FEATURE: GREEN NETWORKING
THE USE OF
VIRTUALISATION IS
WELL UNDERSTOOD
FOR SERVERS INSIDE
MODERN DATA
CENTRES. WHAT IS
NOT DONE WELL, AND
THIS HAS BEEN DUE
TO A TECHNOLOGY
LAG, IS NETWORK
VIRTUALISATION.
REPLACE 1GBE COPPER
WITH 10GBE COPPER OR
FIBRE OR EVEN 40GBE -
AND THEN VIRTUALISE
THE CAPACITY
replaced as switches are replaced
provided single-mode is used.
There are some drawbacks as well.
• There are many different multi-
mode and single-mode fibre
standards which means you need
to be careful what type of fibre
you are using.
• Fibre is inherently more difficult to
patch or replace onsite although
this can be overcome by training.
• Fibre ports generally draw more
power than copper but this can be
offset by the ability to virtualise
multiple copper cables.
10 and 40 right up to 100Gb/s with
no changes to the cabling. Copper
cabling needs to be added in 10Gb/s
chunks to get the same capacity and
multi-mode fibre goes from needing
two fibres for 10Gb/s to eight for
40Gb/s and 20 for 100Gb/s.
Virtualisation
The use of virtualisation is well
understood for servers inside
modern data centres. What is not
done well, and this has been due
to a technology lag, is network
virtualisation. Replace 1GbE copper
www.intelligentcio.com
with 10GbE copper or fibre or even
40GbE - and then virtualise the
capacity.
This has several benefits.
• Less space requirement for the
cabling.
• An option to increase network
capacity per link should traffic
demand it.
• Easier to create redundant links by
running two fibres rather than 20
copper cables.
• Longevity as fibre supports higher
speeds now and will not need to be
Conclusion
The network is often overlooked as
an opportunity to improve power
efficiency and reduce carbon
footprint. Yet network vendors such
as Brand-Rex are able to deliver
carbon savings as part of the
supply chain and as part of the
equipment in the data centre. With
environmental concerns rising up the
corporate governance chain, it’s time
to take a hard look at your network
and how it can deliver unexpected
benefits.
INTELLIGENTCIO
47