The data center is a key piece in the complex and gigantic research infrastructure being built in the country named Sirius, the new Brazilian synchrotron light source – one of the most advanced in the world.
The volume of data to be processed will be enormous, with a tendency to increase more and more, as more companies and research institutions seek this infrastructure to carry out studies of the most diverse materials. For this reason, Sirius’ data center was designed with the concept of scalability, which is the basis of Furukawa’s 400G-Ready Data Center program, which provides the optical cabling solution for the new installation.
Synchrotron light sources work as a large microscope that reveals the molecular, atomic and electronic structure of various materials, allowing the development of research in almost any area of knowledge. The materials are analyzed at experimental stations called beam lines. “The beam lines are responsible for generating a huge amount of information: on average, 1,000 photos are taken per second, representing 80 Gb of information per second,” says Eduardo Miqueles, leader of Sirius’s
Scientific Computing Group, who is part of the National Center for Research in Energy and Materials – CNPEM. “The data center was designed to support the flow and the processing of this immense amount of data generated by the beam lines”, he explains.
To meet the high transmission rates required by the application, connections between the beam lines and the data center, as well as between the storage media (storage) and switches, use Furukawa optical cabling and 100 Gb/s channels. “At the moment, the connections are 100 Gb/s, but the data center is already prepared for the jump to 400 Gb/s”, highlights Felipe Campos de Oliveira, network specialist at CNPEM’s Information Technology Group.
400 Gb / s optical networks (known as 400G) are the next level of technological evolution in data centers. Aware of this trend, Furukawa has been investing in solutions focused on the 400G-Ready concept, which brings flexibility and allows the preparation of the data center for this technological leap. The concept involves offering a set of products, solutions and services designed to support current and future 400G applications.
In the case of the Sirius project, implemented in partnership with the integrator Ideal Network, Furukawa provided products and also support during the process of defining and installing this optical network. “The HDX Furukawa solution, for example, proved to be ideal for our data center, because it allowed a large amount of optical fibers to be concentrated in a 1U rack”, says Felipe Oliveira. He also highlights the special care dedicated by the company to the certification phase of the fibers used in the project. “Great care was taken to ensure that all fibers meet the standards and requirements necessary to reach 400G-Ready”, he adds.
Furukawa’s offering for the 400G-Ready Data Center program involves everything from consulting and basic design, with the definition of the most appropriate network topology and architecture to get the best out of the 400G infrastructure, to support for installation and operation, with monitoring of inspections, training, optimized logistics and extended warranty of 25 years (depending on the program). In Furukawa’s view, it is the combination of these factors that will guarantee the success of the project and make the data center 400G-Ready.
