Category Archives: Data Center

Data Center Network Security Threats and Solutions

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Background

Data center security includes physical security and virtual security. Data center virtual security is actually data center network security，it refers to the various security precautions that are taken to maintain the operational agility of the infrastructure and data. Data center network security threats have become more and more rampant, and enterprises need to find countermeasures to protect sensitive information and prevent data vulnerabilities. We will discuss the data center cyber attacks and solutions.

What Are the Main Data Center Networking Threats?

Data center network is the most valuable and visible asset of storage organizations, while the data center networks, DNS, database, and email servers have become the number one target for cybercriminals, hacktivists, and state-sponsored attackers. Regardless of attackers’ purpose and what they are seeking financial gain, competitive intelligence, or notoriety, they are using a range of cyber technology weapons to attack data centers. The following are 5 top data center network threats.

DDoS attack

Servers are prime targets of DDoS attack designed to disrupt and disable essential internet services. Service availability is critical to a positive customer experience. DDoS attacks, however, can directly threaten availability, resulting in loss of business revenue, customers, and reputation. From 2011 to 2013, the average size of DDoS attacks soared from 4.7 Gbps to 10 Gbps. What’s worse, there has also been a staggering increase in the average number of packets per second during a typical DDoS attack. This proved that the rapid growth of DDoS attacks is enough to disable most standard network equipment. Attackers can amplify the scale and intensity of DDoS attacks primarily by exploiting Web, DNS, and NTP servers, which requires enterprises to do a good job of network monitoring at all times.

Web Application Attack

Web applications are vulnerable to a range of attacks, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery, etc. Attackers attempt to break into applications and steal data for profit, resulting in enterprises’ data vulnerabilities. According to the 2015 Trustwave Global Security Report, approximately 98% of applications have or have had vulnerabilities. Attackers are increasingly targeting vulnerable web servers and installing malicious code to turn them into a DDoS attack source. Enterprises need proactive defenses to stop web attacks and “virtual patching” of data vulnerabilities.

DNS Attacks

DNS infrastructure is also vulnerable to DDoS attacks or other threats. It is turned into a target of data center cyber attacks for two reasons. First, attackers can prevent Internet users from accessing the Internet by taking DNS servers offline through a variety of means. If an attacker disables DNS servers of ISP, they can block everything the ISP does to users and Internet services. Second, attackers can also amplify DDoS attacks by exploiting DNS servers. Attackers spoof the IP addresses of their real targets, instruct DNS servers to recursively query many DNS servers or send a flood of responses to victims. This allows the DNS server to directly control the victim’s network of DNS traffic. Even if the DNS server is not the ultimate target for attackers, it still causes data center downtime and outages due to DNS reflection attacks.

SSL Blind Spot Exploitation

Many applications support SSL, however, it is surprising that SSL encryption is also a way that attackers can exploit for network intrusion. Although decrypt SSL traffic is decrypted by firewalls, intrusion prevention and threat prevention products, etc., there are some security implications for data vulnerabilities due to these products’ inability to keep up with the growing demand for SSL encryption. For example, the conversion from 1024-bit to 2048-bit SSL keys requires about 6.3 times the processing power to decrypt. This case shows that security applications are gradually breaking down under the decryption requirements of increasing SSL certificate key lengths. For this reason, attackers can easily exploit this defense blind spot for intrusion.

Authentication Attacks

Applications often use authentication to authenticate users, allowing application owners to restrict access to authorized users. But for convenience, many people perform a single authentication. This makes it easy for attackers to use password cracking tools to brute force. Hackers will crack lists of stolen passwords, and even password hashes, and use them to break into other online accounts. As a result, enterprises centrally manage authentication services and prevent users from repeating failed login attempts.

data center

Data Center Virtual Security Solutions

Network security defenses in the data center are imperative. In view of the data vulnerabilities and network security risks caused by the five major data center network security threats, here are some defense solutions.

  • Prevent vulnerabilities: Deploy IPS to protect and patch frequently vulnerable systems and applications. IPS can also detect exploits targeting DNS infrastructure or attempts to use DNS to evade security protections.
  • Network segmentation: Network segmentation implemented effectively enables preventing lateral movement and achieves least privilege access under a zero-trust security model.
  • Deploying application and API protection: The solution to mitigate the OWASP top 10 risks for web applications is to use web and API security applications. Also, data centers can install firewalls and intrusion detection systems (IDS), to help businesses monitor and traffic inspect before it reaches the internal network.
  • Defense against DDoS: Use on-prem and cloud DDoS protections to mitigate DDoS threats.
  • Prevent credential theft: Deploy anti-phishing protection for users to prevent credential theft attacks.
  • Securing supply chains: Detect and prevent sophisticated supply chain attacks using AI and ML-backed threat prevention, as well as EDR and XDR technologies.
data center

Conclusion

Cyberattacks also have a profound impact on data center network security. Enterprises should prepare defense solutions for data centers to ensure data security. The best practices above can also help enterprises gain relevant information about how their data center networks are operating, allowing the IT team to enhance the virtual security of their data centers while maintaining physical security.

Article source: Data Center Network Security Threats and Solutions

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Five Ways to Ensure Data Center Physical Security

What Is Data Center Virtualization?

