Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1219491
8 I ICT TODAY FIGURE 1: Latency to the edge. Central Cloud Data Center Latency > 100 ms 20 ms < 10 ms Backhaul to the Internet Network Edge Data Center Customer & Application Edge Some industry analysts predict that the global population of hyperscale facilities, today numbering in the high hun- dreds, could grow to over 10,000. Driven by the need for low latency (Figure 1) and redundancy, what will emerge is a mass mesh of interconnected clusters of cloud data centers. It is not only hyperscale data centers that will underpin this future. Retail and colocation providers act as today's edge for hyperscalers, bringing their end cus- tomers closer to their end applications. Wholesale coloca- tions provide a way for hyperscalers and other large con- tent providers to achieve a regional self-aligned footprint. And of course, there are the mixed strategies enabled by colocation facilities where hyperscalers, smaller enter- prises, and service providers come together in a targeted location. Common to all of these is the need to provide a level of interconnection through a vast, deep, and rich optical fiber infrastructure. THE OPTICAL FIBER INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE MODERN DATA CENTER The fiber infrastructure, made up of cables with thousands of fibers and millions of connections, ties together clusters of data centers, often across hun- dreds of kilometers.Within each cluster reside multiple data centers, thereby providing resiliency, redundancy, and regional storage. To achieve this level of high-density interconnection, installers need to work with cables where a per-cable fiber count of 6,912 fibers is not out of the ordinary. Laying cables of this size and density is a challenge in and of itself, coupled with the need for potentially hundreds of splices and thousands of connectors. Limited duct space between clusters and buildings creates an installa- tion nightmare and can consume a significant amount of time. Installers' key differentiator becomes their ability to deliver fast, reliable installations for Day 1 success. To address these challenges, optical fiber and cable manufac- turers spend hundreds of millions of dollars in research to develop new solutions that decrease overall cable size and increase density-per-square-meter, while focusing on improving ease-of-use. For the densities required by the data center, optical fiber ribbon solutions are key because they enable easier overall cable management and the ability to perform mass fusion splicing. Some modern cable designs combine The fiber infrastructure, made up of cables with thousands of fibers and millions of connections, ties together clusters of data centers, often across hundreds of kilometers.