Add More Lanes to Your Network with ProLabs

Why don't they just build more lanes? 

Anyone who has been stuck in congested traffic has felt the pain of too many cars condensed into a finite number of lanes. Adding more lanes to highways can alleviate traffic congestion and ease bottlenecks, but it comes with a hefty price in terms of both dollars spent and commuter headaches. Luckily, solving your network bottlenecks doesn't need to be this difficult. 

Transceiver-based solutions can "add more lanes" to your network while avoiding the cost of expensive switch and network upgrades. Single-Fiber Bidirectional, CWDM and DWDM transceivers are all compatible with existing network switches and, when used with passive networking, they truly can fix your network bottlenecks - without the headaches. 

Single-Fiber Bidirectional Transceivers (commonly known as BiDis) are the most simple and cost-effective solution. BiDis essentially add another lane of capacity onto an existing single-mode fiber pair. BiDis send and receive signals over one single fiber strand as opposed to using both fibers of a traditional transceiver pair. This solution provides welcome relief in all network segments, particularly lending itself well to providing relief in campus environments and access networks. 

Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) offers cost-effective scalability in maximizing existing fiber infrastructure. WDM uses passive multiplexers and transceivers to quickly scale the capacity of existing optical fiber infrastructure. WDM technology segments the fiber cable by transmitting the data on different wavelengths for each connection. WDM comes in two kinds: CWDM and DWDM. Standard Course Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) is the most cost-effective technology, offering 18 connections over a fiber pair (that is 18 lanes in each direction). New single-fiber, single wavelength CWDM transceivers work with existing fiber and WDM infrastructure to push CWDM's density up to 18 connections over a single fiber! Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) is ideal for longer distances and raise the bar for fiber density. With DWDM, transceivers and passive multiplexers can push over 80 connections on a fiber pair!

Comparing Technologies

Ask your Accu-Tech representative how ProLabs solutions can "add more lanes" to your network. We may not be able to alleviate your commute but we can help improve your network bottlenecks!

Contributed to by Raymond Hagen, ProLabs Americas Product Manager