ANALYSIS & OPINION:INSTALLATION
PLAYING A BIG PART
The challenges of cleaning high-density fibre connections in giant data centres, and how they can be overcome
JAY TOURIGNY
T
oday, the demand for fast, flawless connectivity is expanding around the globe. High-speed networks allow instant access to data-intensive apps
on billions of devices worldwide while the internet of things (IoT) allows them to seamlessly interact with one another. Autonomous vehicles, augmented reality and fully automated home systems, including virtual assistants and smart appliances will soon be the norm. In addition, online selling, social media and tele-education continue to make our lives more convenient and connected. Te one thing that makes this connectivity
possible is an effective and reliable network to manage the large volume, or big data, required to operate it all. Data-driven companies are constantly developing ways to manage their users’ data demand and the high traffic associated with it. One current solution is to use very large, or hyperscale, data centres. On average, the footprint of a hyperscale
data centre is 200,000m2 or larger. Millions of servers inside the centres operate together via fibre optic networks to control the massive amount of data traffic users require. Te networks typically comprise hundreds of thousands of metres of fibre optic cable and hundreds of thousands of optical connections. Te data centres allow fast and efficient data handling. However, they do have drawbacks.
Data centre concerns Since the data centres are so large, they are oſten built in remote areas where there are more wide-open spaces and land is less expensive. However, locating a data centre
32 FiBRE SYSTEMS n Issue 26 n Winter 2020
far away can cause performance problems including latency delays. Tese time degraded responses are unacceptable for many critical applications, such as GPS responses for military systems, remote medical monitoring and diagnostic results, or vital financial transactions. Also, because of the mass volume of servers,
hyperscale data centres run very hot and require extensive cooling. In an atempt to keep hyperscale data centres cool, companies oſten employ power-hungry climate control systems that use enormous quantities of electricity and emit large quantities of greenhouse gases.
More fibre, smaller footprint One solution to these concerns is to make data centres smaller, closer, and more energy efficient. Achieving these goals requires squeezing more fibre into a smaller footprint. Fortunately, fibre optic cable makers have changed cable construction in a way that enables them to pack thousands more optical fibres into a single cable. Just a few years ago, an 864-fibre cable was considered a huge trunk. Today, typical fibre counts are 1,728, 3,456, and 5,184. Recently, a UHCF (ultra-high-count fibre
cable) with 6,912 fibres was introduced to the industry and a 7,776-fibre version is on the horizon. Te result is UHCF cables that carry double or triple the data in the same or less space. Tis reduces the size of data centres, allowing more accessible data centre locations and beter energy efficiency.
Fibre connectors However, the higher the fibre count of the
cable, the more vulnerable the connectors and end faces are to contamination. All connectors are inherently dirty because of the moving parts, such as springs, connectors and latches, all of which generate wear debris. Terefore, to get absolute reliability and
uninterrupted service from any UHCF network, it is important that all connectors are cleaned and inspected to meet IEC 61300-3-35 standards prior to installation. Tis helps avoid potential fibre network problems, such as insertion loss (weakened signal), back-reflection (signal is diverted back to its source) or a complete system shut down. Tere are three newer types of connector
options used with UHCF cables that aggregate more fibre into a smaller footprint: CS duplex connector system for the next-generation QSFP-DD transceivers, the 16 fibre-array MT- based connector, and lens-array ferrules for parallel optic and silicon photonics applications. All have their advantages and all bring their own cleaning challenges. Tese connectors use the standard 1.25mm
LC form factor ferrule, but with tighter spacing between the ferrules. With the CS design, pitch is reduced to 3.8mm from the LC standard of 6.25mm. Te result is a theoretical capacity increase of 80 per cent. Te small size of these connectors, along with very tight clearances on CS adapters, makes it difficult for many cleaning tools to get inside the ferrule. Use high absorbency, non-linting fibre cleaning sticks with a high-purity fibre cleaning fluid to clean these connectors. Or, for cleaning large numbers of connectors, a mini click-to-clean tool typically works best.
www.fibre-systems.com @fibresystemsmag
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