Understanding Today’s Data Center High Speed Migration Environment

Anyone who has been in the data center business long enough knows that speed is everything, especially in a high speed migration environment. But according to CommScope, the key to keeping things running at the necessary speeds is knowing “what you have to be prepared to deliver.”

That’s what the company discusses in a recent white paper that takes a look at high speed migration trends, infrastructure issues, drivers and more. So, what’s the future look like?

According to the report, recent data center trends predict bandwidth requirements will continue growing 25 percent to 35 percent each year.

Of course, a shift to higher switching speeds is driving much of this long-term growth. The Ethernet switch market is booming, and the biggest sales are expected for 25G and 100G ports. Throughput speeds are growing, as well as server densities and traffic in the data center.

Now, network architecture needs to change to adapt to shifting traffic patterns and faster and faster switching speeds. CommScope pointed out that traditional data center architecture used a three-layer topology, but this design struggles to support “today’s low-latency, virtualized applications,” according to the report. The solution lies in leaf-and-spine architecture, which enables data to move in an east-west flow and integrates well with cloud-based applications.

And network architecture isn’t the only thing changing in today’s data centers. Standards are evolving, as well.

Applications standards organizations, namely the IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) and ANSI/T11 (Fibre Channel Committees) have been busy updating the recommended guidelines in order to keep pace with the rapid bandwidth increases.

These standards are outlined in detail in a comprehensive chart included in CommScope’s recent report.

When planning migration to high line rates, there are a variety of decisions one must consider, including fiber type, modulation and transmission schemes, connector configurations and cost. CommScope delves into some of the most common questions, such as whether to go with preterminated or field-terminated cables, as well as the ins and outs of transceiver technology.

CommScope also offers its collective opinion on what is the best choice for high-performance networks, citing preterminated MPO-based fiber solutions as the “best choice.”

But the data center field is not a one-fits-all market. There are a variety of questions that must be posed in the context of your specific enterprise data center environment, such as:

• What is the trajectory of the enterprise?
• How does that affect the velocity of change and scaling requirements in the data center?
• What is the total cost of ownership for the various migration scenarios being considered?

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The full report on high-speed migration trends covers the following topics in more detail:

• Changing Network Architecture
• Evolving Standards
• Options for Migration
• The CommScope View

For a more in-depth look at data center high speed migration trends, download the full white paper, “Data center High Speed Migration: Infrastructure issues, trends, drivers and recommendations,” courtesy of CommScope.