INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cabling
Hyperscale computing for
enterprise data centres
R
&M, the globally active developer
and provider of cabling systems for
high-quality network infrastructures
is forecasting new challenges for
traditional data centres. On the road to
cloud computing, data centres will have
to modernise and extend their networks
to be able to provide resources more
flexibly. And they have to extend their
fibre optic cabling.
The development team at the North
American R&M site Milpitas, California,
is looking into the current requirements
of colocation data centres in detail. The
BEF (building entrance facility) 60 splice
cabinet was created based on extensive
experience with large-volume FO
distribution cabinets and best practice
studies. Its total capacity is 23,040
splices and 384 fibres can be managed
in each of its 60 stackable splice trays.
“The start into the era of the private
and hybrid cloud and the leap from 10
to 40 or 100 gigabit Ethernet can be
mastered with flat architectures and the
hyperscale concept. Sooner or later even
ordinary data centres will have to turn
into hyperscale data centres,” predicts
Dr Thomas Wellinger, R&M Market
Manager Data Centers. Wellinger says: “With the BEF 60, R&M
is once again underscoring its role as
a leading developer of high-density
FO systems. This platform is the fast
track for colocation and enterprise data
centres into the hyperscale world – the
ideal starting point for scalable, future-
proof spine and leaf topologies.”
R&M market surveys show that this
trend is already starting and colocation
data centres, as well as some enterprise
data centres, have a few obstacles to
overcome. “A typical example: The
cable entry into the building and the
cabinet for splitting the multitude of
outside cables are not suitable for
hyperscale design,” explains Wellinger.
Conventional cabinets were not
designed for the flexible scaling of
cabling. And cable routing, breakout and
splice components often turn out to be
user-unfriendly. R&M sees a growing need for splice
platforms such as BEF 60 and hyperscale
solutions in the enterprise segment.
“Cloud applications and the Internet of
Things are growing into corporations.
Today there are already 8.4 billion
things networked with each other
worldwide. Every day more and more
enterprises are integrating complete
production systems, buildings, offices,
applications, storage and lots more into
a private or external cloud. This trend
is presenting a major challenge to the
networks,” says Wellinger.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
R&M estimates that high count
fibre installations and hyperscale
infrastructures are the only answer when
it comes to medium- and long-term
planning. Enterprise data centres can
orient themselves to the experiences of
the public cloud giants.
Hyperscale data centres have an
incredibly scalable computing
architecture which can be managed
like a single unit. Hyperscale solutions
allow operators to start out modestly
with lower investments and then react
accordingly to growing demand.
They can thus immediately aggregate
or extend their networks smoothly
without having to interrupt operations.
Hyperscale capability is based on there
being an available mass of optical
fibres. High count fibre cables with
more than 2,000 or 4,000 multi fibre
cables are typically needed to cover the
connectivity requirement.
Currently, major cloud service providers
are implementing the hyperscale
concept so they can adapt their
computing performance to suit the
market at all times. The hyperscale data
centre market is currently growing at
around 20% on average every year and
in 2022 will reach an estimated volume
of USD 71.2 billion. n
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