Data Center Journal

VOLUME 57 | OCTOBER 2018

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12 | THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL www.datacenterjournal.com N ow the trend is to ag- gressively pursue 400 Gbps connectivity, as well as planning how to accommodate and scale with this growth. Because of this trend, data center designers must prepare so that the systems they install can scale as necessary. Although the path to 400G is complex, it's more important than ever to properly plan, define and design the current and future landscape of an organization's data center. NOTABLE CHALLENGES OF 400G Data center design can touch on several business silos, ranging from areas under the CEO to those under the finance team, IT executives and line-of-business leaders. Most of the time, data center optimization affects all of these personnel, which is why building future-proof data centers requires a solid foundation of cross- team collaboration beyond silos. For instance, data center managers must connect with data center designers, as both have the unique opportunity to roll out solutions that allow their orga- nizations to get ahead of the industry. Today, in the 100G connectivity landscape, data center designers must consider 18 optical physical-media- dependent (PMD) architectures. It's one of the first steps that they must take when creating a plan. Although they have 18 different options to choose from, moving into a 400G ecosystem introduces new variables in data center connectivity, such as additional encoding modulations that require tighter specifications from ca- bling infrastructure. But the technical challenges and complexity that come with 400G far exceed those of 100G. Data center managers therefore need as much help and input as possible from the start of the build. In addition, choosing the best PMD and considering as many vari- ables as possible will directly affect the cabling performance as well as the total cost of ownership. Owing to the volume of moving parts as well as the technical challenges, identifying the cost implications of the various options is difficult. Choosing the right networking equipment for an organi- zation is critical to starting with a plan and designing for a data center. And when it comes to solutions, there's no one-size-fits-all approach. Know- ing this fact, as well as some general guiding principles, will empower data center managers to make the best decision. PLAN AND DEFINE A good question to start with before the planning process is how small or large the data center must be (i.e., whether it's a cost center in IT or an integral part of the business operation). Knowing the goal of the overall data center will make plan- ning and designing that much easier. Asking questions and starting an open conversation allows for transparency and understanding. ey include the following: 1. How does the company view cabling? Is it disposable or a long- term investment? 2. How far is the company in the plan- ning process? 3. What are the needs of the business? 4. Are the services permanent or disposable? Once the overall goal is set, keep in mind these five things when think- ing about the services you need for your business to operate at its best: 1. Standards compliance: Data center designers must know the standards with which the business needs to comply. Doing so is harder than it appears, as some standards conflict with each other and compete for priority. Notably, different geogra- phies can impose different stan- dards for the same application (e.g., CPR). 2. Next-generation speeds: Planning for the next 3, 5 or 10 years requires taking into consideration the race to 400G and where the industry might go next. 3. Next-generation cabling: Knowing the current and potential options is crucial to the planning phase, as many developments are happening. 4. Transition planning: Consider how you get from today to tomor- row most efficiently. 5. Check your data/sources: Pull- ing in additional resources can be extremely helpful in the planning phase to ensure you're considering and implementing the best solu- tions. You should reference these five elements when planning and defining a strategy aer you've set the initial project goal. Having these five items as planning pillars will allow data center managers and decision makers to refer back to them and track with the overall goal. During the project's define phase, which is essentially an extension of the planning process, working early on with a provider is pivotal to determin- ing the needs of the business in order to land the most effective solution. Another major aspect of the define stage that oen goes overlooked is gathering different business units before selecting and implementing a course of action. Although in the past teams may have operated in silos, today's best-functioning ones rely on each other more than ever. By identi- fying decision makers and connecting them with each other before a plan and design are formulated, the conver- sation typically lends itself to creating action plans that wouldn't have come about on their own. Even further, assigning clear

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