Can Silicon Photonics Transform Data Centers?

Newish on the data-transmission scene, silicon photonics is an electrifying technology that promises inexpensive, mass-produced optical components through photonics integration – it transfers data among computer chips by optical rays that transports more data in less time than electrical conductors. Since the first commercial product was introduced in 2005, the last decade has seen remarkable progress in technology and development.

A main application area for silicon photonics is cloud data centers, whose footprints continue to grow substantially to accommodate massive amounts of servers and switches. Starting in 2016, many hyperscale cloud content and service providers, such as Facebook and Microsoft, began deploying 100G Ethernet using singlemode optics-based infrastructure in their new data centers to bolster up business growth.

100G Ethernet data center deployment has drawn attention to silicon photonics; many of these singlemode transceiver modules are made with silicon photonics technology.

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Ethernet Speeds Ascend in MTDCs, Enterprise and Hyperscale Data Centers

In 2012, 25G Ethernet distribution began – since then, the industry’s prime players have been innovating and collaborating to execute your demands for more bandwidth with higher-performance transmission technology.

Driven by the expanding cloud ecosystem, data centers have become the rapidly-growing Ethernet market. They’re the center of many technology innovations – especially hyperscale data centers. According to the Cisco VNI Forecast, global data center traffic is increasing with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% (33% CAGR in cloud data centers and 5% CAGR in traditional data centers).

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Ethernet Trends for Data Centre Technology

40G and 100G Ethernet technology is no longer a distant vision for data centers – it is reality. As data centers of all types continue to expand in terms of traffic and size, 100G is set to become the new standard for high bandwidth and intelligent architecture. It will take some time to develop industry-wide, but 100G is well on its way.

In the initial development of 40G and 100G Ethernet, the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet working group considered only multimode optics and multimode fiber cable solutions (with a reach of up to 150m for 40G and 100m for 100G) for data center applications.

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Cabinet Load: Why It Matters and Why It’s Changing

For better use of floor space and decreased operating costs, the goal it have more active gear inside cabinets and enclosures. As a result, they’re getting wider, deeper and taller. In the past, most enclosures offered 42 RUs or 45 RUs of space. Today, many cabinets offer 48 RUs of space – and can offer as many as 52 RUs (or more).

But as cabinets grow in size, they also get heavier. If cabinets get too heavy, the floor may not be able to support the load; the cabinets may also be very difficult to move.

It’s becoming crucial to analyze load ratings (load capacities) when selecting cabinets. Here are the load ratings you need to know:

  • Static load rating: How much weight a cabinet can hold when racks are loaded in the data center
  • Dynamic load rating: How much weight a cabinet can accommodate when shipped fully loaded (important to note with services like Data Center Ready becoming more popular)
  • Rolling load rating: How much weight a cabinet can tolerate as it is moved/rolled across the floor

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Cost-Effective Short Wavelength Division Multiplexing (SWDM)

Applications Presently Using SWDM

Factoring that fiber infrastructure costs, parallel multimode MPO cabling is largely more costly than LC-duplex fiber patch cords. For direct port-to-port connections, it’s more desirable to use a single fiber pair instead of MPO trunk to keep costs down.

For supporting smooth migration from 10G to 40G Ethernet, Cisco released a proprietary 40G bi-directional (BiDi) transceiver solution that allows reuse of the duplex multimode fiber pair for 40G connection. The BiDi transceiver utilizes two wavelengths (850nm and 900nm) transmitting in the same fiber on opposite directions, with an actual bit rate of 20 Gbps. It supports 40G data transmission up to 150m in OM4 multimode fiber.

Arista’s 40G universal transceiver is another solution that supports LC-duplex fiber pair instead of MPO. The 40GBASE-UNIV supports a reach of 500m singlemode fiber and 150m reach in OM4. Similar solutions are also available from Juniper (40G-LX4) and Finisar (40G-LM4).

In short-reach datacom applications, BiDi and Universal transceiver solutions have proven to be market successes.

New SWDM Applications in WBMMF

Historically, compared to singlemode transceivers, multimode transceivers cost less and are more efficient in power consumption. The introduction of wideband multimode fiber will maintain the appeal of multimode fiber cabling systems for next-generation Ethernet speed implementation with SWDM technology.

