Data Centers are key to the New Optical Internet. Connected by high speed fiber-optic links to the rest of the Internet, they provide key resources and services. Managing the distribution of these external optical links to the Data Center server farms is an increasing problem for Data Center managers. Rapid growth in both the number and speeds of these links, combined with the need for increased reliability and flexibility, must be handled while reducing operational costs.
Glimmerglass Intelligent Optical Switching solutions greatly improve both Data Center reliability and provide the flexibility to handle high growth while facilitating “Lights Out” Data Centers.
Create
Glimmerglass switches provide a full non-blocking, transparent crossconnect. In milliseconds a lightpath can be created between any fiber input and output. The distribution of external feeds to server farms can be rapidly and remotely reprovisioned with a few clicks of a mouse using the Glimmerglass ClickFlow GUI interface or with a few TL1 commands. Since the lightpaths are fully transparent, the newly created lightpath will transport any data format and speed.
Monitor
Continuous input and output power monitoring, combined with transparent switching provides the Data Center operator with a superior tool for monitoring the health of the network and rapid fault isolation. In the event that the optical power monitoring detects a fault, automatic switching can quickly restore service. If the fault is more serious, loopback paths may be created in milliseconds to help isolate the fault to a particular piece of equipment. All of this can be performed remotely with no on-site intervention required.
Protect
With the ability to rapidly transfer massive data streams from one set of lightpaths to another, Glimmerglass switches are the ideal solution for providing reliable external connectivity to server farms. Instead of multiple, redundant external connections for each server farm, Glimmerglass switches can rapidly provision a backup service to replace any failed external link. In addition, in the event of a server farm failure, or other disruption, Glimmerglass switches can reroute all of the effected traffic to alternate server farms.
High Density, Low Profile
Glimmerglass Intelligent Optical Switches have the highest fiber density in the industry. Up to 190 fibers (95 x 95) are supported in just two rack units (3.5” or 8.9cm) and up to 380 fibers (190 x 190) in 4 rack units. Weighing only 20 to 38 pounds (9 to 17kg), power consumption ranges from 35 to 80 watts and requires no special cooling.
Future Proof
Glimmerglass Intelligent Optical Switches fully transparent crossconnects. Once installed, the Data Center is ready for any future data rate or format. No changes are required to migrate from GE to 10GE to 100GE or even 40G SONET/SDH. Upgrade the endpoints, not the switching fabric. In addition, as non-blocking crossconnects, Glimmerglass solutions facilitate the introduction of new server equipment and future migrations to new architectures.
Learn More
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