BiDi Technology
Fiber Optic Solutions
Challenge: How can I accommodate traffic growth in my network?
Organizations may be upgrading network speeds after investing significant money in 1G tools, or moving from 10G to 25G or even up to 100G. Higher network speeds are more challenging to monitor due to the fact that many tools simply can’t accommodate a 100G version, or budgets may be squeezed to accommodate multiple tools at that speed. Not only that, but upgrades can require having to replace the entire cable infrastructure in the process. Enterprises may need to get creative and utilize network packet brokers for speed conversion as an immediate solution.
Solution
Overcoming network speed and media upgrades
When accommodating for network traffic growth, it’s common to have network speeds and media that don't match existing monitoring tools. A cost effective solution for speed conversion is utilizing Garland’s passive fiber Network TAPs in combination with a PacketMAX packet broker to ensure any-to-any configuration of network speeds accommodating 1G/10G/25G/40G/100/400G speeds. Garland’s network TAPs also offer media conversion to accommodate various connections within the physical layer.
Cisco bidirectional 40G fiber connectivity (known as BiDi), allows data center engineers to reuse 10Gbps fiber infrastructure for 40Gbps connections. BiDi-enabled network test access points (TAPs) provide visibility into these faster networks so network administrators can see even the smallest amount of information as it travels over the cables.
BiDi allows engineers to utilize existing infrastructure when upgrading network speeds, postponing the need for a complete cabling overhaul. Using BiDirectional optical technology, which uses two parallel multi-mode fiber strands to transmit the signal bidirectionally rather than unidirectionally, network managers are able to achieve 100G traffic over their existing cable infrastructure.
Garland Technology’s BiDi Passive Fiber Network TAPs feed wire data to the PacketMAX packet broker, which provide the load balancing needed to use existing 10G monitoring and security tools. By making use of BiDi technology, teams are able to ensure complete visibility to existing infrastructure rather than replace the entire system to operate at 100G.