Latin America. There are increasing debates in the Data Center industry about the advantages of implementing single-mode (SMF) and multimode (MMF) cabling and fiber optics. With the Projections of the Fiber Optic Association (FOA) that place Hyperscale Data Centers at speeds of up to 400 Gb/s, the challenge for operators when choosing between both types of fiber is a decision that cannot be taken lightly.
"One of the challenges to consider when choosing the type of fiber from optical networks in data centers is that it is more expensive to deploy long-wavelength single-mode fiber than shortwave multimode fiber optic cabling," said Anthony Haupt, Global Data Center Solutions at CommScope. "However, in recent years the price of longwave optical fiber has decreased, closing the gap between the two types of cabling and expanding the options of administrators."
According to Anthony Haupt there are several reasons to choose single-mode fiber with long wavelength instead of multimode fiber that tend to date back to the same characteristics. The following are five common aspects among companies that have deployed single-mode fiber for their Data Center facilities:
Its square footage: Single-mode fiber supports very large data centers, with more than seven thousand square meters, where the installed "leaf to spine" cabling has exceeded the distance limits of multimode fiber transceivers.
Its speed requirements: "About 95% of those who deploy single-mode fiber today reach speeds of 100 Gb/s in a year, and already have their sights set on 200 or 400 Gb/s," said Anthony Haupt. The standards pathway, as it is today, emphasizes 400GbE options that use single-mode fiber cabling, and fit the short-term lines and distances that larger data center operators are looking for.
Your apps that drive significant revenue: Being an integral part of any business operation, if Data Centers malfunction, the business loses the ability to operate and provide services properly. The additional cost of single-mode optical fiber is justified by enabling the scalability and time to market that large operators require.
Long-term plans: Data Centers are the foundation of business, not just a tool. Companies are excited about the efficiencies that computing is bringing to their business and are actively trying to expand on that, so they consider investment in Data Center infrastructure to be part of their business planning and seek to define long-term strategies to increase their data processing capacity.
Fear of missing out (FOMO): For Anthony Haupt, although not everyone is affected by this factor, many fall into this field. Hyperscale cloud computing companies have been very exuberant in reducing the cost of single-mode optics. For this reason, other consumers do not want to be left behind and are excited about the idea of implementing single-mode fiber. This is balanced against the investment costs, scale and timeframes needed.
Although hyperscale cloud computing service providers were early adopters of single-mode fiber in their data centers due to its unprecedented scale and bandwidth consumption; multi-tenant data centers, large providers of business and telecommunications services, have also deployed single-mode fiber in their facilities, to support the WAN connection and have a greater reach in networks in the campus area and the metropolitan area.
"The decision to use multimode or single-mode fiber optics doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing consideration. The world is not going to move to single-mode fiber tomorrow, because, although it has been growing rapidly in the market, multimode fiber is still the majority. The important thing is to understand that fiber optics are shaping the landscape, and visualize where it is headed in the future," concluded the Global Data Center Solutions at CommScope.
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