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10 Factors to consider when Choosing a Rack PDU

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In it’s simplicity, rack power distribution units (PDUs) are designed to provide electrical protection and distribute power to networking equipment within racks/cabinets. As the needs and requirements of data centers altar, so do options for rack PDU performance.

There are several questions to consider before selecting rack PDUs that will work well for your data center application. This list below will aid you in the right direction, ensuring that the PDUs you choose will fit the design of your data center today and in the future.

1. Type of Mount

Depending on where you want to station it, a rack PDU can be mounted horizontally or vertically. Installed horizontally inside the rack (taking up RU space) is one option; another option is to vertically mount a PDU on the back or side of the enclosure (not taking up any RU space). You will often see one vertically mounted PDU on the left side and one on the right side of a data center cabinet (although rack PDUs can be mounted on either side, based on preferences).

PDUs can be mounted so that power cords exit either at the bottom or top of the enclosure. (If your data center is on a slab, for example, the power cord needs to exit at the top of the enclosure because there is no raised floor for it to pass through.)

2. Amperage

Your power rating – the amount of sustained power draw a PDU can handle – determines the amperage level you’ll need. Why is this important? Because, for example, a PDU with a 30A fuse will blow if a 30A circuit experiences more than 30A of power for an extended period of time.

Per the National Electrical Code, 30A PDUs or higher are required to be equipped with a 20A breaker to prevent injury in the event of a short circuit.

3. Voltage

In addition to different amperages, there are different input voltage options for rack PDUs as well; 208/240V is the most common voltage output to computing gear, with a new trend moving toward 400V input. Confirm your infrastructure voltage, and you’ll know what type of voltage you need in your PDU.

4. Single- or 3-Phase Power

What type of input power do you have access to: single-phase power or 3-phase power? The type of power distribution in your data center will determine whether you need a single- or 3-phase PDU.

The difference involves where in the distribution system the phase is broken down. When it’s broken down at the distribution panel, power to the rack will be single-phase service (requiring single-phase rack PDUs). When all three phases are brought to each rack, then a 3-phase PDU is needed. In most data centers, the input power is 3-phase service.

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Which is Right for You: 40G vs 100G Ethernet?

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Companies like as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook started their migration toward 100G in 2015 – and smaller enterprise data centers are now following suit. Plenty of these new 100G deployments adopt a singlemode fiber solution for longer reach that best suits their hyperscale data center architectures.

Comparing 40G vs. 100G optical transceivers currently available in the market, both have been developed and cost optimized for their designated reach and applications.

While weighing 40G vs. 100G Ethernet, and deciding which migration path makes more sense for your organization, here are some facts you should know:

  • Switches with 10G SFP+ ports, or 40G (4x 10G) QSFP+ ports, can support 10G server uplinks
  • Switches with 25G SFP28 ports, or 100G (4x 25G) QSFP28 ports, can support 25G server uplinks
  • 100G switches have already been massively deployed in cloud data centers; the cost difference between 40G vs. 100G is small
  • Most new 100G transceivers can easily support 40G operation
  • Some non-standard 100G singlemode transceivers are designed and optimized for cloud data center deployment; product availability for other environments is limited for the short term
  • Traditional Ethernet networking equipment giants Cisco and Arista have already started selling switch software on a standalone basis that goes into networking devices (such as a “white box” solution with merchant switch ASICs); this move accelerates hardware and software disaggregation and lowers overall ownership costs for end-users
  • According to Dell’Oro, 100G switch port shipments will surpass 40G switch port shipments in 2018.

When considering system upgrades from 10G, it’s essential to understand that 40G will also be needed to support the legacy installed base with 10G ports; 40G/100G switch port configurability will certainly accelerate 100G adoption in the enterprise market.

In 2017, 100G Ethernet is already ubiquitous – it will be mainstream, not just in hyperscale cloud data centers. Next-wave 200G/400G Ethernet will soon hit the market; standards bodies have already initiated a study group for 800G and 1.6T Ethernet to support bandwidth requirements beyond 2020.

