EXPERT SPEAK
Expanding networks
and the gigabit society
Networks of today are fast approaching their points of saturation due
to exponential growth in data volumes and need to move to the next
level of technologies, explains Andreas Rüsseler at R&M.
T
he boundaries between networks
are disappearing. Local data
networks in companies, datacentre
networks, cellular phone networks, wide-
area networks, and access networks will
barely be considered as separate units in
future. In the current market outlook, data
traffic between all areas is assuming such
huge proportions that we need to develop
an entirely new and holistic understanding
of networking. We need to ensure there
are no longer any bottlenecks between
workstations, smartphones, cellular
phone antennae, datacentres, the cloud,
the Internet of Things, WLAN, intelligent
houses, networked cars and machines.
This is the only way for smart cities to
function successfully.
A significant rise in demand for
broadband solutions is therefore expected
to continue. The trend is towards a gigabit
society. Leading agglomerations and
countries will take this path in the medium
term and carry out corresponding network
installations. Vendors are seeing this
confirmed in market studies and forecasts.
Experts at cloud service providers already
fear that it may soon no longer be possible
to transport the data volumes required.
This is where edge datacentres will need to
be used to avoid latency and ensure on-site
local data availability. Financial companies
also need decentralised solutions so that
protocols for secure transactions are
available more quickly.
According to Cisco, mobile data traffic
will reach a magnitude of around 50
Exabytes per month by 2021. Billions
of mobile end devices are already
permanently connected to the Internet. It
is mainly videos that are being transferred
and users expect uninterrupted streaming
of HD images wherever possible. This
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trend places high demands on the transfer
capacity of even the remotest of cellular
phone antennas. Higher-performance fibre
optic cables to base stations are required
in backhaul. With the introduction of the
5G standard, demand for highly reliable
connectivity is set to rise over the next few
years. Datacentres and service providers
will have to scale their resources at the
same time, in order for dynamic data
traffic to continue to flow smoothly.
Bandwidth and connectivity demands
must be considered in depth right now,
from terminals via POPs to the datacentre,
and from the fibre optic infrastructure out
in the field to the connectors in the racks
of a hyperscale datacentre.
Full-service vendors in the LAN,
datacentre, and public networks sectors,
develop and assembles the necessary
cabling solutions. They design solutions to
be modular, scalable, and easy to assemble
and maintain. This means providers can
react to market requirements quickly and
flexibly as needed. Further examples of
trends with similar connectivity needs to
mobile data and video streaming include:
Internet of Things
Billions of sensors, cameras, computers,
and control systems will be constantly
exchanging data. This requires the mass
availability of ambient, cost-effective, and
robust network connections.
Digitalisation and cloud
According to IDC, half of global value
creation will be digitised by 2021. If more
business and production processes run on
a digital, decentralised basis, this will also
result in vast data volumes. Any machine
that is to be incorporated requires an
Internet or LAN connection.
Andreas Rüsseler, Head of Marketing, R&M.
Mobility
Traffic in megacities with autonomous
vehicles, car sharing, and networked public
transport systems can be controlled using
fast data networks with blanket availability.
This means that high-performance network
connections need to be in place on a huge
scale along the traffic routes.
The trend towards higher-performance
connectivity was further reflected in
the results of vendor financial year
performance. New local data networks are
currently being planned primarily for the
use of 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Slower solutions
are gradually dying out. Copper cabling
with Cat6A-Class EA or Passive Optical
LAN is bringing the transmission capacity
required for the future into today’s offices.
More and more functions for smart
buildings are also being incorporated into
data networks. These include Power over
Ethernet to supply end devices with power
and LED lighting, for intelligent building
demands, surveillance and much more. The
datacentre market is breaking record after
record. The hyperscale datacentre sector is
experiencing particularly colossal growth.
Hyperscale providers are already working
with transmission capacities of over 100
Gbps and are aiming for 200 or 400 Gbps.
Finally, carriers are increasingly
investing in the FTTx rollout. They are
looking for compact, flexible, scalable,
and cost-effective cabling solutions for
public networks, in order to achieve their
aim of blanket fiber optic networks in
manageable steps.
Governments, service providers and
organisations need a keen understanding
of the rapid changes in networking
and connectivity demands as demands
continue to rise.
Issue 15
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS