[CAnet - news] Breaking the enterprise bandwdith bottleneck with dark fiber

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[Note that many enterprises and ISPs are deploying totally passive CWDM/DWDM
systems on metro fiber by using coloured GBICs and XFPs directly on their
switches and routers.  All that is required is a passive CWDM/DWDM coupler.
Some excerpts from enterprise networks and servers magazine --BSA]



 http://www.enterprisenetworksandservers.com/monthly/art.php?2716

Breaking the bandwidth bottleneck outside the data center with cost
effective 10G


The rapid growth in IT infrastructure, including business continuity
applications, cluster deployments, and server consolidation across the
enterprise, has resulted in a bandwidth explosion inside the data centre
with 10G high speed ports becoming more common on datacenter routers,
switches and server clusters.

At the same time IT managers are faced with requirements to ensure data
consistency, increased redundancy and rapid failure recovery across
datacenters driven by new regulations in HIPPA, Sarbanes Oxley and
recognition that highly centralized datacenter applications expose
businesses to unnecessary risk.

This mismatch between data center bandwidth and the need for cost effective
high speed interconnect to manage the business can now be addressed
economically with recent changes in the fiber optic system transport market
that bring high speed connectivity within reach of more typical low rate
interconnect options.

With the increased availability of fiber in the metro and the emergence of a
new class of fiber transport products - thin WDM - IT manages can now
exploit large bandwidth interconnect for a fraction of what was possible
only 4 years ago. Thin WDM systems provide cost efficient wavelength
multiplexing in small 2U fiber transport systems delivering 10G port
extension and 10G Ethernet private line between datacenters for a fraction
of traditional WDM systems.

Three key technology and market advancements are driving down the cost of
connectivity, dramatically enabling IT managers to design more distributed
data center architectures.

Fiber availability: The last six years has seen the emergence of metro fiber
from many alternative sources. i) Utility companies now provide fiber paths
along their rights of way, ii) a new class of CLEC's has now consolidated
fiber capacity in metro areas that is now broadly available, iii) city and
municipal governments have installed dark fiber and iv) incumbents are now
rolling out building fiber assets further out in their networks passing key
business sites. For IT managers this means that the probability of being
within 100 feet of fiber is higher than before.

Fiber interface advancements: With the emergence of CWDM (Coarse Wavelength
Division Multiplexing) and cost effective SFP's (Small Form Pluggable
optics) it is now possible to light a fiber for under $2,000. Many of
today's servers, switches and routers now support standard SFP's making it
easy for them to network directly on fiber over short distances. Standard,
volume interfaces are now becoming widely available making interconnection
with wavelengths more feasible than ever.

New class of fiber transport platforms: Fiber transport systems have emerged
that can prove in on the first channel (wavelength) and grow very
efficiently to serve 8 or up to 32 channels of capacity on the same fiber.
These systems typically prove in on the first 1 or 2 interfaces and then
provide "free" capacity for subsequent channels with Wavelength
Multiplexing. With cost effective wavelength multiplexing of these systems
coupled with standard wavelength interfaces on routers, switches and
servers, these fiber transport systems provides high bandwidth interconnect
with performance monitoring metrics ensuring bandwidth outside the
datacenter as inside.

When selecting a platform either for a private build on dark fiber or to
provide a managed wavelength service from a carrier IT managers should be
careful to specify a number of items to ensure flexibility and smooth growth
options including:

Port interfaces should be SFP based or some form of modular interface that
defers the laser cost until you light the channel
The platform should be able to provide service demarcation of standard 1310,
850 and wideband interfaces already existing in the data center - this
ensures seamless interconnect and avoids a forced router, server or switch
line interface upgrades..
Reach capabilities - depending on the path of the fiber, straight line
distance versus actual fiber distance can be 2-3X so it is worthwhile to
ensure any platform you select has slide-in optical amplifier cards when
fiber performance or distances get further than the standard 40km - with
this capability you can easily extend your planning distance to 100km and
beyond giving flexibility in network design.
CWDM and DWDM capable - many CWDM platforms are limited to 8 channels and
require a forklift upgrade to go beyond 8 channels to DWDM which scales to
32 channels - newer systems can handle both CWDM and DWDM seamlessly
transparently to the user giving the best of both worlds - startup costs of
CWDM and the reach distances of DWDM.
Modular - ability to upgrade to 4G FC and 10G easily with no disruption
Fiber protection - does the platform provide fiber protection and sub 50 ms
optical path switching?
Footprint and power - look for 2U systems that can be installed and
in-service in 30 minutes with minimal training - newer systems have a much
more intuitive setup and installation model than older systems designed in
the 90's which will dramatically reduce support, installation and upgrade
costs.

With these things in mind IT managers can now think more freely about the
old adage "if bandwidth were free, how would I design my network." While not
quite free, the new capabilities now on the market provide a compelling
shift in bandwidth costs that can dramatically change how you build and grow
your enterprise network providing improved connectivity between key
datacenters. 

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These news items and comments are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect
those  of the CANARIE board or management.



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