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reliability, how can operators ensure e ective transceiver performance, streamline deployments, and avoid outages? CHALLENGES FOR DATA CENTRE OPERATORS AND MANAGERS A recent EXFO transceiver survey found that the top transceiver-related challenges faced by data centre operators and data centre managers are: lack of methods or standards to test transceivers; uncertainty of root cause of failure; and the inability to pinpoint where the fault is occurring. Operators need to be able to quickly and accurately assess the quality of pluggable transceivers to ensure that deployment and service activations are done correctly – with a single test and in minimal time. Accurate and quick testing can reduce the risk of future failures and avoid performing costly, time-consuming troubleshooting down the road. (See Fig 1). Recognising the industry reality, EXFO addressed the needs of data centre operators, contractors, Network Equipment Manufacturers (NEMs), and Communications Service Providers (CSPs) with the launch of the iOptics intelligent pluggable optics test solution. iOptics is the industry’s first solution capable of assessing any deployed transceiver today and, in combination with EXFO’s Open Transceiver System, it will also be compatible with future transceiver designs. iOptics is fully automated with one-button pass/fail capability. The iOptics app needs only configuration of a few parameters, with the majority of configuration completed for the user by the application. iOptics can be used: prior to installation of a pluggable in a network element; before the pluggable is used for a test; and during troubleshooting activities to confirm or reject failure on suspicious interconnection elements. The test validates the device signal continuity,
Fig 1
integrity and excessive skews. (See Fig2)
running 24/7 is a critical task. Statistics show that the average cost of data centre downtimes could rise to $9,000 per minute (source: Cost of Data Centre Outages Ponemon Institute). In some situations, any delay or loss in real-time processing may produce catastrophic results, so reliability is a priority. The need for troubleshooting tools that help data centre operators to quickly identify problems will be the key to success, and the iOptics intelligent solution is an e ective way to quickly identify the condition of transceivers within these interconnections. POWER Due to the increasing density of routers, switches and servers inside hyperscale data centres, energy consumption within these centres is huge: energy consumption has grown 90 percent during the last decade (source: Report to Congress on Server and Data Centre Energy E ciency, Berkley Lab). The transceiver manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon with the hyperscale companies to develop smaller and more power e cient transceivers capable of maximising the number of elements per rack unit. Recently, data centre contractors, ICPs and CSPs have focused on the energy consumption readings of power consumption and voltage in a graphical and easy-to-read manner for data centre operators to plan and implement e cient network infrastructure. THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT With the advent of 5G networking now a reality, network complexity and demands will only continue to grow at exponential rates driving significant new requirements for data centres at the edge. E ective testing and installation of all optical networking elements will ensure continuity and support services of the future. of transceivers during installation phases. iOptics provides detailed
HELPING TRANSCEIVERS SHINE The ability of a simple and fast transceiver validation methodology to positively impact network operations is evident in several user scenarios: VIDEO CONTENT In the past, network infrastructure for video transmission relied on copper. However, HD and today’s explosive bandwidth demands have impelled more and more operators to use optical fibre as it is now being used by ICPs to transport video. Development in fibre optic technologies is making it easier and more cost e ective to migrate to 10G, 100G and now 400G. This migration process generates aggressive implementation schedules requiring automated tools like iOptics to ensure the deployment of optical high rate interconnections. RELIABILITY Considering the amount of information processed and transported in a data centre, keeping the centre up and
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| ISSUE 18 | Q3 2019
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