With much of the world’s population now at home using technology to work, connect, entertain and shop, it’s easy to see just how critical the global information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure is becoming.

Huge demand is being placed on data centers and service provider networks as global Internet traffic has increased by nearly 70%. VPN usage in the U.S. alone is up by more than 100% and online gaming and video streaming have spiked to new levels. In response to this unprecedented demand, Netflix, Amazon and YouTube have all had to reduce resolution and slow down streaming of some content.

If the industry thought 5G and self-driving vehicles were going to be the only driver for low-latency, high-bandwidth edge computing, they certainly didn’t consider the impact of a global pandemic. All of these changes create a mix of challenges and opportunities for the ICT industry-lower sales forecasts, market uncertainty and supply chain disruptions contrast against the need for boosted connectivity and the potential for more edge data center deployments.

Even as many cloud/colocation providers close to all but essential workers, and hyperscalers and service providers put some construction projects on hold, data center operators have indicated that they are focusing their efforts where they need to meet current demand and will be working double time as soon as restrictions have lifted. And that could mean a push for more low-latency, high-bandwidth connections at the edge.

Why the Edge?

Latency, or slow inefficient delivery of time-sensitive, high-bandwidth data, is the greatest hindrance to meeting increased demand for video streaming, telemedicine, online gaming and remote learning and collaboration. It’s caused primarily by the physical distance that data must travel, the number of network connections it must traverse, and the amount of traffic on the network – and it’s the reason why the world’s largest video-streaming service providers had to decrease resolution as COVID-19 social distancing and work-from-home orders went into effect.

By bringing IT resources closer to the end users and/or devices they serve, edge data centers can achieve highspeed, low-latency processing of applications and data and reduce congestion and resource allocation at centralized core data centers. That means high-resolution Netflix videos streaming faster to your TV, seeing and hearing your doctor more clearly on your tablet, uninterrupted virtual reality classrooms and no more mid-game video game failures-something most of us right now could appreciate.

Essential Connectivity

When it comes to connections at the edge, advanced servers capable of handling more processing load than ever are quickly moving to 25 Gb/s. The primary connectivity that will be used for these edge connections includes active optical cable (AOC) assemblies, multimode fiber, direct attach cables (DACs) and twisted-pair copper-and Siemon offers them all!

• AOCs and Fiber – With singlemode fiber as the de facto media for outside plant, long-haul service provider networks due to its virtually unlimited bandwidth and up to 10-kilometer distance capabilities, we will certainly see more of this fiber type coming to and from the building entrance and within switch-to-switch data center links. But multimode fiber is also gaining in popularity for switch-to-server edge connections with applications like 25GBASE-SR, 50GBASE-SR and 100GBASE-SR4. This calls for solutions like Siemon’s 100G QSFP28 to 4x SFP28 Breakout AOC assemblies and plug-and-play Base 8 fiber solutions.
• High Speed DACs – In short-reach top-of-rack deployments, copper DACs will continue to play a role in low-latency, high-bandwidth switch-to-server connections at the edge, including Siemon’s SFP28 DACs and QSFP28 to 4 SFP28 breakout DACs.
• Twisted-Pair – While 25GBASE-T over category 8.1/8.2 connectivity may go by the wayside as server speeds creep up to 50 and 100 Gb/s, for those that want to maintain their reliable, easy-to-manage twisted-pair structured cabling approach for switch-to-server links, Siemon’s TERA category 8.2 end-to-end system exceeds ISO/IEC category 8.2/Class II specifications for 2-connector, 30-meter Class II channels for 25 and 40 Gb/s switch-to-server connections.

We’ve Got This

While many would prefer returning to the pre-COVID-19 life as we knew it, more than likely there will be a new normal even after social distancing has ended as many are quickly grasping the benefits of online learning, telemedicine and large portions of the workforce connecting from home.

Our customers around the world are relying on Siemon in the short term as they scramble to add more hospital beds and upgrade their enterprise networks to support distance learning and increased VPN usage, and as connectivity at the edge becomes more crucial than ever, we’ve got that covered too.

Learn more about edge data centers.