Migration strategies for next generation standards

The explosive growth of electronic data has led to a number of problems with first generation data centres as they soon ran out of space and became inefficient. This was quickly overcome with the introduction of server consolidation. This saved on space and reduced energy consumption but meant that larger network pipes were required to transport the higher volumes of data to and from these servers across the network at line speeds now in the order of 10Gbps.

So has this cured the problem? Yes - but only for a short while. Internet traffic is still on the increase and newer applications are being delivered such as IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) and HDTV (High Definition TV) that require enormous amounts of bandwidth and will quickly accelerate the need for speed from 10G to 40G in the data centre server network. Other parts of the network are experiencing rapid growth also; storage and cluster computing are already pushing the demand for line speeds to 40G and since they run over physically separate networks they add to complexity and cost. However there are new standards soon to be published that will bring all of these networks onto the same Ethernet platform, which will reduce complexity and cost but quickly accelerate demand for higher speeds with new emerging Ethernet technologies.

The IEEE standards bodies are already working on new Ethernet standards for 40G and 100G which are expected to be ratified by 2013. However, as is the case with all new standards, industry demands will drive shipments of pre-standardised products before the standards are complete. This leaves little time to plan for the adoption of new technologies and could mean absorbing huge costs for future retrofits if not thought through carefully.

Migration and transition to 40G

This generates a serious problem to deal with. The transition from 10G to 40G creates a paradigm shift from conventional ICT Ethernet upgrades since the cabling infrastructure which underpins the whole system requires a totally new approach.

Upgrading an Ethernet network to higher line speeds has always remained relatively easy as new equipment has always been backwardly compatible with previous generations of equipment and could mate with the connector interfaces for copper and fibre which kept the same profiles. Even upgrading the cabling infrastructure, especially from 1G to 10G ensured backward compatibility with legacy equipment was guaranteed. Since the cabling infrastructure underpins the rest of the ICT network, the upgrade from 10G to 40G needs much more careful consideration for both copper and fibre systems as it needs to take into account new connectivity requirements. Specifying a CAT6a copper solution today will not support 40G moving forward. . The same applies for fibre infrastructures. Duplex circuits are no longer capable of handling this higher line speed and multi-fibre parallel optics with new connector interfaces are now part of the new standard.

40G ready - the way forward

The question facing data centre ICT managers today is: is there a way of specifying a copper and fibre system that will allow me to migrate to 40G Ethernet and provide continuous compatibility with my legacy equipment?

The answer is yes. Standardised Category 7A copper cabling using backwards compatible  GG45 connectors enables existing RJ45 interfaces to be used at speeds up to 10G today but offers a migration path to 40G simply by replacing the patch cords. Similarly, by installing an MPO based fibre system, 40G speeds can be achieved by changing the MPO cassettes when the time comes to migrate. This effectively means you cable your network once to run all your legacy ICT equipment at speeds up to 10G and through a simple retrofit you can upgrade services to 40G as required.

Benefits using Nexans

This cable once approach will drive massive benefits for the business and data centre managers. First of all the system is completely compatible with all generations of Ethernet product. Secondly the core infrastructure remains intact when upgrading parts of the network to 40G as a simple retrofit is required to the cabling connectivity for both fibre and copper. This minimises disruption and significantly saves on cost. The bandwidth and reach capability of both these Nexans copper and fibre systems enables maximum design flexibility to run LAN, storage and server clusters on a single Ethernet platform. Powerful energy hungry servers can therefore be distributed throughout the data centre preventing hotspots. This increases equipment reliability and balances out the power loading for the servers and cooling systems more evenly driving energy efficiencies.

Having the capability to run 40G services over copper also preserves investment in legacy equipment. The Ethernet auto-negotiation feature enables line speeds to be matched with older equipment.

It is essential that data centre infrastructure managers plan to be 40G ready now. The disruption and cost incurred within a relatively short period of time by not doing so will greatly offset the benefits and savings that can be obtained.