Wrapping Up the Road to 800G

We’re almost finished with our blog series covering the road to 800G Ethernet. Subscribe to our blog to follow this series, as well as receive our other content each week. As part of this blog series, we’ve covered the following topics:

 

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Expectation for Fiber Connectivity: Layer 0

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The footprints of cloud data centers continue to increase substantially to accommodate massive amounts of servers and switches. To support sustainable business growth, many Web 2.0 companies, such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft, have decided to deploy 100G Ethernet using single mode optics-based infrastructure in their new data centers.

According to LightCounting and Dell’Oro, 100G transceiver module and switch port shipments this year will outpace last year’s shipments, with 10 times as many being shipped in 2017 vs. 2016. Shipment for 200G/400G switch ports will begin in 2018.

Data Center Architecture and Interconnects

Most intra-rack fiber connectivity has been implemented with DAC (direct-attach cables). As we discussed in our fiber infrastructure deployment blog series, system interconnects with a reach longer than 5 m must use more fiber connectivity to achieve the desired bandwidth.

100G, 200G, and 400G transceivers for data center applications have already been showcased by various vendors; massive deployment is expected to start in 2018. Based on reach requirements, different multimode and signal optical transceivers are being developed with optimized balance between performance and cost. Examples include:

  • In-room or in-row interconnects with multimode optics or active optical cables (AOCs), with a reach of up to 100 m. (New multimode transceivers, such as 100G-eSR4, paired with OM4/OM5 multimode fiber, can support a maximum reach of up to 300 m for 100G connectivity, which is suitable for most intra-rack interconnects.)
  • On-campus interconnects (inside the data center facility), with transceiver types such as PSM4 (parallel singlemode four-channel fiber) or CWDM4/CLR4 (coarse wavelength division multiplexing over duplex singlemode fiber pair) for 500 m reach.
  • On-campus interconnects (between data center buildings), with transceiver types such as PSM4 and CWDM4/CLR4 for a reach of 2 km.
  • Regional data center cluster interconnects, also referred as data center interconnects (DCIs), using coherent optics (CFP2-ACO and CFP2-DCO) for a reach of over 100 km, or direct modulation modules, such as QSFP28 DWDM ColorZ, for reach of up to 80 km.

Multimode Fiber Roadmap to 400G and Beyond

Multimode optics use low-cost VCSELs as the light source. When compared to singlemode transceivers, which utilize silicon photonics, VCSELs have some native performance disadvantages:

  • Fewer available wavelengths for wavelength division multiplexing
  • Speed is limited by the singlemode laser
  • Less advanced modulation options
  • High fiber counts needed to deliver required bandwidth
  • Shorter reach in multimode fiber (limited by fiber loss and dispersion) compared to singlemode fiber

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IP-Based Systems and PoE in Digital Buildings

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Digital buildings, smart buildings, intelligent buildings, connected buildings – no matter what you name them, the sentiment is the same: A building with devices and systems that are designed to collect and share data to run as efficiently as possible without human intervention.

IP-based systems – also known as networked systems – are what make this idea possible. These systems use Internet Protocol (IP) to communicate with each other through IP addresses and data packets. All types of building devices can be IP-based:

  • Access control
  • AV systems
  • Building controls/HVAC
  • Digital signage
  • Fire/life safety systems
  • LED lighting
  • Surveillance cameras
  • Voice/data systems
  • Wireless access points (WAPs)

To function, an IP-based system needs access to power and data. When deployed in digital buildings, they offer many benefits:

Simple Scalability

Only need 15 surveillance cameras today? Then that’s all you need to install. If you decide you need more devices, the system can quickly and easily be expanded. If you decide that you need fewer devices, they are easy to uninstall. The system doesn’t require you to install a certain number at a time.

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Single-Pair Ethernet Cabling: Four New Applications

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Four New Types of Single-Pair Ethernet Cabling

For years, Ethernet cabling has used four twisted pairs to carry data without worrying about noise in data lines. Recent developments in IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet Working Group) and TIA TR-42(Telecommunications Cabling Systems Engineering Committee) has unveiled four standards projects which may change that; instead of four balanced twisted-pairs cabling, these standards feature a single balanced twisted-pair Ethernet cabling.

Of these four, one will impact enterprise networks the most. We will cover this standard first, and then explain the three other types of single-pair Ethernet cables below.

