Copper cables have been a staple for data transmission for decades, with their roots tracing back to the telegraph and telephone. Fiber optic cables, introduced in the 1950s, have grown in popularity since the early 1970s. When choosing between copper and fiber optic cables for your applications, understanding the differences in throughput and speed is crucial. Let’s explore the history, transmission methods, and practical applications of these two types of cables. The History of Data Cables Copper cables have been the backbone of long-distance electricity and communication transmission for m ..read more

With every recession, companies make valiant attempts to reduce their spending. One of the first things to go is marketing. Then the C-Suite starts to look for other potential savings, including in the area of servers and data management. But the need to process and analyze data, access the internet, and other tasks doesn’t go away. To be competitive, data centers also need to cut costs, and find ways to do more with less.  Sometimes this involves moves and changes that, while they cost time and even money to implement in the short term, will result in later gains in the long term. Let’s ..read more

There are several aspects of optimizing data centers, from making the best use of space, time, power, and personnel. But there are some surprisingly simple solutions that are often overlooked with power cords, especially when it comes to rack optimization. Here are just a few of them. SVT vs. SJT Power Cords One of the first needs of a data center is power, and while there are debates about DC powering data centers, for the most part, AC power is the answer, and that means that a part of rack optimization includes the routing of power cords.  Related to that is the durability of these co ..read more

Demand for faster data transfer, and more of it, has exploded exponentially over the last decade. Even before the pandemic, growth was already at exponential rates, but with the work from anywhere trend and more people gaming and streaming from home, demand rose even further.  With it came an explosion in innovation, and a necessary one. Data Center Interconnects (DCI) Ethernet cable speeds increased from 100 Gb applications to 400 Gb and beyond. Server speeds have gone from 10 Gb to 25 Gb and beyond, with 100 Gb speeds on the horizon, and already in place in some data centers.  The ..read more

Data centers are often made up of hot and cold aisles, and the design of the hot / cold aisle data center is far from new. However, the traditional setup causes warm air exhaust from one aisle to flow into the air intake of the next, meaning that the overall efficiency of the data center is impacted. And really, that’s what hot and cool aisle containment is all about. Balancing hot and cold aisles is more important than ever to running an efficient data center As rack density increases, especially in edge data centers and hyperscale data centers, the need for efficiency increases. This is ..read more

As the need for data storage and speed increases, the need for hyperscale data centers has increased. So has the need for edge data centers as well. While large-scale centers serve companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, other organizations are looking at smaller data centers closer to the end-user. In both cases, the data link layer of the data center is critical. Enter Direct Attach Copper (DACs) cables and Active Optical Cables (AOCs). The data link layer of the data center is critical to ensuring your resources and used to their full potential What is that data link layer? It’s ..read more

Just about a year ago a group from MIT demonstrated a polymer plastic cable the size of a human hair that could transmit data faster than copper – much faster.  How fast? Well, they recorded speeds of more than 100 gigabits per second! So where is this new technology and where is it headed? Well, here are some answers for you. MIT demonstrated a plastic polymer cable the size of a human hair. Photo: MIT, https://news.mit.edu/2021/data-transfer-system-silicon-0224 The Need for Speed First, perhaps we need to qualify what this speed is, and why computers and data centers need it.  The ..read more

Fires are not super common in data centers, but they do happen, and most often when they do, they are not reported (at least not in the news). Much of the reason for this is that fires are usually small and quickly contained. It is unusual for a data center to become fully engulfed.  Even when such fires are reported on, details can be sketchy, causes, and investigations hidden behind NDA’s and are therefore difficult to learn from. While companies want to retain control over the narrative and how it impacts their reputation, the information around fires can and should be shared within th ..read more

In 1975, looking at the next decade, a guy named Gordon Moore revised his previous forecast of the number of integrated circuits in a microchip doubling every year to doubling every two years. Moore was not a prophet, nor a brilliant data analyst, but as his prediction held true, it later became known as a law.  The law has become more of a guide, influencing the policies for research and development of the largest companies and chip manufacturers in the world. And it, and a new machine helping to keep Moore’s law alive, are what your iPhone and those robots from Boston Dynamics with the ..read more

Computing on the edge: it seems that everyone is doing it, from big industry to manufacturers, from ISPs to Cloud Computing centers. When you can locate computing and analytics power closer to machines connected via the IoT and other data sources, the faster you can gather data, and the more data you can store and analyze in a timely manner. For some, edge data centers seem like the final frontier for data. This has resulted in data centers that vary in size, from the size of a very large cabinet to those contained in the space of a small shipping container. But like any journey to the edge ..read more