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What many in the IT industry thought would never come is now knocking on the data center door. Technologies like 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet, fiber channel over Ethernet (FCoE), IP convergence, and server virtualization are no longer just aspirationsthey are real, and the time to prepare is now.

While these emerging technologies offer benefits; understanding how they work, the implications for data centers, strategies and solutions that will best support them can enable data center managers to ensure that their infrastructure is ready and able. The onset of these technologies results in the need to lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

As the global enterprise requirements are continuously evolving, the amount of data to be transmitted and stored is growing exponentially. Technological advancements in transmitting information via Internet protocol (IP) also means that more devices and applications reside on the network, further increasing the amount of data transmission.

Once deployed primarily for backbone cabling between core switches, high-speed links in the data center are becoming more vital than ever for transmitting the increased amount of information to and from a greater number of sources. Data transmission is growing so significantly that it is expected to be six times larger by 2012, than it was in 2007. According to estimates, overall IP traffic is expected to grow over 45,000 petabytes per month by 2012thats more than 46 bn gigabytes of information.

All datafrom email, company information to customer accounts, transactions, and medical recordsshould also be properly stored and archived by storage area networks (SANs). SANs enables sharing, moving, and recovering information during daily operations and also in disaster recoveries. The ever-increasing amount of data demands larger capacity storage devices and high-bandwidth SAN switches for faster back-up and retrieval.

The need to reduce TCO is also a major concern among todays business enterprises. during the lifecycle of a typical enterprise, operational costs alone can account for 50% of the total costs. By making operations more efficient, these costs can be significantly reduced. Retrofit costs take-up another 25% of the lifecycle costs. Therefore, having solutions in place today, that enable easier upgrades tomorrow can also significantly reduce TCO.

To keep pace with growing data transmission and application needs, data centers today are experiencing increased bandwidth and server requirements. The annual server growth of 11% is climbing, and server bandwidth requirements are estimated to move quickly from 10 Gbps to 40 Gbps in the next five years, and reach 100 Gbps within the next decade.

The industry is responding to these needs with advancements like 40 and 100 Gbps Ethernet (GbE), fiber channel over Ethernet, server virtualization, and IP convergence. These new technologies also have implications for data center infrastructureincluding new cabling and connector solutions, high fiber densities, high bandwidth performance, and the need for enhanced reliability, flexibility, and scalability. Fortunately, many solutions and strategies are available today that can help data center managers to prepare while simultaneously lowering TCO.

40 and 100 GbE
The standards for 10 GbE over both fiber and copper already exists. And, many data centers today are running the application in their backbone cabling where large numbers of gigabit links aggregate. High-speed applications, emerging server technologies, and enhanced aggregation are now calling for even faster connections. In response, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is developing a standard802.3bathat will support data rates for 40 and 100 GbE. It is slated for ratification in 2010.

The 40 and 100 GbE standards will address multi-mode and single-mode optical fiber cabling, as well as very short distances over four lanes of shielded balanced copper cabling. Both 40 and 100 GbE is likely to be initially deployed in high-bandwidth switching, routing and aggregation points for service provider backbones, interconnection in servers and SAN devices and high performance computing in research, universities, and medical facilities.

Copper
Transmitting 40 or 100 GbE over short distances of shielded copper cabling will require 10 Gbps over each lane (4 lanes for 40 GbE and 10 lanes for 100 GbE). This is likely to be limited for very short distances of approximately 10 meters for equipment-to-equipment connections and will likely not be intended for backbone and horizontal cabling.

Multi-mode Fiber
To run 40 GbE over at least 100 meters of multi-mode fiber, the standard will require parallel optics with 8 multi-mode fibers transmitting and receiving at 10 Gbps using an MPO style connector. The MPO connector is a high-density, multi-fiber connector that terminates up to 12 fibers in one connector. Because only 8 fibers are required for 40 GbE, the other 4 fibers of the connector will not be used in this scenario. Running 100 GbE over multi-mode fiber will require 20 fibers transmitting and receiving at 10 Gbps within a single 24 fiber MPO style connector or two 12 fiber MPO style connectors, (with 4 fibers unused). Within the data center, 40 and 100 GbE over multi-mode fiber will require MPO style connectors, for a very precise performance, and a significant increase in the amount of fibersix times more for 40 GbE and twelve times more for 100 GbE.

MPO Connectors
MPO connectors will be required to support 40 and 100 GbE over multi-mode fiber. MPO connectors are typically pre-determinate in the factory and multi-fiber cables are purchased in predetermined lengths. This requires more careful planning to ensure exact measurements, or using proper slack management. Some enterprises are already installing MPO connector solutions for better management and density in the data centers, and doing so will better prepare them for 40 and 100 GbE.

Higher Bandwidth and Performance
To run 40 and 100 GbE as per the proposed standard, the cabling infrastructure will also require optimum performance. Bandwidth performance will require a minimum of OM3 laser optimized 50 m multi-mode fiber. Lower performing optical fiber cables are not part of the proposed standard. Reduced insertion loss and minimal delay skew will also be key considerations for 40 and 100 GbE. Installing high-performance optical fiber cable and components today is therefore vital for supporting 40 and 100 GbE tomorrow.

With multiple applications running on one server, higher bandwidth capacity is required to support increased data transmission to and from the servers. Increased services such as firewalls are also required with server virtualization, which places additional capacity demands.

FCoE requires 10 GbE at a very minimum level, which means that anyone upgrading their infrastructure and planning for FCoE now or in the future must deploy cabling capable of supporting 10 GbE.

Higher Density
With up to twelve times the amount of fiber needed to support 40 and 100 GbE, managing fiber density will be a key consideration for the data centers. In addition to physical space and proper planning, 40 and 100 GbE will require proper management and routing large amounts of fiber in and above racks. Its also imperative to consider the overall diameter of the cablesmaller diameter solutions can go a long way in saving space and enabling higher density.

Theoretically, while server virtualization should reduce the number of servers and cabling in a data center, the required redundancy and greater bandwidth to support server virtualization actually requires more cabling. Furthermore, the demand for capacity is outpacing the gains provided by virtualization, so the rate of growth in the number of servers and associated cabling continues to increase.

IP converged networks will see a rapid increase in the amount of cabling both in horizontal pathways and in the data centers. Cable pathways must be properly sized to accommodate more cabling while also enabling adequate cable management and providing room for growth. Smaller cabling diameters can go a long way in saving costly pathway space for IP converged networks.

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