The need for additional bandwidth is not news, however the number of devices carried per person that deliver bandwidth is taken more for granted before realized.
If you stop and think about it, it use to be that a household would have a single computer with a single Internet connection.
As time progresses forward demand has required innovation and products have evolved; technology has evolved. After all, as the saying goes… “Necessity is the mother of invention”.
Today it is commonplace for people to carry the Internet with them at all times. Mobile smart phones, tablets, laptops and desktops are always on and connected.
For example, I have a desktop that is always backing up my home data to the cloud 24/7. Personally I regularly use my tablet and laptop at the same time depending on what I’m doing (in my living room, at the client site or waiting at the airport terminal). If I walk away from the laptop/tablet I’ve found myself checking a new email or notification on my smart phone.
What does this mean for the professionals charged with providing and maintaining the network? It means enterprises and Internet service providers alike must look to current events and know the trends while preparing and planning the network’s capacity to scale.
Strictly speaking from a bandwidth capacity point of view,
Service providers see an enterprise’s Internet connection as an aggregate of capacity (Yes other items are viewed here too, but I’m only addressing the topic of raw capacity here). The service provider’s infrastructure carries everyone’s traffic. From hundreds of enterprises to tens of thousands of enterprises the service provider’s infrastructure is expected to deliver everything to everyone all the time – nonstop.
Enterprises see their infrastructure as needing to support the access, performance, and reliabe delivery of network services to authorized devices. Whereas in the past an employee would have a computer desktop and/or laptop, they may now have an additional company provided WiFi connected tablet and/or smart phone. The expectation of the infrastructure is to be on-demand and just perform (consistently well).
For a while now it has been known that mobile devices will place additional bandwidth demands on infrastructure.
“GCI buys ‘thousands’ of iPhones and other devices, memo says, in ramp-up of mobile newsroom tech”
http://tinyurl.com/7u8g2re
“Proliferation of Mobile Devices = Opportunity for Apps & Developers”
http://tinyurl.com/79dpo9h
“Google activating 700K Android devices every day”
http://tinyurl.com/7bvpf3c
“Worldwide Mobile Worker Population 2011–2015 Forecast”
http://tinyurl.com/6rxfxox
(I have not read the above by IDC, but have read other’s comments on the content)
100GbE is here and I think we’re going to see more of it deployed sooner than later in the service provider space.
Juniper Networks
http://tinyurl.com/7cyanzy
Brocade
http://tinyurl.com/7dt52lr
Cisco Systems
http://tinyurl.com/33vkpke
40GbE is here too but in my opinion it is just not as sexy as 100GbE; opinion aside it’s the economics and budgets that are driven by your customer’s demands for what is chosen (40/100GbE).
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