How can DWDM increase transmission capacity in your network?

Data Centre facilities play a critical role nowadays due to the ever-increasing amount of data stored and the need to back up critical, highly business-critical data.

Faced with the choice of building their in-house data processing facility or moving this data to an external DC, many companies are increasingly opting for the latter. However, such a change, despite the range of benefits it brings with it, does bring to mind concerns about downtime, data loss or high costs for businesses.

Data Centre operators therefore have the task of preventing all these undesirable situations and connecting the new user’s servers securely, guaranteeing the continuity of his and their services. Moreover, they must be prepared to ensure adequate network connectivity through redundancy, which in turn forces them to allocate double the number of fibers to a given customer.

Today we have a case study for you about how a Data Center operator connected a new user to the data center, allocating only one fiber to its resources.

Problem: Limited number of fibers

Such a challenge was faced by one of our clients – a Data Center operator.

He had two fibers, on two independent fiber routes. Connecting a new user to the DC facility required it to occupy both fibers (redundancy, protection) to be able to fully protect the sensitive data entrusted to its IT systems and ensure continuity of service.

Of course, such an action was possible, but it shut down the way for further development – the operator, in the case of another customer, would have to lease more fiber on these connections. What should he do in such a situation? Was there any way he could already take care of the future of his business at this stage? The answer is yes!

Solution: DWDM deployment

DWDM equipment enables the expansion of the transmission capabilities of existing fiber routes, so that the operator can provide a new user with full transmission support on a single fiber. In addition, the combination of DWDM technology and fiber redundancy guarantees  full encryption of critical data while ensuring stable and efficient operation of the facility and services.

The risk of outages, both for the new user and for other Data Center customers, is close to zero. In addition, there is the possibility of further expansion of the Data Center and the establishment of further connections, without the need to bear additional costs for leasing more fiber in the future.

So what was the purpose of implementing DWDM?

• Increase the transmission capacity of existing fiber
• Avoiding the need to expand the fiber infrastructure
• Ensure future Data Center growth without the need to lease fiber

Actions: what steps have we taken?

The implementation of new technology with the customer, required appropriate measures:

1. Gather data on the customer’s infrastructure to prepare a technical offer accordingly.
2. Prepare several variants of the offer for the client in order to visualize the cost of a system that meets the client’s current and future needs.
3. Create a set of good practices and guidelines to facilitate the implementation and maintenance of the system.
4. Technical support for the customer during the cooperation (after-sales service).
5. Verify the correct operation of the system.

The results? See for yourself!

• Capacity increased to max. 48 transmissions
• Savings of PLN 60,000 for the launch of the DWDM system and the first 100G link using 1 fiber each in the primary and backup routes, relative to the lease of an additional fiber in each relationship and 100G coherent transmission set directly from the network equipment (considered relative to the 1-year lease term)

And this is how the network looked with DWDM: