800G is the name given to an incoming network technology designed to improve the bandwidth capacity for network providers dramatically. The technology is already being rolled out in a series of small phased trials around the globe. 800G technology will be used to upgrade all global backbone Internet pipes, such as international subsea networks.
Eventually, the technology will make it onshore and into the local data center and boost the network provider’s capacity by up to 45%. Still, at the moment, the focus is on submarine and terrestrial interconnects. In this article, we will discover what 800G is, how it works, and what impact it will have on your organization’s IT infrastructure.
What Is 800G?
800G is an ultra-high-speed network communications technology that uses high-capacity fiber optic cabling to interlink various locations. Everyday bandwidth demands continue to grow, fueled by the world population’s hunger for streaming services, cloud computing, and digital content delivery.
Existing subsea and terrestrial backbone connections are starting to strain under the current bandwidth demands, and many are quickly reaching their operation life maximum. As a result, the plan is for global network providers to replace existing subsea cables with next-generation 800G optics.
800G technology has had a great start. In the last 18 months, 800G modems and optics have been installed in 35 countries by 140 different network providers. Again, the United States leads the way in terrestrial installations, closely followed by Europe and East Asia. Likewise, submarine connectivity between the U.S. and Europe, and East Asia has been a priority.
In the United States, work started on the 800G network in Q3 2020 and has progressed rapidly to incorporate most of the country. In addition, various network providers are building the National Converged Optical Network (NCON).
NCON will first interconnect cities over the national network to Tier 1, 2, and 3 locations such as cloud service providers’ data centers, and build cable landing stations and cross-border gateways.
What impact will 800G have?
800G will help satisfy the world’s need for increased bandwidth and higher line-rate connections. In addition, over time, the technology will introduce cost savings because of the data center’s reduced space and power footprint requirements. Scientists and researchers are not just stopping at 800G; the technology is being used to push speeds up to 1.6T soon.
Modern lifestyles are data-hungry; the Internet delivers countless content-heavy services users rely upon. The amount of data generated by businesses like Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, Spotify, Facebook, Google, AWS, and Microsoft is mindboggling. In addition, other industries are churning through data at a significant rate. For example, consider the retail sector (in particular online shopping), healthcare, and manufacturing industries; they process incredible amounts of data behind the scenes.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic started in March 2020, numerous face-to-face services have shifted online. Healthcare has seen one of the most significant changes as data-hungry front-line services became (and still largely remain) online. Home working is still primarily the norm for office workers, with most businesses introducing hybrid working to help employees balance their work-life commitments. These are just two examples of industries demanding more network bandwidth with lower latency, thus putting more significant strain on the existing infrastructure.
Despite many benefits, 800G networking is not a perfect technology, and there is a trade-off between bandwidth capacity and network reach. To get the maximum spectral efficiency of 800G, the network reach is limited to 2500km (approx. 1500 miles). This range is acceptable for terrestrial implementations but causes headaches for submarine crossings and cross-border configurations.
The Race to Deliver 800G
As with any new networking technology, it takes years for higher speed to become standardized across all global data centers. Even 200G and 400G services are not too common outside the largest VPS hosting providers. Supply issues have also thwarted 800G as the world slowly recovers from the impact of Covid-19. 800G brings considerable increases in speed, power consumption needs, and heat extraction challenges. Data centers need to plan these implementations with these overhead environmental considerations.
Partnering With Atlantic.Net
Atlantic.Net engineers have first-hand experience with the complexities of high-speed networking. Our data centers provide cutting-edge network connectivity using several premium network providers at various speeds and levels of resiliency.
Our managed services offer the ability to monitor your entire stack intelligently. In addition, the Atlantic.Net cloud platform will support ultra-fast networking, and the infrastructure is future-proofed as new and faster services become available in our data center regions.
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