IoT 1 Gbps Applications: 100 m Reach

A 2017 Ericsson Mobility Report says that there will be nearly 28 billion connected devices in place globally by 2021 – and more than half of these will be related to Internet of Things (IoT).

With the ability to deliver data at speeds of up to 1G, and PoE power, this standard is intended specifically for IoT applications. Known as ANSI/TIA-568.5, it will provide cable, connector, cord, link and channel specifications for single-pair connectivity in enterprise networks.

This single-pair Ethernet cable may help network professionals connect more devices to their networks as the industry moves toward digital buildings – where all types of systems and devices integrate directly with the enterprise network to capture and communicate data.

Most of the devices used in digital buildings – such as sensors – have minimal power and bandwidth requirements (in applications like building automation and alarm systems). In these cases, single-pair Ethernet cable can provide a cost-effective cabling solution. The cable is smaller and lighter than a standard four-pair Ethernet cable, so it can also reduce pathway congestion.

The three other single-pair Ethernet cable types don’t apply directly to data centers or enterprise networks, but they’re still important to understand.

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Data Centre Audits: What’s the Difference?

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There are numerous things to “audit” inside a data center in order to keep it operating at peak performance. When your team starts talking about a data center audit, make sure you know your options.

Depending on your goals, and what you hope to accomplish, there are several varieties of data center audits that be conducted. Here is a summary of the most common, and what types of information they can uncover.

Security Audit

A data center audit focusing on physical security will document and ensure that the appropriate procedures and technology are in place to avoid downtime, disasters, unauthorized access and breaches. It will revolve around things like:

In addition to analysing current security processes, a security audit can also provide you with improvement recommendations.

Energy Efficiency/Power Audit

A data center energy efficiency audit helps you pinpoint potential ways to reduce energy usage and utility bills. By taking a close look at power use, the thermal environment and lighting levels, an energy audit can uncover things such as malfunctioning equipment, incorrect HVAC settings and lights being left on in unused/unoccupied spaces.

During a data center audit that focuses on energy efficiency, power usage effectiveness (PUE) can also be calculated (based on dividing total power usage by IT equipment power). By tracking this number, you can establish benchmarks and determine whether data center performance is improving or declining over time.

 

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DCIM/AIM Webinar – 24th Jan 11AM SAST

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DCIM/AIM Software & Hardware Solution – Belden PatchPro®

24th January @ 11am SAST (South African Standard Time)

Join Wolfgang Schröder and Christos Birbilis from Belden to learn more about PatchPro®, Belden Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software and Automated Infrastructure Management (AIM) hardware solutions.

PatchPro®Infrastructure DCIM/AIM solution works with PatchPro® hardware to achieve transparency and accuracy in complex, demanding environments. Adapting to any environment – small businesses, large enterprises or sophisticated data centers – PatchPro®I modular architecture allows you to license only the components you need.

Licensing is based on concurrent users, allowing you to install the software on as many workstations as you like – and allows you to grow in the future. It can also be adapted to your specific requirements without programming or expensive consulting.

With PatchPro®, you can:

  • Monitor vital systems for early recognition of potential bottlenecks, such as hotspots, excessive power usage and other critical conditions that could impact business continuity
  • Minimize the effort required to prepare for assessments, delivering data and documents to auditors for a fast signoff
  • Extract business-critical, real-time data from your network and display it in tables, charts or combined dashboards
  • Make sure existing data center capacity is utilized before investing in an expansion
  • Support any topology (star, ring, bus or mashed network structures) or any voltage (low-, medium- or high-voltage [230 V, 400 V, 500 V])
  • Integrate air conditioning, alerting, fire and intrusion detection, facility management and IT server monitoring systems

More than 2150 Clients Worldwide

Core Business:

  • Development, Distribution and Services of, Technical Software (PatchPro® DCIM-AIM)“
  • Building Information Systems, “BIS”
  • Including Cable Management and IT-Network Planning & Documentation (DCIM / AIM)

Better, Faster, Cheaper Ethernet: The Road From 100G to 800G

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Worldwide IP traffic has been increasing immensely in the enterprise and consumer division, driven by growing numbers of Internet users, as well as growing numbers of connected devices that provide faster wireless and fixed broadband access, high-quality video streaming and social networking capabilities.

