Datacentre
Where everything meets and flows
Behind the cloud lies reality – and that reality is called the datacentre. Here, thousands of servers work side by side, exchanging information at a dizzying pace. When applications run, AI models are trained, or millions of users stream the same film, it happens through a web of connections that must be both lightning-fast and reliable.
This is where fibre makes a difference.
When servers talk to servers
A large part of the traffic in a datacentre is not out to the internet – it is internal. Servers that sync databases, share computing power, or store the same files in multiple locations. This communication, often called east–west traffic, has exploded alongside virtualisation, cloud services, and AI, where NVIDIA is dominant.
Over short distances, multimode and SR transceivers are sufficient – perfect for connecting between servers and to nearby switches. But when traffic needs to pass between entire server clusters or different halls, singlemode and transceivers such as LR or ER are required. Each link becomes a vein in the system, and stability is absolutely crucial.
From 400G to what you actually need
Datacentres are built with ports that can handle 100G, 400G, 800G and up to 1.6TB – but rarely does a single server need all that space. Therefore, the capacity can be divided. For example, a 400G port can be transformed into four separate 100G links, ready to feed different servers. Similarly, multiple signals can be combined on a single fibre, or broken out again at the other end.
It's about utilising resources smartly – ensuring that every port, every fibre, every transceiver is used to the maximum.