Conventional realization of the Spine-Leaf connection scheme for high-performance routers
Router connection with CrossCon® systems as structured connection completely without fiberoptic crossings
The current standard in Spine-Leaf architectures stipulates the use of patch panels and patch cables in the mesh layer to realize the cross connections. In this way, signals of the individual routers can be transmitted in the data center be using trunk cables. Only in the Mesh-Layer the trunks are connected to the patch fields as breakout cables; the panels of the spine as well as the leaf sides are cross-connected using jumper cables. However, the high number of duplex connections that have to be plugged also increases the cabling workload and, thus, avoidable costs. In larger arrays, documentability gets quickly out of hand posing an error source that should not be underestimated.
The CrossCon® is extendable in cascades for larger data center structures. As part of a Multiblock-System, the CrossCon® enables a flawless Scale-Up of existing server structures. For simple cabling, you may choose hotspots within the data center, which serve as cabling nodes between the spine layer and the leaf layer. The inherent redundancy of the internal plugging scheme compensates the failure of individual cables without notable effects on the system as a whole.
It is possible at any time to create redundant physical mirrors of the individual Multiblock-Structures. This finally circumvents SPOF (Single Point of Failures) and even in case of failure of one complete CrossCon® Multiblock, no impairment of the signal channeling is notable.
The CrossCon® connection scheme enables structured and flexible data center cabling in a way that every connected rack terminal can communicate with any rack terminal in the whole cross connection scheme of the data center.
Hence, after the one-time implementation of the CrossCon® system, every single connection of the connected rack is useable even subsequently. This creates maximum flexibility with respect to later uses of the installed infrastructure.
The figure shows a schematic of a full cross connection with the CrossCon®.