High Speed Interconnects in the Data Center

A new white paper from Siemon explores the benefits of working with an experienced cabling specialist when designing data center architecture. A partner that offers not only high speed interconnects that are compatible with network equipment, but are also high quality and high performance, can reduce costs by future-proofing, reducing installation times, and reducing cooling costs.

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According to the report, network equipment manufacturers want you to buy their branded cables to avoid compatibility issues. But Siemon asserts that third party cable manufacturers can offer the same compatibility and reliability because “all reputable manufacturers of high-speed interconnects and transceivers meet the standards that IEEE and SFF have established for high speed.”

There are several key factors to evaluate when selecting point-to-point cables. The first consideration is understanding which cables are the best for the situation. Siemon explains the pros and cons between direct attach cables (DAC) and active optical cables (AOC). They also explain the benefits of using cables of different speeds (from 10G to 100G) and the optimal lengths for any run.

“Further, maintaining different colors makes it easier to identify, which cables are connected to the network after the systems are deployed. This is because the cables look similar for next gen cables 10G/40G to 25G/100G.” Siemon, Point-to-Point: High Speed Interconnects in the Data Center

Cable performance is also a critical factor to examine. The report explains that despite popular opinion, there are many benefits of using high quality copper cables. Copper wires offer low latency, they don’t require forward error correction (FEC), and “since passive copper cables do not have any active chips there is less heat in the overall system.”

The report concludes that while cost is a consideration, it should not be the only factor when selecting a partner for high speed interconnects.

 Download the full report Point-to-Point: High Speed Interconnects in the Data Center from Siemon to learn more about selecting the proper high speed interconnect for your hyperscale, cloud, or colocation venues