HP ProCurve Tech Brief: 10-Gigabit Ethernet Cabling

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Data centers
For many institutions—especially those that utilize
automated trading—uptime and response time is
critical. Delays longer than a second can be exceedingly
costly. With servers now being able to transmit near-
gigabit bandwidth and network downtime proving
catastrophic, today’s enterprise data centers need
extended bandwidth.
10-GbE is an ideal technology for moving large
amounts of data quickly. The bandwidth it provides in
conjunction with server consolidation is highly
advantageous for Web caching, real-time application
response, parallel processing, and storage.
Campus backbone links
Many organizations wish to connect their campus
buildings with high-speed links. Carrier-based services
offload the burden of establishing and maintaining a
10-GbE backbone, but limit flexibility and oftentimes
prove too costly with expensive, unending monthly
bills. This ongoing expense can be overwhelming for
educational institutions, government organizations,
and hospitals, as well as for enterprise organizations
that do not have a set budget year to year.
Establishing a 10-GbE campus backbone is a one-time
expense that can provide significant cost savings when
compared to monthly communications link bills.
Metro area transmission
Many companies also need to send and receive data
beyond their campus, oftentimes in the form of large
or streaming files that require high-speed links.
Traditionally an area for carriers, 10-GbE now offers an
attractive alternative to costly monthly charges for
long-distance data transmission.
Many carriers offer expensive transmission services
utilizing SONET OC-48 or OC-192c standards. These are
considered “lit” services, where a company has to add
protocol conversion to be able to link from end to end.
Conversely, “un-lit” fiber—called “dark fiber”—is now
being offered by carriers to companies that are able to
provide their own connectivity. In these cases, routing
switches supporting the 10-GbE standard can provide
their own transmission. Taking advantage of 10-GbE
performance in tandem with carriers’ Dark Fiber
services can dramatically reduce costs when compared
to “lit” transmission services.
Copper versus fiber
Once the decision is made to implement 10-GbE
functionality, organizations must consider the data-
carrying techniques that facilitate such bandwidth.
Copper and fiber cabling are the preeminent
technologies for data transmission and provide their
own unique benefits and drawbacks.
Enterprise data center with 10-GbE backbone
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