Why Green Data Center Matters

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Background

Green data centers appear in the concept of enterprise construction, due to the continuous growth of new data storage requirements and the steady enhancement of green environmental protection awareness. Newly retained data must be protected, cooled, and transferred efficiently. This means that the huge energy demands of data centers present challenges in terms of cost and sustainability, and enterprises are increasingly concerned about the energy demands of their data centers. It can be seen that sustainable and renewable energy resources have become the development trend of green data centers.

Green Data Center Is a Trend

A green data center is a facility similar to a regular data center that hosts servers to store, manage, and disseminate data. It is designed to minimize environmental impact by providing maximum energy efficiency. Green data centers have the same characteristics as typical data centers, but the internal system settings and technologies can effectively reduce energy consumption and carbon footprints for enterprises.

The internal construction of a green data center requires the support of a series of services, such as cloud services, cable TV services, Internet services, colocation services, and data protection security services. Of course, many enterprises or carriers have equipped their data centers with cloud services. Some enterprises may also need to rely on other carriers to provide Internet and related services.

According to market trends, the global green data center market is worth around $59.32 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.5% in the future to 2026. It also shows that the transition to renewable energy sources is accelerating because of the growth of green data centers.

As the growing demand for data storage drives the modernization of data centers, it also places higher demands on power and cooling systems. On the one hand, data centers need to convert non-renewable energy into electricity to generate electricity, resulting in rising electricity costs; on the other hand, some enterprises need to complete the construction of cooling facilities and server cleaning through a lot of water, all of which are ample opportunities for the green data center market. For example, Facebook and Amazon continue to expand their businesses, which has also increased the need for data storage of global companies. These enterprises need a lot of data to complete the analysis of potential customers, but these data processing needs will require a lot of energy. Therefore, the realization of green data centers has become an urgent need for enterprises to solve these problems, and this can also bring more other benefits to enterprises.

Green Data Center Benefits

The green data center concept has grown rapidly in the process of enterprise data center development. Many businesses prefer alternative energy solutions for their data centers, which can bring many benefits to the business. The benefits of green data centers are as follows.

Energy Saving

Green data centers are designed not only to conserve energy, but also to reduce the need for expensive infrastructure to handle cooling and power needs. Sustainable or renewable energy is an abundant and reliable source of energy that can significantly reduce power usage efficiency (PUE). The reduction of PUE enables enterprises to use electricity more efficiently. Green data centers can also use colocation services to decrease server usage, lower water consumption, and reduce the cost of corporate cooling systems.

Cost Reduction

Green data centers use renewable energy to reduce power consumption and business costs through the latest technologies. Shutting down servers that are being upgraded or managed can also help reduce energy consumption at the facility and control operating costs.

Environmental Sustainability

Green data centers can reduce the environmental impact of computing hardware, thereby creating data center sustainability. The ever-increasing technological development requires the use of new equipment and technologies in modern data centers, and the power consumption of these new server devices and virtualization technologies reduces energy consumption, which is environmentally sustainable and brings economic benefits to data center operators.

green data center

Enterprise Social Image Enhancement

Today, users are increasingly interested in solving environmental problems. Green data center services help businesses resolve these issues quickly without compromising performance. Many customers already see responsible business conduct as a value proposition. Enterprises, by meeting compliance, regulatory requirements and regulations of the corresponding regions through the construction of green data centers, improve the image of their own social status.

Reasonable Use of Resources

In an environmentally friendly way, green data centers can allow enterprises to make better use of various resources such as electricity, physical space, and heat, integrating the internal facilities of the data center. It promotes the efficient operation of the data center while achieving rational utilization of resources.

5 Ways to Create a Green Data Center

After talking about the benefits of a green data center, then how to build a green data center. Here are a series of green data center solutions.

  • Virtualization extension: Enterprises can build a virtualized computer system with the help of virtualization technology, and run multiple applications and operating systems through fewer servers, thereby realizing the construction of green data centers.
  • Renewable energy utilization: Enterprises can opt for solar panels, wind turbines or hydroelectric plants that can generate energy to power backup generators without any harm to the environment.
  • Enter eco mode: Using an Alternating current USPs is one way to switch eco mode. This setup can significantly improve data center efficiency and PUE. Alternatively, enterprises can reuse equipment, which not only saves money, but also eliminates unnecessary emissions from seeping into the atmosphere.
  • Optimized cooling: Data center infrastructure managers can introduce simple and implementable cooling solutions, such as deploying hot aisle/cold aisle configurations. Data centers can further accelerate cooling output by investing in air handlers and coolers, and installing economizers that draw outside air from the natural environment to build green data center cooling systems.
  • DCIM and BMS systems: DCIM software and BMS software can help data centers managers identify and document ways to use more efficient energy, helping data centers become more efficient and achieve sustainability goals.

Conclusion

Data center sustainability means reducing energy/water consumption and carbon emissions to offset increased computing and mobile device usage to keep business running smoothly. The development of green data centers has become an imperative development trend, and it also caters to the green goals of global environmental protection. As a beneficiary, enterprises can not only save operating costs, but also effectively reduce energy consumption. This is also an important reason for the construction of green data centers.

Article Source: Why Green Data Center Matters

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Data Center Infrastructure Basics and Management Solutions

What Is a Data Center?

What Is SDN Networking?

