RagingWire Blog Interconnection: A Better Way to Manage Data Demands

Due to the global pandemic, IT managers everywhere are trying to manage exponential demands for higher bandwidth. Increases in people working from home, distance learning, e-Medicine, video streaming, online shopping, and online gaming are creating unprecedented data demands. All of your constituents want high-availability, high-quality service.   Colocation data centers can meet those data demands by providing redundant and diverse paths to transport network traffic across the globe. Whether it is an enterprise running mission-critical applications, or someone working or learning from home, business is expected to run flawlessly and without any interruption.   Modernized data center network infrastructure is optimized for a wide range of complexity, such as hybrid IT infrastructure, public and private cloud connectivity, multi-cloud, private closed network, SD-WAN, the proximity and density of fiber providers, and the Internet. This infrastructure is especially well-suited for global businesses that want to have their primary and backup sites in different regions and countries with standardized services and operations.   How can colocation data centers keep my constituents connected?  The path to streamlined, reliable connectivity starts with a well-conceived topology, such as what we call “Data Center Interconnect.” This technology uses high-speed connectivity to connect two or more data centers over short, medium, or long distances.   As a global data center company, we deploy a “switched fabric” topology to connect our data center network, cloud exchange, and internet exchange services to our service providers and enterprise customers. This fabric is a network connectivity platform that provides low latency, high availability, and secure connections between hybrid multi-clouds, enterprises, and your own digital assets.  What are some problems that colocation data centers can solve?  Data Center Interconnect is geared to help in several scenarios. The main motivation for data center interconnect has traditionally been the assurance of business continuity in a disaster. Companies could avoid network breakdowns by setting up their mission-critical infrastructure in more than one data center in the situation of a metro-wide catastrophe.   But now, more companies are finding that they are constantly in need of increased bandwidth, as usage increases of laptops, smartphones, game consoles, in-vehicle navigation systems, and other devices. Slow response time to access the information is unacceptable. Data Center Interconnect provides connectivity links precisely when needed:   Businesses relying on remote employees will not be a short-term trend. A geographically distributed workforce requires fast, reliable connectivity with the ability to scale up quickly. VPN usage has gone up more than 130% in the US during the global pandemic. Video communications have become a medium of choice for business, family, and online learning applications. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and WebEx have seen a considerable increase in subscribers. Zoom reported $328 million in revenue during its February–April 2020 quarter.   In online gaming, Electronic Arts (EA) reported tens of millions of new players dove into their online and mobile games during the pandemic. TDK Corporation sees a significant opportunity for its high-performance 6-axis MEMS motion sensor for gaming controllers and AR/VR applications. These millions of gamers need low latency connectivity, which Data Center Interconnect can facilitate.  Online shopping has also exploded. Forbes reported that total online spending in May hit $82.5 billion, up 77% year-over-year. To consummate their purchases, customers must have an uninterrupted, smooth transaction that comes from the right amount of bandwidth availability.  What are some use cases for Data Center Interconnect?  Depending on a company’s goals, it could benefit from several different uses of Data Center Interconnect. Here are some examples:  A company connects to its own network infrastructure in a different data center within NTT Global Data Centers. For instance, a customer with a global presence across NTT Global Data Centers, say in the US (perhaps in California and Virginia), in APAC (perhaps Tokyo, Singapore, and Hong Kong) and Europe (perhaps London and Frankfurt) can interconnect their network assets. A company connects to Public Cloud (AWS / MSFT Azure / IBM Cloud / Google Cloud) in the same region and across the globe. A company connects to a vendor or partner over a private connection in the same region and across the globe. A company connects to its own infrastructure or third-party in a third-party data center.  To sum up, the overarching benefits of the global network fabric found in Data Center Interconnect are that companies will avoid delays in connecting with their employees, customers, and business partners. This will result in more efficient external interactions with customers and prospects, and more effective internal interactions between employees.  NTT Global Data Centers Americas deploys a “switched fabric” topology to connect our data center network, providing low latency, high availability, and secure connections between hybrid multi-clouds, enterprises, and your own digital assets.