Data centers are expanding globally to support computing, storage and content delivery services for enterprise and consumer users. With higher operation efficiency (CPU usage), higher scalability, lower costs and lower power consumption per workload, cloud data centers will process 92% of overall data center workloads by 2020; the remaining 8% of the workload will be processed by traditional data centers.

According to the Cisco Global Cloud Index 2015-2020, hyperscale data centers will grow from 259 in 2015 to 485 by 2020, representing 47% of all installed data center servers.

Cisco Global Cloud Index

Source: Cisco

Global annual data center traffic will grow from 6.5 ZB (zettabytes) in 2016 to 15.3 ZB by 2020. The majority of traffic will be generated in cloud data centers; most traffic will occur within the data center.

When it comes to supporting cloud business growth, higher performance and more competitive services for the enterprise (computing and collaboration) and consumers (video streaming and social networking), common cloud data center challenges include:

  • Cost efficiency
  • Port density
  • Power density
  • Product availability
  • Reach limit
  • Resilience (disaster recovery)
  • Sustainability
  • System scalability

This is the first in a series of seven blogs that will appear throughout the rest of 2017; in this series, we’ll walk you down the road to 800G Ethernet. Here, we take a close look at Ethernet generations and when they have (or will) come into play.

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Ethernet Switch Evolution: High Speed Interfaces

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Technology development has always been driven by emerging applications: big data, Internet of Things, machine learning, public and private clouds, augmented reality, 800G Ethernet, etc.

Merchant Silicon switch ASIC chip development is an excellent example of that golden rule.

 

OIF’s Common Electrical Interface Development

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) is the standards body – a nonprofit industry organization – that develops common electrical interfaces (CEIs) for next-generation technology to ensure component and system interoperability.

The organization develops and promotes implementation agreements (IAs), offering principal design and deployment guidance for a SerDes (serializer-deserializer), including:

  • CEI-6G (which specifies the transmitter, receiver and interconnect channel associated with 6+ Gbps interfaces)
  • CEI-11G (which specifies the transmitter, receiver and interconnect channel associated with 11+ Gbps interfaces)
  • CEI-28G (which specifies the transmitter, receiver and interconnect channel associated with 28+ Gbps interfaces)
  • CEI-56G (which specifies the transmitter, receiver and interconnect channel associated with 56+ Gbps interfaces)

OIF’s CEI specifications are developed for different electrical interconnect reaches and applications to ensure system service and connectivity interoperability at the physical level:

  • USR: Ultra-short reach, for < 10 mm die to optical engine within a multi-chip module (MCM) package.
  • XSR: Extremely short reach, for < 50 mm chip to nearby optical engine (mid-board optics); or CPU to CPU/DSP arrays/memory stack with high-speed SerDes.
  • VSR: Very short reach, < 30 cm chip (e.g. switch chip) to module (edge pluggable cage, such as SFP+, QSFP+, QSFP-DD, OSFP, etc.).

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6 IoT Examples: The Internet of Things in Real Life

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Even with all the talk about Internet of Things (IoT), it can be hard to come up with IoT examples that translate the concept to reality. Who is using it? Who is benefitting from it? How is it actually working for enterprises right now?

Without a doubt, IoT will bring more devices to your network – and cause an increase in data transmission requirements. According to HP, in 2010, there were 5 billion connected devices – just three years later, in 2013, the number nearly doubled to 9 billion. But what are those devices doing? What types of data are they gathering (and why)?

To help bring the concept of IoT to life, we rounded up some IoT examples that illustrate how this type of connectivity is already being used to improve efficiency and reduce expenses.

 

IoT Example No. 1: Philadelphia Streets Department

In Philadelphia, solar-powered, self-reporting trash compactors feature sensors that tell the compactor when the trash inside reaches a certain level. When that level is reached, the trash is automatically compacted. These sensors also send data back to the Philadelphia Streets Department to indicate how full they are, whether they need to be emptied, whether they need maintenance/repair, etc. Because employees now receive notifications about bins that are full or need attention, the team reduced collection frequency (and operating costs as a result), and are able to spend more time on other tasks instead.

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