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More than a decade ago since the concept of SDN proposed on the heel of OpenFlow, software-defined networking has experienced several year’s research. Until 2012, after Google’s announcement of its backbone network successfully operated on OpenFlow, distributing 12 data centers in the world and increasing WAN utilization from 30% to nearly 100%, OpenFlow had proved its identification as a mature and advanced technology to be applied in the data center networks. Correspondingly SDN networking compliant with programmable feature of OpenFlow protocol become a booming networking technology in the big data centers. What is SDN? What are the advantages brought about by SDN networking? This article may help you to understand.

fs 40g 100g open switches support SDN networking

What Is SDN Networking?

Software-defined networking (SDN) is a technology developed to cater for modern high bandwidth and dynamic applications. It is invented in the historical context to change existing stalled networking infrastructure to a dynamic and manageable one. The core technology is on the basis of OpenFlow protocol to divide software from hardware network device, which makes SDN support software defined functionality. As thus software-defined networking infrastructure becomes more flexible and agile. For instance, SDN networking achieves centralized management by one remote monitoring controller. All network components in the structure such as severs, routers, or Ethernet data switch can be easily added and removed in an efficient way.

What Are the Advantages of SDN Networking?

Software Programmable

SDN technology detaches network control from networking hardware devices, making SDN networking directly programmable. Operators can write the SDN program themselves and quickly implement configuration, management, security monitoring and networking optimization. As thus the flexible SDN Networking supports flexible tracking control to adjust traffic agilely and cater for dramatic demands.

Open Standard and Control via SDN Control Plane

SDN networking deploys a centralized intelligent controller, which programs devices like SDN data switch by software, bridges communication between data devices and applications and displays the network panorama in a virtual switch. It leaves out troubles of differentiating network devices and supports customized control. For instance, in a leaf-spine architecture 10 gigabit switch and 40/ 100GbE switch are deployed in data center different layers. A SDN controller in SDN networking can manage each switch synchronously.

SDN switch SDN controller Applciations in SDN networking

Figure 1: SDN switches and other network applications are controlled and communicated via SDN protocol by a centralized SDN controller in SDN network environment.

What Are the Applications of SDN Networking?

In traditional architecture, reconfiguring a network device is a cumbersome task. Driving by the fast changing Internet business applications, modern networking environment requires for functionality to achieve flexible adjustment. SDN networking meets the need, booming and busting in wide applications. Software-defined networking has developed into three networking branches: software-defined mobile networking (SDMN), software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and software-defined local area networking (SD-LAN). Overall SDN is frequently used in data center applications. For instance, deploying SDN switch provided by FS.COM such as FS N5850-48S6Q 48 port 10 gigabit switch with 6 QSFP+ 40GbE ports in SDN networking environment can achieve easy flow control and configuration.

deploying FS 40100GbE switch in SDN networking

Figure 2: Deploying FS 40/100GbE switch in software-defined networking environment as a SDN visibility and security solution.

Conclusion

SDN technology transfers the stagnant situation of internet networking architecture, making SDN networking flexible and agile to business applications. Detaching control functionality from hardware devices (eg. SDN switch), SDN networking achieves quick configuration and management via a centralized SDN controller. Operators can reset an Ethernet switch through SDN protocol in a quick and easy way.

Understanding Link Aggregation and LACP

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Link aggregation, as its name indicates, is the approach to combine multiple parallel physical network links into a single logical link to increase bandwidth and create resilient and redundant links. It enables us to enhance the capacity and availability of the connections between devices using Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet technology. LACP, known as link aggregation control protocol, is the standard protocol supported by IEEE 802.3ad to configure link aggregation. This article will shed some lights on link aggregation and LACP technology.

link aggregation

What Is Link Aggregation and LACP, Why Use them?

Link aggregation allows one to combine multiple network connections (same data rate, duplex capability, etc) in parallel to increase throughput beyond what a single connection could sustain, and to provide redundancy in case one link goes down. Besides, link aggregation load balance enables the processing and communications activity to be distributed across several links in a trunk, thus not overwhelming a single link. Moreover, improvements within the link are obtained using existing hardware, so you don’t have to upgrade to higher-capacity link technology. This technology is not just for core switching equipment such as link aggregation switch. Network interface cards (NICs) can also sometimes be trunked together to form network links beyond the speed of any one single NIC.

link aggregation control protocol

LACP is a vendor independent standard protocol for link aggregation. LACP links need to be manually configured on the physical network switch, to allow both links to appear as one logical aggregated link. LACP provides automatic determination, configuration, and monitoring member links. When LACP is enabled, a local LAG (link aggregation group) cannot transmit packets unless a LAG with LACP is also configured on the remote end of the link. A typical LAG deployment includes aggregate trunk links between an access switch and a distribution switch or customer edge (CE) device.

How Does LACP Work?

In a LACP enabled link, the firewall is capable of using LACP protocol to detect the physical interfaces between itself and a connected device and manage those interfaces as a single virtual interface (aggregate group) – which increases the bandwidth between devices. Enabling LACP provides redundancy within the group: the protocol can detect interface failures automatically and performs failover to standby interfaces. Without LACP, you must spend more time manually identify interface failures occurring within the channel.

LACP protocol benefit

LACP for Gigabit Interface Configuration

By transmitting LACP packets between ports, LACP supports the automatic creation of Gigabit Ethernet port channel. It is capable of dynamically grouping port and informing the other ports. As LACP successfully identifies matched Ethernet links, it facilitates grouping the links into a Gigabit Ethernet port channel. Then it begins to change LACP packers between ports in either the two modes:

  • Active—Places a port into an active negotiating state, in which the port initiates negotiations with remote ports by sending LACP packets.
  • Passive—Places a port into a passive negotiating state, in which the port responds to LACP packets it receives but does not initiate LACP negotiation. In this mode, the port channel group attaches the interface to the bundle.

