Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/207723
Footprint Square ft per Rack $ per square ft per month Cost of footprint per month Price per port per month if maximized Cost of footprint per year Cost per port per year 3546 24" x 30" 35 $30 $1,050 $0.3038 $12,600 $3.65 4032 18" x 36" 24 $30 $720 $0.17 $8,650 $2.14 # of Ports Traditional Frame High Density (front access) Frame Front/Rear Access Implications The cost savings associated with real estate goes beyond density. Fiber management solutions that provide full access to the fibers using only the front of the frame provide for better utilization of the cage or full data center. While many data centers require up to four feet for aisle access, some conservative environments may use as little as 30". Using an estimated 30" of aisle space for access, when a front access solution is deployed, 30" of aisle space is required only on the front with zero space on the rear. This compares to the 30" of aisle space on the front and rear of the frame that would be required of a standard platform. As a result, the amount of square footage required for the high density, front-access system is dramatically less than the alternative solutions. To establish the cost savings of these designs, the chart outlines the cost of a solution on a per port, per year basis accounting for both the footprint of the two racks and the required aisle space. The 24 square feet of the high density, front-access frame will house 4,032 ports while the 35 square feet of the traditional solution houses 3,456 ports. Assuming the port count is fully maximized in this two frame solution, the annual cost per port for the high density, front-access solution is 2.14 cents per port -- 1.51 cents per port per year less than the $3.65 cost of the traditional solution for a savings of 41%. Full Cage Implications To further demonstrate the savings associated with reducing the real estate requirements for fiber management, the real-world implications of optimizing the floor plan of a cage exemplify its full impact. Front access high density designs can be deployed either in a back-to-back layout or against the wall. Effectively, 32,256 ports could be housed in a 12x12 cage while only 13,824 could be housed using the traditional platform. Thus, a front access high-density design provides an improvement of 233% more ports per cage than the traditional solutions without jeopardizing ease of use. The Economic Result of the "Lean" Data Center Investing in fiber management is not a necessary evil. Protecting fiber with management devices that scale to your capacity requirements will pay dividends in the future. n About the Author: Cheri Beranekis President and CEO of Clearfield, Inc. Cage Size 12x12 10x12 10x10 Square Feet 144 120 100 Monthly Cost $4,320 $3,500 $3,000 Traditional 13,824 13,824 13,824 Front Access/High Density 32,256 24,192 18,144 Maximum # of Ports 20 | THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL www.datacenterjournal.com