Ben Baker, Senior Director of Cloud and SP Marketing, Juniper Networks
The network lies at the heart of everything we do, and it is more important now than ever as we shift toward an increasingly remote work and lifestyle. Network traffic is at record high and shows no signs of leveling off any time soon. Having 400GbE network capacity is critical in maintaining speed and ushering in the next era of connectivity.
400GbE offers massive increases in capacity, density and power efficiency, and the demand for these capabilities is only growing. Many of the new technology trends we are excited about will require this level of compute, such as new cloud applications, emerging 5G networks, as well as the recent shift to remote work. 400GbE has been a long time coming, but now that we’re entering the 5G era with increased demands for high-bandwidth applications, we’re seeing a clearer path forward.
Higher speeds can unlock new service capabilities, which pose greater revenue opportunities for service providers, cloud operators and enterprises alike. 400GbE offers more density, scale and power efficiency at a low cost, making it the perfect choice for data center networks, data center interconnect (DCI), and service provider core and transport networks. as well. So why don’t we see more of it out there?
A Growing Demand
To understand the story of 400GbE, we have to start with the companies clamoring for it most urgently: cloud hyperscalers. Companies such as Google, Amazon and Facebook are experiencing explosive traffic growth across their data centers. Facebook, for example, generates four petabytes of new data every day. Google’s requirements for its data center networks double every 12-15 months. Trying to meet those demands with 100GbE links is like trying to pump a firehose worth of water through a handful of drinking straws. It’s doable, but time intensive
400GbE requires a lengthy time investment for equipment vendors to align around Multi-Source Agreements (MSAs) on optical standards, and therefore the fully realized potential of the technology has been delayed. These optical standards then require exhaustive testing, which can be a long, complex process. That said, the end result is hugely beneficial to the entire ecosystem and will be critical as we evolve into the next era of high-speed technology.
As we move closer to large-scale commercial viability of 400GbE, expect to see major optical advances this year. Ongoing development of silicon photonics, for example, will further the convergence of optical transport with routing and switching, delivering pluggable transceiver capabilities on fixed configuration platforms or directly on line cards for modular platforms.
Solving for the Next Wave of Challenges
As we prepare for these advances and wait for 400GbE economics to catch up with demand, here are some considerations to think about:
- Think open and interoperable. Pursue platforms based on open standards-based technologies, with multi-vendor interoperability and zero lock-in. This will save you in the long run on capital expenditures and operational flexibility.
- Get 400GbE-ready. As you pursue network refresh cycles, look for fixed configuration or modular solutions that support QSFP56-DD interfaces for 400GbE services, so you can make the transition quickly and easily—such as by swapping out one pluggable with another.
- Prioritize inline security. For many organizations, any traffic that leaves the data center must be encrypted. Look for 400GbE solutions that can provide MACsec encryption inline, so you don’t have to use separate components that increase power consumption and costs while sapping performance.
- Achieve telemetry at scale. To manage and monitor your network as you scale up, you need networking equipment that can scale telemetry capabilities as well. That means supporting millions of counters and many millions of filter operations per second.
The Bottom Line
Internet traffic is growing exponentially and operators are trying to navigate the path forward to keep up with the exploding traffic growth. Service providers and cloud operators are fast approaching the tipping point where commercial solutions become viable. Delivering the next generation of digital services and applications—or even just supporting current ones more efficiently—requires a strong foundation powered by 400GbE.
