FEATURE
use of scarce fibre infrastructure in the
metro, regional and long-haul networks. By
using this approach, networks can manage
significant demands of bandwidth with
low latency with greater reliability. Edge
Data Centres will be the key to enabling
new next-generation applications such as
connected cars and Virtual Reality partially
driven by 5G deployments.
Preparing 5G performance
In order to adapt to the increasing
volumes of data, EDCs must also consider
how they will grow and evolve with
the needs of the network. To support
various use cases and 5G applications,
EDCs can be tailored to support unique
requirements based on the location,
bandwidth demands, latency requirements
and the environment in which they are
in. They can be of various sizes and can
be designed to suit harsh conditions
and various temperatures in different
environments such as remote areas or
even conflict zones. Sufficient power,
effective monitoring and cooling features
are integral to its performance to support
the growth and scale of 5G deployments.
Available in different sizes and forms
such as boxes and containers, EDCs
can be integrated and placed in various
places such as next to cell towers which
provides a direct gateway for businesses
to rent local processing power and
storage for increased performance such
as lower latency and higher availability of
required services.
Without an effective design, downtime
of a data centre can be costly to
operators, as well as posing potentially
critical implications to the end-user
applications of the involved business it
serves. For example, mining companies,
factory automation environments and
communication at an airport. Therefore,
it is imperative that EDCs are designed
with resilience and efficiency in mind to
support the high demanding environment
it serves.
Reaching 5G potential
Currently, the industry is in its early
stages of adoption of deploying Edge
Data Centres. However, interest in
Andreas Sila, Market Manager Data
Centre at HUBER+SUHNER
Edge Computing is growing rapidly
as businesses slowly start to realise
the potential of Edge Computing.
HUBER+SUHNER is seeing increasing
numbers of requests to support the
development of EDCs with effective
fibre management solutions between
the different active equipment and
optical switching to allow for remote
reconfiguration of the optical layer. This
provides redundancy for the fibre network
and can be used to remotely commission
new services. A third consideration is the
question of how to get large chunks of
bandwidth to the EDC at an affordable
price. For this, either a rugged WDM
solution for multiple 10G or a simple 100G
service will usually be enough for an EDC.
Understanding the environment, the use
cases and the bandwidth demands are
key elements which HUBER+SUHNER
considers to support the implementation
of EDCs. Each EDC is created to be
robust and resilient in all environments
and should be remotely reconfigured for
seamless connectivity.
With the future set to see even more
EDCs designed and deployed, people will
experience the full possibilities of 5G as
the industry invests in the infrastructure
to deliver on the full potential of 5G.
Many critical applications will rely on the
performance, scalability and reliability
of EDCs such as autonomous cars
and healthcare systems or completely
digitalised factories which is why it is vital
to invest in high-quality EDCs for today
and beyond. ◊
46 Issue 15
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