Both modes allow LACP to negotiate between ports to determine if they can form a port channel based on criteria such as port speed and trunking state. Here are some important parameters to use during configuration of the link aggregation.

LACP System Priority: This is configured per router. It is used with MAC address to create LACP System ID.

LACP System ID = LACP System Priority + MAC Address

LACP Port Priority: It is configured per port. It is used to form Port Identifier with Port Number.

LACP Port Identifier = LACP Port Priority + Port Number

It is also used to determine which port should be in standby mode during an hardware limitation.

LACP Administrative Key: It is automatically calculated equal to the channel group identification number on each LACP configured port. It defines the ability of a port to aggregate with other ports, the aggregation ability is determined by, port characteristics and configuration restrictions.

LACP Max-bundle: It is the number of bundled ports in a bundle. As I mentioned below it is maximum 8. But in some platforms it can be 4.

If all the compatible ports cannot be aggregated by LACP, then the remaining ones can act as standby ports. When there is a failure occurs in one of the bundled ports, the standby ports become active one by one.

Conclusion

Link aggregation is the efforts made to set up parallel network structures to provide redundancy, or to improve performance, which increases bandwidth, provides graceful degradation as failure occurs, and enhances availability. LACP facilitate the configuration of link aggregation with automatic determination, configuration, and monitoring. Hope this article could help understanding link aggregation and LACP.

Related Article: LACP vs PAGP: What Is the Difference? 


FS Fanless Switch – Energy-saving Ethernet Access Switch

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As we all know, network switches are always a little bit noisy. Many people are bewildered by this problem. In fact, the noise mainly comes from the multiple fans that operate from within the network switch, in order to cool the various components of the switch from within. Considering the certain situation when some SMB might prefer having a fanless network switch, FS now has introduced a brand new Ethernet access switch: this fanless switch is designed to meet the silent and cost-effective requirement for SMB customers. Let’s take a closer look at this energy-saving S2800-24T4F fanless switch.

fanless switch ethernet access switch

What Is Fanless Switch?

In some scenarios, operating fans within the network switches is inevitable. It is the reason that the switches emanate so much heat, especially when multiple network switches are locked up into a rack along with many other active devices. At this time, fans play a important role to help cool various components within the network switch. However, the constant noise coming from the fans within the switch might be disturbing to everyone around the switch. In such situation, people might prefer to the fanless switches. Apart from being quiet, these switches are more reliable and utilize less power than their fan-cooled counterparts. Fanless design might be purposefully incorporated into the switches to increase their reliability. These switches are come with solid-state cooling apparatus instead of fans that help cool the various parts inside the switch and hence provide a higher degree of reliability.

FS Fanless Switch: Energy-saving Ethernet Access Switch

FS S2800-24T4F is a kind of fanless and energy-saving Ethernet access switch, which is designed to meet the demand of cost-effective Gigabit access or aggregation for enterprise networks. For the advantage of silent and cost-saving design, it is perfect to use in SMBs, labs, schools and Internet cafes. In addition, it offers flexible port combination form to facilitate user operations as the result of the equipped 24×100/1000Base-T ports and 4x1GE Combo SFP ports. So you can directly connect to a high-performance storage server or deploy a long-distance uplink to another switch. Moreover, S2800-24T4F supports multiple configuration modes to make it easy for network management and maintenance. Also, high performance processor is adopted to provide full speed forwarding and line-dormant capacity to offer customs multitudinous service features.

s2800-24t4f-switch

Highlights & Benefits

  • Layer 2 Full Wire Speed Gigabit Forwarding Capability.

FS S2800-24T4F has up to 48Gbps backplane bandwidth and 42Mpps packet forwarding rate. And its performance will be not impacted by ACL / binding / attack protection and other functions.

  • Function Optimization for WEB Configuration of Internet Bar.

Customers can configure the port automatically or manually, and secure their network through using its IP+VLAN+MAC+Port binding functions.

  • Perfect Management and Maintenance.

The Web management interface of S2800-24T4F has been optimized for enterprise users, supporting SNMP, Telnet, and cluster. Looback port loopback detection and LLDP neighbor detection functionalities have also been provided.

Supported Optical Transceivers for S2800-24T4F Fanless Switch

As being mentioned, the FS S2800-24T4F has 24 24×100/1000Base-T ports to achieve network connectivity. For these ports, you can use 100BASE SFP, 1000BASE SFP, BIDI SFP, CWDM SFP, DWDM SFP optical transceiver or 1000BASE-T SFP copper RJ-45 transceiver to achieve the link. FS provides many high-quality compatible SFP modules for S2800-24T4F fanless switch.

