In establishing local networks, most of the organizations usually make use of the regular copper wires. So had been the case at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico until now. The facility is now gearing up to have these copper wires replaced with optical fibers, which would boast the network’s speeds to a mind-blowing 10 gigabit-type rates.
The switch from copper wires to fiber-optic is going to cost Sandia a huge $15 million. However, lab officials have estimated that after they make the switch, they will be able to save a cool $20 million over the next five years, by cutting down on energy consumption and the fact that optical fiber doesn’t need to be replaced as often as copper wires.
Moreover, local networks that use copper wires need a number of routers and switches. This necessity is removed in a fiber-optic network which, in turn, significantly trims down energy consumption costs.
The copper wires that will be removed from the facility will be recycled, which will bring another $80,000 to the facility. It makes sense for Sandia National Laboratories to finally adopt optical fiber since the facility has often been involved in running large-scale virtual experiments. In doing so, the facility has to share its data with 265 other buildings and some 13,000 ports.
With the switch to optical fiber, the facility will be able to enjoy local networks speeds to the tune of 10 gigabits, which is really, really fast. This would certainly help the researchers share data quickly and run the computer simulations more accurately.
Source: Sandia National Laboratories
Courtesy: PopSci
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