[Infographic] How to get ready for future bandwidth needs?

WiFi, 5G, IoT, smart building, ERP…Is your cabling infrastructure really suitable for your network’s growing need for increased bandwidth? How can you make it future-proof? The flowchart featured in this article shows you how to choose the best solution for your infrastructure.

These days, in order for a local area network (LAN) to offer its users the best services and applications for improving productivity, the main links in the network must support throughputs of 10 Gb/s or more. The article, “Is your cabling infrastructure limiting your productivity?” explains how a network’s cabling infrastructure, even when composed of optical fibers, can be the limiting factor when it comes to meeting the growing demand for increased throughput on your network.

Deploying new cables is the most common solution to this problem, but it isn’t suitable for every situation. We recently presented an article on the potential constraints related to fiber deployment, which include project duration, inconvenience and high cost. Other technologies, such as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and mode conditioning patch cords (IEEE 802.3aq), boost your network capacity slightly, but they do not offer the same unlimited throughput supported by single mode fibers (SMF). Although they allow you to keep your infrastructure a few years longer without touching your cabling, they are not sustainable and will not keep up with evolving IT uses.

So is there a durable solution that can be used regardless of your existing cabling infrastructure? And if so, how do you choose the one that best fits your needs? The flowchart below will help guide you in this choice, by proposing the best solution to make your network last. You are guaranteed to be able to meet your network’s future bandwidth needs!

Want to know more about the AROONA range and the technology that transforms your multimode fibers into single-mode fibers? Watch our Webinar replay! 

By Pu Jian

Pu Jian launched all Cailabs’ award-winning products and drives their go-to-market strategy. She leads the cooperation between Cailabs and its strategic partners. She holds a Ph.D. in quantum optics from the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Université Pierre et Marie Curie.