Abstract: Sophisticated numerical simulations represent an indispensable tool for developing new optical communication systems and solutions. With wider availability of parallel computing hardware (most notably, multi-core CPUs and GPUs) it becomes increasingly important to effectively parallelize simulation algorithms. In this paper, we review the main principles and common pitfalls of parallel simulations for optical systems and components. The addressed topics include signal propagation in fibers, fiber gratings, active and passive semiconductor components, parallel simulations of transmission systems and photonic integrated circuits represented by networks of modules, as well as general-purpose optimization tasks.

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