FEATURE
EXTENDING
THE SUBSEA NETWORK TO THE DATA CENTER … or is it the Data Center to the CLS? BY ERICK W. CONTAG
O
ver the last several years we have seen a massive shift in our subsea sector; ranging from types of ownerships, to biz models, technologies and system architectures. Much of the growth and deployment of new systems is driven by the insatiable appetite for massive capacity demands from Web-scale companies. Along this last decade and a half, we went from CLS-2-CLS subsea network designs, via POP-2-POP, to DC-2-DC. We dropped ring configurations for multiple linear systems. Some five years back, vendors started to push the idea of replacing the Cable Landing Station (“CLS”) with a Power Feed Equipment (“PFE”) hut and extending the subsea network all the way to the Data Center (“DC”). Driving this trend was not only better integration of the
wet and dry plants, but also potential significant CapEx savings by not having to replicate subsea and terrestrial optical equipment in back-to-back configurations. Better yet, if the Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (“SLTE”) could be racked and stacked like another server in the DC, the entire subsea network would simply be the interconnect of two data centers. This trend lead to the development of a new, simplified, optical kit. But what the industry has also learned (or re-learned) is that one size does not fit all. It never has! While the terrestrial subsea extension looks great on paper, there are many other factors to consider when designing new subsea networks. For starters, terrestrial networks are much more prone to cuts and double cuts
While the terrestrial subsea extension looks great on paper, there are many other factors to consider when designing new subsea networks.
16
SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE