Global fiber-based communications provider Zayo Group Holdings and Equinix (NASDAQ: EQIX) today jointly announced successful completion of a 400 Gbps trial connecting data centers in London and Paris on Zayo’s subsea fiber network.
Undertaken in Q1 2022, the 400G networking technology trial marks the latest joint innovation between the companies, as they seek to meed growing demand to move continually-increasing volumes of data ever faster.
Trial details
As part of the trial, Zayo deployed a 500G optical channel on its 800G-enabled DWDM network.
The company used the additional bandwidth to deploy an extra 100G wave for enhanced monitoring capabilities, creating increased visibility to ensure the consistent viability of the network. The connection was able to withstand full-load testing without any traffic loss.
The companies said the newly demonstrated 400G link produced many benefits, by reducing hardware from four separate 100G optical cards to just one 400G card. This resulted in a simple application with fewer handoffs between the customer and Zayo, reducing the potential points of failure.
“At Zayo, not only are we focused on our customers’ connectivity needs today, we are preparing for their speed, latency, and capacity needs of tomorrow while simultaneously driving efficiencies and simplifying the overall network design,” said Yannick Leboyer, Zayo’s COO, Europe.
Leboyer added, “Equinix is sitting at the epicenter of several trends that are reshaping the industry – from digital transformation and big data to IoT and AI. Together, we’re future-proofing the ecosystem to help companies grow and innovate.”
400G customer outcomes
For its part in the trial, Equinix streamlined operations by having fewer circuits to manage and operate its network while reducing costs.
The company said the trial's achievements mark key differentiators for customers who build their networks around high bandwidth capacity.
Muhammad Durrani, senior director of Global Network Architecture for Equinix, explained:
“Our success in this trial is about more than faster speeds; it’s about the outcomes it will enable for our customers, such as achieving the low-latency requirements of critical devices transforming everything from transportation to healthcare. As the first global data center platform to trial 400G, we see tremendous potential in how it will help power our next generation of services."
Sustainability notes
As part of the trial, Zayo reported that it also reduced power consumption per gigabit by 40% compared to prior generation hardware, and also achieved efficiencies in hardware and equipment usage.
In addition to reducing energy costs for customers, the companies added that this achievement aligns with commitments by both Zayo and Equinix to sustainable business practices and efforts to reduce environmental impacts, the companies noted in a statement.
To address increasing demand for high-bandwidth, low-latency services across the whole spectrum of its customer base, Zayo said it is working to deliver 400G wavelength services across the majority of its U.S. and European routes by the end of 2022.