Special vs Custom vs Standard? Choosing the Building Blocks-18

Continuing from last week, let us look at one potential solution to the connectivity problem for the distributed Data Centers at the Edge of the network.

A shared infra can provide a cheaper connectivity but with potential compromise that the capacity may not be scaled up when needed. My proposal is as follows:-

1. We share, but not a packet network. We share an optical network, with dedicated wavelength between distributed leaf spine network.
2. We implement direct connectivity just like the internal connectivity within the data center – with wavelengths acting as Virtual fiber connectivity.
3. We use dual path connectivity and optical restoration to provide protection against fiber failures.
4. We use programmable optics and use licence management to scale the capacity up and down between the locations.

The solution does not exist in its full for today but various pieces exist and many vendors are working towards these solutions. the trick lies in adding program-ability, intelligence and software defined networking together. I hope this is clear, but if not, please write back with your questions and concerns.

Stay tuned for more next week!