The main compatible SFP optical modules are listed in the chart below:

FS.COM P/N Part ID Type Wavelength Operating Distance Interface DOM Support
SFP-FB-GE-T 37767 100BASE-T / 100 m RJ-45, Cat5 No
37769 10/100BASE-T / 100 m RJ-45, Cat5 No
SFP-GB-GE-T 20036 10/100/1000BASE-T / 100 m RJ-45, Cat5 Yes
20057 1000BASE-T / 100 m RJ-45, Cat5 Yes
CWDM-SFP1G-ZX 23807 1000BASE-CWDM 1270 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47123 1000BASE-CWDM 1290 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47124 1000BASE-CWDM 1310 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47125 1000BASE-CWDM 1330 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47126 1000BASE-CWDM 1350 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47127 1000BASE-CWDM 1370 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47128 1000BASE-CWDM 1390 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47129 1000BASE-CWDM 1410 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47130 1000BASE-CWDM 1430 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47131 1000BASE-CWDM 1450 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47132 1000BASE-CWDM 1470 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47133 1000BASE-CWDM 1490 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47134 1000BASE-CWDM 1510 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47135 1000BASE-CWDM 1530 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47136 1000BASE-CWDM 1550 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47137 1000BASE-CWDM 1570 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47138 1000BASE-CWDM 1590 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
47139 1000BASE-CWDM 1610 nm 80 km LC duplex,SMF Yes
Conclusion

Ethernet access switch has become an integral part of networking because of the speed and efficiency with which they handle data traffic. At FS, we know very well how much our small and medium-sized clients need a reliable and affordable Ethernet switches. So we come with this S2800-24T4F fanless switch for you, which is assured with high-quality and a one-year limited warranty, including any quality problems during the free maintenance. Besides, all of FS.COM’s transceivers are tested for 100% functionality and guaranteed compatible for outstanding network performance. So does the above SFP transceivers, they are completely applicable to this S2800-24T4F switch. Compared to the other vendors’ optical modules, they are much cheaper. For more details, please visit www.fs.com.

Managed VS. Unmanaged Switch: Which to Choose?

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Switches are devices used in connecting multiple devices together on a Local Area Network (LAN). In terms of networking, the switch would serve as a controller, which allows the various devices to share information. Ethernet switches can be used in the home, a small office or at a location where multiple machines need to be hooked up. There are two basic kinds of switches: managed switches and unmanaged switches. The key difference between them lies in the fact that a managed switch can be configured and it can prioritize LAN traffic so that the most important information gets through. On the other hand, an unmanaged switch behaves like a “plug and play” device, which cannot be configured and simply allows the devices to communicate with one another. This blog will compare the difference between managed vs. unmanaged switch, and why would choose one over the other?

managed vs. unmanaged switch

Managed VS. Unmanaged Switch: Managed Switch Basis

A managed switch is a device that can be configured. This capability provides greater network flexibility because the switch can be monitored and adjusted locally or remotely. With a managed switch, you have control over network traffic and network access. Managed switches are designed for intense workloads, high amounts of traffic and deployments where custom configurations are a necessity. When looking at managed switches, there are two types available: smart switches and fully managed switches. Smart switches have a limited number of options for configuration and are ideal for home and office use. Fully managed switches are targeted at servers and enterprises, offering a wide array of tools and features to manage the immediate network.

Managed switch

Managed VS. Unmanaged Switch: Unmanaged Switch Basis

Unmanaged switches are basic plug-and-play switches with no remote configuration, management or monitoring options, although many can be locally monitored and configured via LED indicators and DIP switches. These inexpensive switches are typically used in small networks, such as home, SOHO or small businesses. In scenarios where the network traffic is light, all that is required is a way for the data to pass from one device to another. In this case there is no need for prioritizing the packets, as all the traffic will flow unimpeded. An unmanaged switch will fill this need without issues.

The Managed Switch Will Retain Predominance as the Switch of Choice

Managed and unmanaged switches can maintain stability through Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). This protocol can prevent your network from looping endlessly, because it can search for the disconnected device. However, the managed switch is still the best solution for long-range usability and network performance. And it will cover the trends in the near future.

benefits-of-managed-switches

Benefits of Managed Switches

Network Redundancy: Managed switches incorporate Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) to provide path redundancy in the network. STP provides redundant paths but prevents loops that are created by multiple active paths between switches, which makes job for a network administrator easier and also proves more profitable for a business.

Remote management: Managed switches use protocols such as or Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for monitoring the devices on the network. SNMP helps to collect, organize and modify management information between network devices. So IT administrators can read the SNMP data, and then monitor the performance of the network from a remote location, and detect and repair network problems from a central location without having to physically inspect the switches and devices.

Security and Resilience: Managed switches enable complete control of data, bandwidth and traffic control over the Ethernet network. You can setup additional firewall rules directly into the switch. And managed switches support protocols which allow operators to restrict/control port access.

SFP: The benefit of having multi-rate SFP slots is the network flexible expansion possibility, which allows the user to be able to use 100Mbps and 1Gbps SFP modules for either multi or single-mode fibre optic (or copper) as needed. If requirements change, the SFP module can be replaced and easily protect your switch investment.

Support multiple VLAN as per requirement: Managed switches allow for the creation of multiple VLANs where an 8-port switch functionally can turn into two 4-port switches.

Prioritise bandwidth for data subsets: The switches are able to prioritise one type of traffic over another allowing more bandwidth to be allocated through the network.

