All Aboard the Dark Fiber Train

When asked to describe a private fiber wide area network (WAN) and particularly dark fiber WANs, I like to use the analogy of a train system. In this analogy, you have:

• Data or content being transmitted:  People or freight
• A variety of speeds and protocols available:  Engine and car type such as freight, standard or bullet trains
• Various nodes or destinations:  Stations
• Distribution hubs:  ex:  Penn Station, NYC and,
• A system of pathways and switches that the data traverses:  Railway tracks and switches

In a standard managed network, you have little control over anything but the content you are transmitting; and for various content types such as voice, data, etc. you need separate services. In our analogy, you must then purchase separate tickets for your voice passengers and your data cargo which will be loaded onto a local train, with everyone else’s passengers, to stop at each station on the route. This of course introduces opportunities for lost passengers, overcrowding, and nefarious characters looking at your laptop screen along the way. None of this is necessarily a bad thing; most systems do a fair job of weeding out nefarious characters and provisioning enough trains to handle the traffic at a reasonable price for the level of service.

However, at some point, your passengers and cargo may be too precious to trust to this system - enter a private fiber optic network. A private network is exactly what it sounds like; new railways are built connecting only the stations you need. In a managed private network, the train is still provided but you are free to consolidate your services by combining passenger and cargo traffic. And since it is only your passengers on-board, there are no nefarious characters lurking over your shoulder. To go a step further, a dark fiber network supplies only the railway tracks thus providing you with unlimited access. You can put a 1 or 10 gig train on the track immediately but you are also free to upgrade at any point. Now you control not only the passengers, but the rail cars, engine and stations. Plus, you don’t share the tracks with anyone else meaning there are no switches or distribution hubs to pass through. This level of flexibility, security and reliability cannot be matched by a traditional system.

Private networks are not for everyone. For various reasons, a managed service may often be a better fit for your model…

Follow up in two weeks for a review of dark fiber vs. managed services