Since 40G Ethernet was introduced, QSFP has become the most popular form factor for 40G and 100G Ethernet physical interfaces. Recently, new SWDM-based QSFP multimode transceivers, including 40G-SWDM4, 100G-SWDM4 and 100G-SWDM2, have been demonstrated by a few vendors.

In regard to standardization, the SWDM4 consortium built a consensus that 4-wavelength is a viable solution, and it’s possible to support up to eight wavelengths in the single MMF. In the IEEE 802.3 working group, WBMMF was already taken into consideration for new standards development.

If you opt for SWDM transceivers in your next data center deployment, we recommend taking a close look at OM5 to support desired reach and link performance.

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What is Layer 0?

Beneath your IT infrastructure lies a foundation: layer 0. It’s the one we often don’t talk about. It’s constantly overlooked but is so critical. Installed behind walls and above the ceiling, behind closed doors and in dark rooms, your cabling – although hidden, and seldom the topic of conversation among IT professionals – is, in my opinion, the most important layer of your information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure.

What is Layer 0?

Basically, layer 0 is made up of your infrastructure cabling and connectivity. It allows data to be reliably transmitted from one place to another at high speeds – whether users/devices are in the same room, in different buildings or separated by thousands of kilometers.

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Flexible Data Centres Are Like Lego Blocks

Standardization can assist your data centre deliver constant high-quality performance on time and in a safe environment. In the world of data centres, “standardization” means that processes follow the same steps, in the same sequence, while using a set of products and systems with predefined characteristics. If data centres lack standardization, then “improvisation” (executing a task without preparing or knowing what’s ahead) often takes over. This eats up valuable time, leads to mistakes caused by human error and produces inconsistent results and unexpected delays.

While the word “standardization” seems restrictive, it actually can lead to the opposite: flexible data centers that make the most of capital investments, improve space utilization and prevent unplanned downtime. Which is more important: standardized or flexible data centers? Or can you have both? It’s vital to standardize where you can – but it shouldn’t come at the loss of flexibility to meet your unique (and changing) goals.

When combined appropriately, standardized, flexible data centers offer numerous benefits. Because it can be hard to describe, we’re going to use Lego blocks as an example. While Lego blocks are standardized, they also provide a world of flexibility:

  1. The Ability to Scale Quickly
  2. Easy “Maintenance”
  3. Ramp Up Easily for Fast Deployment
  4. Pieces Designed to Work Together

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What we Learned at the Ethernet Alliance’s Technology Exploration Forum

On Sept. 29, 2016, a Technology Exploration Forum (TEF) was hosted by the Ethernet Alliance to research new Ethernet market demands and technological challenges that will make up the next decade.

Belden was invited to share some insight and engage common interests and new challenges in the Ethernet community. The Forum learned some interesting things from industry experts, including research groups such as Dell’Oro and LightCounting, at the Ethernet Alliance Technology Exploration Forum, and wanted to pass them along to you.

  1. The Current Status of Ethernet
  2. More Cost-Effective, System-Level Solutions
  3. The Potential for a Fragmented Market
  4. Multisource Agreements Fill Gaps
  5. Sweet Spots for Fiber

 ethernet-speeds

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Splice-On Connectors – 6 Reasons to Consider

A new connector technology combination utilizing the benefits of both fusion splicing with the simplicity of a field-installable connector to better our options for field-termination: the splice-on connector. Technicians are embracing the splice-on connector for aggressive plant environments, data centers and MDU (multi-dwelling unit) networks.

A splice-on connector uses a fusion splicer to permanently join a fiber stub inside the connector with a fiber cable. The splice is protected inside the boot of the connector, replacing the need for traditional pigtails as the splice is contained within the connector.

As splice-on connectors become more popular, here are a few reasons why you may want to consider them for your network:

1. Fewer Materials and Components Required
2. Better Insertion Loss and Return Loss Performance over Mechanical Splice Connectors
3. Installation Flexibility
4. Generic Requirements (GR) for Outdoor Environments
5. Successful-Splice Notification
6. Significant Price Decreases

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