The disadvantages of unmanaged switches
  • Open ports on unmanaged switches are a security risk
  • No resiliency = higher downtime
  • Unmanaged switches cannot prioritize traffic
  • Unmanaged switches cannot segment network traffic
  • Unmanaged switches have limited or no tools for monitoring network activity or performance
Conclusion

After discussing the pros and cons of managed vs. unmanaged switch, we can thus conlude that for end users, network visibility and control can be highly valued in their plants and they are willing to pay for it. Although managed switches are costlier than unmanaged switches, managed switches definitely have more benefits and consistent network performance. When the network requirements may be expanded or better control and monitoring over network traffic is needed, managed switches may be considered.

Related Article: Why Is Managed Switch Good for Business Networks?

Ethernet Switch: How Much Do You Know It?

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Today, all plants are virtually networked via Ethernet. High requirements are placed on the network infrastructure and network components. Ethernet switch is the integral piece of IT infrastructure, capable of receiving, processing and transmitting data between two devices connected by a physical layer. Due to the increasing application of big data analytics and cloud-based services in various end-user segments, data centers are envisaged to fuel the adoption of Ethernet switch. The augmented global demand for data centers is the key driver for the growth of Ethernet switch market. To satisfy the large and ever-increasing market for Ethernet switch, there are many varieties of switches offered different purposes. This article will help you get a deep understanding of the different types of Ethernet switch.

What is an Ethernet Switch?

A Ethernet switch is a tool for connections between the systems and equipment to forward data selectively to one or more connected devices on the same network. These connections are generally created through the use of structured cabling that links both the station side and the device that you are trying to share data with, such as a server or another computer. In this way, Ethernet switch can control the flow of traffic passing through a network, maximizing the network’s efficiency and security. More advanced Ethernet switch, called managed switch, are also capable of providing additional functions, such as network load balancing, address translation or data encryption and decryption.

FS Ethernet switch

How Dose an Ethernet Switch Work?

Ethernet switch links Ethernet devices together by relaying Ethernet frames between the devices connected to the switches. By moving Ethernet frames between the switch ports, a switch links the traffic carried by the individual network connections into a larger Ethernet network. Ethernet switches perform their linking function by bridging Ethernet frames between Ethernet segments. To do this, they copy Ethernet frames from one switch port to another, based on the Media Access Control (MAC) addresses in the Ethernet frames. Ethernet bridging was initially defined in the 802.1D IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks: Media Access Control (MAC) Bridges. The standardization of bridging operations in switches makes it possible to buy switches from different vendors that will work together when combined in a network design. That’s the result of lots of hard work on the part of the standards engineers to define a set of standards that vendors could agree upon and implement in their switch designs.

diagram of Ethernet switches connections

Different Types of Ethernet Switch

Ethernet switch are broadly categorized into two main categories – modular switches and fixed switches. Modular switches allow you to add expansion modules into the switches as needed, thereby delivering the best flexibility to address changing networks. Fixed switches are switches with a fixed number of ports and are typically not expandable. This category can be broken down even further into unmanaged, lightly managed, and fully managed.

Unmanaged Switch

An unmanaged switch is mostly used in home networks and small companies or businesses, as it is the most cost effective for deployment scenarios that require only basic layer 2 switching and connectivity. The unmanaged switch is not configurable and have all of their programming built in. It is ready to work straight out of the box. And it is the easiest and simplest installation, because of its small cable connections. An unmanaged switch is perfect in this situation since it requires the least amount of investment with regards to both expense and time.

Smart Switch / Lightly Managed Switch

A smart switch is the middle ground between the unmanaged and fully managed switches. These smart switches offer limited customization, but do possess the granular control abilities that a fully managed switch has. In addition, smart switches offer certain levels of management, quality-of-service (QoS), security, but they are lighter in capabilities and less scalable than the managed switches. Smart switches tend to have a management interface that is more simplified than what managed switches offer. They also offer the capability to set up options like Quality of Service (QoS) and VLANs, which can be helpful if your organization has VoIP phones, or if you want to segment your network into work groups. Therefore, smart switches are the cost-effective alternative to managed switches. They are still valid choices for the regular consumer, as they are generally easy to use and you can glean a bit more information off of them on how your network is configured compared to unmanaged switches.

Fully Managed Switch / Enterprise Managed Switch

Managed Layer 2 Switch: A modern managed switch provides all the functionality of an unmanaged switch. In addition, it can control and configure the behavior of the device. This typically introduces the ability to support virtual LANs (VLANs), which is why almost all organizations deploy managed switches versus their cheaper alternatives.

Managed Layer 3 Switch (Multilayer Switch): This type of switch provides a mix of functionality between that of a managed Layer 2 switch and a router. The amount of router function overlap is highly dependent on the switch model. At the highest level, a multilayer switch provides better performance for LAN routing than almost any standard router on the market, because these switches are designed to offload a lot of this functionality to hardware.

data-center-network-architecture

Managed switches are designed to deliver the most comprehensive set of features to provide the best application experience, the highest levels of security, the most precise control and management of the network, and offer the greatest scalability in the fixed configuration category of switches. As a result, they are usually deployed as aggregation/access switches in very large networks or as core switches in relatively smaller networks. Managed switches should support both L2 switching and L3 IP routing, though you’ll find some with only L2 switching support.

Conclusion

The Ethernet switch plays an integral role in most modern Ethernet local area networks (LANs). Mid-to-large sized LANs contain a number of linked managed switches. Small office/home office (SOHO) applications typically use a single unmanaged switch. This article has introduced different types of switches. Depending on the number of devices you have and the number of people using the network, you have to choose the right kind of switch that fits your space. FS.COM has provided a comprehensive set of Ethernet switches. If you have any requirements, welcome to visit our website for more detailed information.

