Why you need to know about multi-gig

As bandwidth demands on the network continue to rise unabated, multi-gig switches give you the flexibility to adapt as needs change and help you to future-proof your infrastructure.

If you have spoken to anyone from Zyxel Networks about our switches recently, the subject of ‘multi-gig’ will almost certainly have come up in the conversation. It’s a hot topic due because, as demands on bandwidth continue to grow, multi-gig gives you the flexibility to adapt your infrastructure to cope with the higher rates of traffic being generated across networks.

These obstacles include thermally insulated multi-pane windows, thick insulation and solid, reinforced walls. Even if you can see the garden through a window, the glass coating can significantly block the WiFi signal across all frequencies. As a rule, smart devices only require the 2.4GHz WLAN signal, but even this band has a limited range outdoors. So, what can you do to extend the coverage to your garden?

This is a consequence of the more demanding applications and services that we are all using now. Video conferencing and collaboration solutions and cloud and online services are used by everyone and ultra-high-definition video is being utilised more in content. As the threats multiply, we are also having to run more advanced cybersecurity in the background. All of this eats up more bandwidth and adds to the workload on the network infrastructure.

By multi-gig we are referring to switches on which the ports can support a variety of speeds – 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb. Just about every switch available today would fall into this category and there are an increasing number that will support multiple speeds on the same port i.e. multi-gig switches. Zyxel Networks, for example, offers a comprehensive range of multi-gig switches to meet these evolving needs.

A simple use-case scenario

Here is a simple illustration of where and why a multi-gig switch might be useful. Let’s say you have an organisation with two main workgroups. There are ten users in each group with wired connections to a 16-port edge switch. If each of those users generates around 100Mbps of traffic (which is quite plausible if they are multi-tasking and using video-intensive apps), they will, collectively, be generating 1Gb of traffic.

These edge switches are then connected into a core aggregation switch, which links to both the central server and an external connection out to the web. In this scenario, 1Gb connections between the client and the twin edge switches will be more than sufficient, and 2.5Gb on the uplink to the core switch ought to be enough to cope.

Doubling up

But if we then imagine there is a WiFi access point located in each of these departments and connected to a single port on the two edge switches, the picture changes quite dramatically. If we allow for ten additional users or devices connecting to each of these APs, the amount of traffic could double. This means that 1Gb would not be enough on this port. You’d need to upgrade that connection to 2.5Gb, which would mean buying and installing a completely new switch.

In addition, the amount of bandwidth needed between the two edge switches and the core switch would double, to around 4Gb, so you’d need the port on the core switch to be 5Gb. Here again, you’d need to swap out the switch if you wanted to avoid any bottlenecks.

But if you had multi-gig switches in place, there would be no need to change anything; if the requisite ports are capable of coping with different speeds, they will dynamically adjust to whatever level of traffic is generated.

Sudden surge

As noted earlier, this is only a very simplistic example, but it hopefully illustrates just how useful it is to have a multi-gig switch in place. You can perhaps see how, even with a relatively small network, you might need the ability to cope with additional bandwidth. In some scenarios – in a school for example, or a conference centre, you might have a sudden surge of people connecting to the network via wireless, and the newest standards – WiFi 6/6E and WiFi 7 – will in themselves eat up more bandwidth.

By multi-gig we are referring to switches on which the ports can support a variety of speeds – 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb. Just about every switch available today would fall into this category and there are an increasing number that will support multiple speeds on the same port i.e. multi-gig switches. Zyxel Networks, for example, offers a comprehensive range of multi-gig switches to meet these evolving needs.

Thinking ahead

The number of scenarios in which you would benefit from the flexibility that multi-gig switches give you is endless. They future-proof your network and make adapting to changes easier, faster and less costly. They also make it easier to adopt higher-bandwidth applications and technologies, such as WiFi 6/6E and WiFi 7.

To make the most of multi-gig capabilities you do need to do a bit of forward thinking and try to ascertain where you are most likely to need increased bandwidth on switches in the future. The simplest approach is to use multi-gig switches right across the network, placing devices with the most appropriate specifications at the edge, on aggregation layers and at the core. This is what many organisations – large and small – are now doing. It will be a good idea to get expert help when it comes to deciding exactly what you need and where you need it. Your trusted Zyxel Networks partner ought to be able to help you with getting that right.

Meeting your multi-gig needs

Zyxel Networks already offers multiple switches with multi-gig ports and we’ve recently released our fastest switch ever – the CX4800-56F, which has 48 ports that can run at either 10Gb or 25Gb, depending on bandwidth requirements. On the uplinks (there are eight of these) this switch provides 100Gb.

While such a powerful switch might only be needed – for now at least – at the core of quite a substantial network, the need to have higher capacity, flexible bandwidth options at all layers of the network is growing – and we’ll be adding further multi-gig devices to our portfolio very soon to ensure we meet the needs of all our customers.

If you’d like to find out more about our plans, please contact us or get in touch with your nearest Zyxel Networks partner.

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