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Re: High Density Multimode Runs BCP?

  • From: Thor Lancelot Simon
  • Date: Wed Jan 26 15:19:13 2005

On Wed, Jan 26, 2005 at 02:49:29PM -0500, Hannigan, Martin wrote:
> > > 
> > > When running say 24-pairs of multi-mode across a datacenter, I have 
> > > considered a few solutions, but am not sure what is 
> > common/best practice.
> > 
> > I assume multiplexing up to 10Gb (possibly two links thereof) and then
> > back down is cost-prohibitive?  That's probably the "best" practice.
> 
> I think he's talking physical plant. 200m should be fine. Consult
> your equipment for power levels and support distance.

Sure -- but given the cost of the new physical plant installation he's
talking about, the fact that he seems to know the present maximum data
rate for each physical link, and so forth, I think it does make sense to
ask the question "is the right solution to simply be more economical
with physical plant by multiplexing to a higher data rate"?

I've never used fibre ribbon, as advocated by someone else in this thread,
and that does sound like a very clever space- and possibly cost-saving
solution to the puzzle.  But even so, spending tens of thousands of
dollars to carry 24 discrete physical links hundreds of meters across a
datacenter, each at what is, these days, not a particularly high data
rate, may not be the best choice.  There may well be some question about
at which layer it makes sense to aggregate the links -- but to me, the
question "is it really the best choice of design constraints to take
aggregation/multiplexing off the table" is a very substantial one here
and not profitably avoided.

Thor