the N optical receivers in the region is associated with a distinct channel-identifying characteristic, and wherein each of the N optical receivers is configured to identify a broadcasting transmitter by the channel-identifying characteristic of the communication channel between the broadcasting transmitter and the optical receiver.