The rapid rate of technological innovation has meant that many organisations have seen an acceleration in business growth. This growth requires changes to operating practices, adoption of new cloud-based processing, and associated network changes.
But with changes, there can be capital and operational costs. Most organisations will be dealing with multiple cloud providers so a connection to multiple clouds might be a consideration.
Connecting to the cloud locations can be achieved via traditional telecommunication providers via expensive long-term contracts for high bandwidth. This may negatively impact the cost benefits of a ‘cloud’ strategy.
Also, the performance metrics of these services needs to be understood. Security, low latency, high bandwidth and resiliency requirements need to be defined and form part of any telecommunication acquisition.
This is where dark fibre makes sense.
Dark fibre refers to an unused optical fibre available for use in fibre-optic communication. This is especially seen in major capital cities around Australia for future-proofing networks. Optical fibre works by sending a series of light pulses down the cable to transfer information, allowing for almost unlimited data bandwidth. Traditional telecommunication services for 1G or 10G via a multi-hop IP network are insufficient for the new processing workloads. With Dark Fibre 10G, 40G, 100G and now 400G are readily available.
Dark fibre presents many advantages. They are as follows:
- Dark fibre usage is entirely scalable, meaning that you can add as much or as little cabling to your network without having to invest in your optical fibre network.
- Dark fibre allows you to have complete control over the equipment and its usage as it’s not leased from another provider.
- Dark fibre offers exceptionally high speeds for point-to-point data applications. Multiple services over the one dark fibre pair allow for customer ‘segmentation’ of workloads and almost unlimited bandwidth.
- Dark fibre offers heightened levels of security as the infrastructure is separate from other services, as it’s entirely dedicated to the business that owns that cable.
- Dark Fibre offers extremely low latency, enabling fast response times and efficient data movement.
- There are multiple dark fibre providers in the metro area. Choosing the right one, at the right price, is key to successful dark fibre implementation.
Taking advantage of this next-generation IT infrastructure is very easy, as there is no need to invest large amounts of money into laying optical fibre. The only requirement is that you have the right infrastructure within your company to facilitate the use of optical fibre. Smartoptics’ latest xWDM solution provides large companies with the flexibility, control and enhanced capacity that they are seeking.
Due to the fact that optical fibre has already been laid out, the cost of utilising the cabling is well-worth its benefits. If you are looking to know more about the above, speak to us.
Image source: Shutterstock (329106803)