Data centers have evolved significantly over the last several years, and if you’ve been around IT for any length of time, you’ll understand that how data is parsed, sorted, manipulated and moved has also shifted. AI is also transforming data center requirements in terms of speed and latency, and meeting those demands mean having the essential transceivers and interconnects.
Experts say that the key to ensuring that your data center is ready for 2025 workloads is preparing for higher-speed connections like 800G (a throughput capacity of 800Gbps.) While this may sound complicated and costly, you may actually be able to accomplish what you need by reconfiguring and repurposing existing cabling.
Planning your cable infrastructure can pay off handsomely as a modern topology can offer both speed and predictability.
Getting and Staying Connected
The interconnects are integral to the performance of a data center – installing the right fiber optic cables and connectors into an appropriate architecture can transform an average data center to a powerhouse. But additional power means additional cabling which needs an intelligent and structured strategy.
For those looking to introduce or expand AI, they’ll likely need a second back-end network for the large GPU clusters. AI has necessitated more fiber density that requires a lot of extra cabling and new related products. While many people have been putting off these projects, AI is causing imminent demand for faster speeds and reduced latency. AI is growing exponentially, putting a lot of resources and capital behind their expanding capacity and applications.
Current indicators estimate that 40 percent of all the transceivers in the market will be going into AI applications in the coming years. Although AI capacity is currently being deployed, experts expect growth to be exponential in the next few years. And while the switch from duplex or parallel 400G to 800G is structurally uncomplicated, many data centers are not even yet running at 400G. These facilities will need to consider a big jump up to 800Gbps and beyond. At those high densities, there is a lot more cabling and fiber that must be structured, organized and labeled – not to mention ready for future reconfiguration and power requirements. Bandwidth continues to grow, necessitating additional fiber in more places.
Choosing the right partner for any AI upgrade is important, especially as we move forward into the unknown. AI is in its infancy, and no one really understands the speed at which AI will alter business or society. Given the rate of change and growth in AI, 800G may not be the target capacity forever – but upgrading your cabling in 2025 can future-proof your company for at least the next three to seven years.
Alliance IT and Structured Cabling for AI
Structured cabling is a standardized approach to cabling infrastructure, ensuring efficient communication and data transfer within buildings and campuses. It organizes cables into a uniform system, making it easier to manage and expand. As technology grows, businesses can add or modify systems without significant disruption.
Structured cabling reduces the risk of signal interference and downtime by using high-quality, shielded cables, ensuring consistent and reliable performance. By streamlining installation and maintenance processes, structured cabling reduces labor costs and simplifies troubleshooting, leading to long-term savings. Structured cabling supports a variety of technologies (e.g., voice, video, data), ensuring that businesses can easily integrate new systems as needed – such as new AI applications.
If you’d like to ensure that your company meets high-speed data transfer standards that can help you to stay competitive with growing bandwidth requirements in 2025 and beyond – call Alliance IT. We specialize in helping Sarasota area SMBS to be competitive in an ever-evolving tech landscape.