How to Optimize Your Network Performance with LC Assemblies?

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High-density and compact data center cabling has become the consequent trend as the rapid development of fiber optic communication. Under this trend, LC assemblies, like the LC connector, LC adapter and LC attenuator, are more and more popular in the applications of cable television (CATV), fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) Markets. Today this post intends to explore how to optimize network performance with LC assemblies.

LC Adapter for Easy Installation

It’s familiar to us that fiber optic adapters are used to connect fiber optic components with the same or different interfaces. Due to their ability to interconnect two connectors, they are widely applied in optical management systems. And nowadays there are various LC adapters available in the market for both single mode and multimode applications. Take the quad LC adapter for example, Quad LC adapters, designed for high-density applications, provide 4-position LC adapter solution in a traditional duplex SC footprint. The mating sleeve can connect four duplex or eight simplex LC fiber optic cables, saving more space and bring more flexibility.

Quad Plastic LC Fiber Optic Adapters

LC Attenuator for Better Transmission Quality

As we all know, signal strength needs to be reduced in some case. For instance, if a transmitter delivers too much light power, at the receiver end the power must be reduced by using fiber optic attenuator. Or it may degrade the bit error ratio (BER). LC attenuator is a type of widely applied fiber optic attenuator. It is designed to provide horizontal spectral attenuation over the full spectrum vary from 1260nm to 1620nm in single mode transmission. Therefore the LC attenuators can expand the capacity of optical networks by using the E-band (1400-nm window) for optical transmission.

LC fiber optic attenuator

LC HD Plus+ Fiber Cable for High Density Application

Designed with flexible “push-pull tab” uniboot connector, bend insensitive fiber and ultra-low insertion loss, LC HD plus+ fiber cables are the best choice for high-speed, high-bandwidth 1GbE and 10GbE networks in data centers. People with working experiences in data centers may know it’s not an easy task to add or remove one connector in numerous network cables. But with the push-pull tab uniboot connector, this problem can be solved perfectly. Firstly, the LC uniboot connector encloses two fibers firmly in a single cable, saving cable management space greatly. Secondly, the push-pull design enables connectors to be extracted or inserted into the port freely, which simplify the connectivity problems of limited access to the connector.

LC HD Plus+ Fiber Cable

LC Mux/Demux for More Flexibility in WDM Network

CWDM and DWDM Mux/Demux play an important role in combining data rate of different wavelengths over the same fiber cable to increase network capacity. No matter CWDM or DWDM Mux/Demux, there are several types of ports on them to ensure the normal function: channel port and line port. Of course, some Mux/Demux also have an expansion port and monitor port. A LC Mux/Demux means the LC Mux/Demux has LC connector for interfacing. It’s known to us that LC design is popular in fiber optic links. Mux/Demux with LC interface is easy to install and add WDM capacity to an existing network.

The following picture shows how to use two CWDM Mux/Demux at the same time to increase the wavelengths and expand the network capacity. The 8 CH and 4CH CWDM Mux/Demux are connected using the expansion port (LC interface).

stack-two-cwdm-mux

Summary

LC interface is the result of increased demands for smaller easier-to-use fiber connectivity. And a wide range of optical components with LC interface are widely used in optical networks. This article just introduces parts of them. Some other LC assembles such as optical transceivers, LC pigtails and LC adapter panels are available in Fiberstore. If you want to know more details, please visit FS.COM.

Tips to Simplify Your Data Center Management

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Data center houses a network’s most critical systems and is vital to the continuity of daily operations. Many of us have seen what it looks like. As we all know, the more complex a data center is, the more difficult it can be to ensure efficiency and orderly management—not only of the systems and equipment but of the working staff as well. How to simplify data center management? This post may give you the answer.

data center management

When several different types of product, tools, and resources are used to support a network, complication cannot be avoided. With the rapid development of society, many business demands require the data center to operate quickly and effectively. In order to achieve this goal, various mix-and-match occur, which lead to a complicated data center. Here are several tips to simplify data center management and make it work efficiently.

Emphasize Standardization

With the fast advancement of communications, equipment used in data centers is replaced frequently. Therefore, product standardization is something to keep in mind when upgrading and replacing the equipment, as well as the infrastructure that supports it. By utilizing standardized data center hardware, maintenance can be finished smoother and faster with common approaches, which save time, resources and money.

Choosing Easy Installation and Space-saving Components

A complicated data center environment makes it difficult to identify the root cause of errors or misconfigurations. So selecting some easy installation and space-saving products mean shorter installation times, less training time for staff and lower maintenance costs. There are many examples of products that make installation and maintenance simpler for data centers. Here are some examples.

LC Uniboot Patch Cable

Designed to deliver maximum connectivity performance in a minimal footprint according to standards, LC uniboot patch cable uses a single, unified jacket for both fibers. With this unique structure, it allows up to 68% space-saving in cabling volume, offering easier maintenance and operability. Besides, LC fiber optic connectors can offer higher density and performance in most environments, which makes it popular in many applications.

push-pull-tab patch cable

High-Density Push-pull Tab Fiber Optic Patch Cable

Push-pull tab patch cable has a special “pull” tab design that enables the connector to be disengaged easily from densely loaded panels without the need for special tools, allowing users easy accessibility in tight areas when deploying in data center applications. With this unique design, high-density optical cable, such as MTP/MPO fiber cable, offers high-density connections between network equipment in telecommunication rooms and data centers. They can be easily installed or removed with one hand, which improve efficiency greatly.

