Artificial intelligence is driving a massive increase in data center workloads, with IDC predicting that data generation will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.5% through 2027. Gartner expects the use of generative AI models to affect more than 90% of organizations. push for hybrid cloud environments by 2027. This will put significant pressure on data center interconnection (DCI) networks that move data between distributed, hybrid and cloud data center architectures. Traditionally, data transmission between geographically distributed data centers required leasing high-capacity circuits from service providers or investing in dedicated optical transmission networks. However, connecting DCI over dark fiber using coherent pluggable optics offers an innovative alternative that reduces both the cost and complexity of connecting data centers to support AI applications.
Financial burden of traditional DCI solutions
Service providers typically use their fiber optic networks to offer DCI services to businesses. These leased circuits are often 10G links or multiple 10G links that support traditional DCI applications such as disaster recovery and enterprise services. They are also used to support 100G connectivity for more demanding applications – such as data center mirroring and high-speed data aggregation and connectivity – to cloud services. Adoption of more data-intensive applications is pushing DCI capacity toward 400G and 800G high-bandwidth connections. Since DCI’s cost structure is typically based on bandwidth usage, this shift creates a new financial burden for businesses. Costs can add up quickly as they need more circuits to support increased capacity requirements.
Advantage of leased dark fiber for DCI
Leasing dark fiber is a compelling option for businesses to mitigate the financial impact of DCI with increasing capacity requirements. Dark fibers are optical cables that have been laid but not yet “lit” with data transmissions by the service provider. By leasing these fibers, businesses can create their own private network and gain control over their data traffic without the recurring costs associated with bandwidth usage under traditional carrier models.
The State of Maryland is a great example of using dark fiber for DCI. The State Department of Information Technology operates a 3,300-mile network and is transitioning to dark fiber, resulting in over $111 million in annual savings with an 871% return on investment. The benefits of renting dark fiber and building a private network go beyond cost savings. Dark thread provides enterprises with the scalability that is essential in the age of artificial intelligence. As their data needs grow, businesses can scale their bandwidth without waiting for their service providers to add additional capacity. Dark fiber also increases enterprise security by providing full control over data traversing the network, reducing exposure to external threats.
Integration of IP and optical networks for DCI
Traditional DCI architectures are built on a dedicated optical network layer that requires investment in optical transponders and line systems to carry data traffic over fiber. Enterprises can reduce the cost and complexity of DCI with Cisco Routed Optical Networking. It is a proven and standardized solution used in hyperscale DCI environments and service provider networks. More than 300 customers worldwide have adopted routed fiber networks to increase capacity while reducing energy consumption and costs.
Routed optical networks allow the transmission of optical wavelengths directly from high-capacity ports in routers or switches in the data center. It simplifies the network by replacing dedicated transponders with the industry standard of coherent plug-in optics, high-density routers, and simpler fiber optic line systems. This leads to a cheaper network design. For point-to-point DCI solutions, enterprises can deploy coherent pluggable optics with Cisco Nexus switches to bundle the switching and optical layers at Layer 2. For networks supporting more complex services, they can converge the routing and optical layers into a single IP/multiprotocol. Label Switching (IP/MPLS) network where all switching takes place at layer 3.
Advantages of a routed optical network for DCI
What does all this mean for the company’s balance sheet? Fewer components mean lower CapEx, less hardware requirements, and lower power and cooling costs. According to analysis by ACG Research, Routed Optical Networking can reduce the total cost of ownership of DCI applications by a staggering 48%, while reducing CapEx by 60% and total environmental costs (power, cooling and floor space) by up to 83%. . But it doesn’t end there. Routed optical networks also contribute to:
- Network Simplification: IP and optical layer convergence simplifies the planning, design, activation, management, troubleshooting and resolution of network services.
- Automation and Insurance: A single end-to-end automation platform reduces errors, improves resiliency, simplifies repairs and accelerates the launch of new services.
- Network performance: Routed optical networks support high-speed connections for demanding applications such as AI traffic or long-distance transmission.
- Reliable transmission: Robust data transmission in coherent plug-in optics adapts to different network and optical infrastructure conditions to increase transmission reliability.
DCI for AI-ready data centers
Cisco has unveiled a suite of accelerated compute, networking and hyperscale solutions to address the AI demands of the data center – from training sophisticated models to the broad use of inference. With the growing volume of data powering artificial intelligence, the need for cost-effective and scalable data center connectivity solutions has never been greater. By leasing dark fiber and adopting routed optical networks, enterprises can ensure that their mission-critical networks are ready to support the unprecedented demands of AI today and tomorrow.
Cisco Routed Optical Networking for DCI applications.
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