Open Networking
is the key to breaking out of OEM lock-in
With peak internet bandwidth doubling every 23 months, all networks, from legacy to new deployments, must adapt. But proprietary networking, once the solution to scalability and reliability is now a barrier to change.
OEM lock-in leads to limited interoperability. Valuable time must also be spent on forced upgrades of legacy equipment. And the total cost of ownership (TCO) is high. A network-operator’s work schedules and budgets are literally locked-in to yesterday’s solution.
In the last 5 years
existing network operator with obsolescent capabilities just as others jump forwardhyperscale datacenters operators (Google, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft) have upended industry structure made a huge jump forward in scale, reliability and lower TCO. This opens a whole new pathway to leveraging price performance benefits of open networking for those companies that decide to make the choice. On the other hand, proprietary networking threatens to saddle the existing network operator with obsolescent capabilities just as others jump forward.
Today, open networking solutions are available not just for transceivers, cables and memory, but also for switches, network operating systems and optical line systems (OLS). Open networking solutions can be a larger slice of the pie which means accelerated technology deployment and greater savings.
A good example
is coherent optical technology for 100G (or greater) DWDM networks. Long used in the network core and deployed by highly trained optical networking engineers, coherent technology is now becoming widely available for use in datacenter interconnect (DCI) and metro applications. What makes this possible is the market availability of non-OEM digital coherent optic (DCO) modules. This innovation is possible due to advanced digital signal processing (DSP) that can now fit within the DCO module.
In addition, the DCO uses algorithms to automate the calculation of compensation needed for the quality, type of fiber and distance of a network link. Within a certain range of parameters, DCO technology greatly reduces the optical engineering work needed to setup a link.
OEM’s are no longer the only choice for coherent, and consequently, it WILL be deployed more quickly, more widely and at a lower total cost than if it was still locked in.
Open networking gives operators more choices but, as with all things, change comes at a cost. Free to choose means that gaining an understanding of what’s possible is essential to making the most of the opportunities.
Network Distributors has long been dedicated to helping customers break-out of OEM lock-in. Our optical line system solution portfolio provides a platform for more easily deploying coherent and other technologies while staying open to future innovations.