High-Density Fiber Enclosure

Fiber optic enclosures are designed to house, organize and manage fiber connections, terminations, and patching in all applications, providing the highest fiber densities and port counts in the industry contributing to better rack space utilization and minimizing floor space. Loaded with different numbers of FAPs, FHD fiber enclosures offer a high-density flexibility for cabling installations of data centers to maximize rack space utilization and minimize floor space.

4u fiber enclosure

Of course, except for the cables and enclosures mentioned above, other small components in data centers also cannot be ignored. For instance, cable ties and labels also play a critical role in cabling installations of data centers. In a word, every detail should be taken into consideration when managing a data center.

Preparing for Future-proof Cabling

As we have mentioned above, under this rapid development environment, data center management should be equipped to handle current needs while offering a clear path for future technology requirements. Complex data centers can be simplified when components are deployed that allow you to grow and migrate to new systems in the future without compromising performance or reliability. For example, solutions that offer support for both traditional ST and SC and modern LC and MPO applications support cost-effective, simpler migration to 40G and 100G applications with only a simple cassette or adapter frame change.

Summary

When data center processes and components are simplified, installation and maintenance for data center management become easier and less costly, staff resources are freed up for more strategic tasks, troubleshooting becomes less cumbersome and migration is also more easily achieved. All components mentioned above are available in FS.com. Welcome to visit our website for more detailed information.

How to Build Your Data Center?

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Today’s data centers are complex. It houses dozens of diverse bandwidth-intensive devices tightly such as servers, clustered storage systems and backup devices, all of which are interconnected by cables. Therefore, the importance of a reliable, scalable and manageable cabling infrastructure is self-evident. Then how to build a data center which can meet today and future growth? This article may give you some advice about it.

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How to Plan?

As data center houses a number of servers which are connected by numerous cables, it’s important to make it organized. If not, the last thing you will encounter is a tangled mass of cables that make it impossible to determine how severs are connected. Let alone to build a high-efficiency data center. Here are some tips on how to start your data center.

Using a Structured Approach

Using a structured approach to make data center cabling means designing cable runs and connections to facilitate identifying cables, troubleshooting and planning for future changes. In contrast, spontaneous or reactive deployment of cables that only suits immediate needs often makes it difficult to diagnose problems and to verify proper connectivity.

Using Color to Identify Cables

Colors can provide quick visual identification, which simplify management and can save your time when you need to trace cables. Color coding can be used ports on patch panels, color sleeves, connectors and fiber cables.

Establishing a Naming Scheme

Once the physical layouts of a data center are defined, applying logical naming will make it easy to identify each cabling component. Effective labeling brings better communications and can reduce unnecessary problems when locating a component. The suggested naming scheme often includes Building, Room, Grid Cell, Workstation, etc.

How to Select the Necessary Cabling Components?

After knowing how to construct the backbone network of a data center, selecting a right and suitable cabling components can quickly become overwhelming. Each cabling component has its own advantages and disadvantages. So it’s important to get the right equipment purchased and deployed to avoid future cabling problems. Below are some tips on how to choose corresponding cabling components.

Patch Panel

Patch panels enable easy management of patch cables and link the cabling distribution areas. How to choose a suitable one? First, the patch panels which allow different cable connectors to be used in the same patch panel are a good choice. Second, when choosing a patch panel, the main types of connectors within one panels are LC for fiber and RJ45 for copper. Finally, patch panels with colored jacks or bezels allow easy identification of the ports also can be taken into consideration.

angledpatchpanels

Cable Manager

Cable managers offer a neat and proper routing of the patch cables from equipment in racks and protect cables from damage. Generally, there are horizontal and vertical cable managers. And there are different requirements of these cable managers. When choosing horizontal cable managers, it’s essential to make sure that certain parts of the horizontal cable manager are not obstructing equipment in the racks and that those individual cables are easy to be added or removed. While choosing vertical cable managers, additional space used to manage the slack from patch cords is needed.

cable-management-panel

Cable Ties

Cable ties are used to hold a group of cables together or fasten cables to other components. Using cables ties can avoid crushing the cables and impacting cable performance. Velcro cable ties provided by Fiberstore are perfect for controlling and organizing wires, cords, and cables. Besides, using ties will help you identify cables later and facilitate better overall cable management.

cable-ties

Of course, except for what have been mentioned above, there are other cabling components which need to be selected carefully such as cable labels, backbone cables and so on.

What Should Be Paid Attention to When Installation?
  • Cabling installations and components should be compliant with industry stands.
  • Use thin and high-density cables wherever possible, allowing more cable runs in tight spaces.
  • Remove abandoned cables which can restrict air flow and may fuel a fire.
  • Keep some spare patch cables. The types and quantity can be determined from the installation and projected growth. Try to keep all unused cables bagged and capped when not in use.
  • Avoid routing cables through pipes and holes, which may limit additional future cable runs.
Summary

Building a data center is not an easy task. Each step and component selecting during installations need carefulness and patience. FS.COM provides all cable products including structured cables, patch panels, cable ties, labels and other tools needed in data center installation. All of them will maximize the efficiency and reliability of the data center installation.